2018-07-12 Thu

InterAsia Auctions recently sold the earliest known cover bearing Imperial China stamps setting a new record in Chinese philately.

The Auction was held on June 16th 2018 in Hong Kong when this very unique cover was offered. The cover came with three stamps known as Dragon Stamps in China. The Dragon stamps were the first stamp issue of Imperial China.

This cover was mailed to Shanghai on Oct. 5, 1878, bearing a pair and a single of the 1878 5 candareen stamps. It is the earliest known cover bearing a Large Dragon stamp. The cover sought an extraordinary price of USD 2.43 million.

This is a record sum for Chinese philately. The Shanghai Dragon Cover comes in second after 1847 Mauritius Bordeaux cover, which is 1993 was sold at auction for $3,829,500.

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