Date of Liberation: February 1946. Ang’angxi is surrounded by railways because of the Harbin – Manzhouli and the Qiqihar – Bei’an Railways. Thus it had high strategic importance during the Civil War. The headquarters to organize the liberation of Qiqihar was set up in Ang’angxi in March 1946.
1st stamp issue (Kerr 10.6-7, 10.13-14, 10.25-28 + unlisted)
| Provisional Issue: | Stamps Overprinted “Republic of China” |
|---|---|
| Issued: | April 1946 |
| Issued by: | Ang’angxi Postal Administration (昂昂溪郵政管理局) |
| Period of use: | April to August 1946 |
| Overprint: | “Republic of China” (“中華民國”) |
| Print: | Hand-overprinted with rubber chop in reddish orange (some with add. dark rose red) or violet |
| Currency: | Northeast Currency (東北幣) |
40c
50c
Someone in the post office in Ang’angxi must have decided that the reddish-orange overprint was not so good. Around April 1946, the stamps were overprinted again with the same (or similar) handstamp in dark rose red. Commercial covers with double overprinted stamps of the $1 denomination are known from 24 April 1946.
Market prices (USD)
| (★) | ⊙ | ✉ | Kerr Cat. No. | Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAX-1c | 10c | rose red | L3a/b | 15,00 | 35,00 | 260,00 | 10.6-7 | violet overprint |
| AAX-2b | 40c | dark olive | L3c/d | 15,00 | 25,00 | 160,00 | 10.25-26 | twice overprinted°) |
| AAX-3a | 50c | dark brownish olive | R4 | 15,00 | 25,00 | 160,00 | 10.13 | reddish orange overprint |
| AAX-3b | 25,00 | 35,00 | 260,00 | 10.27 | twice overprinted°) | |||
| AAX-4a | $1 | dark red grey | L2 | 15,00 | 20,00 | 160,00 | 10.14 | reddish orange overprint |
| AAX-4b | 30,00 | 35,00 | 260,00 | 10.28 | twice overprinted°) | |||
| AAX-4c*) | –,– | 40,00 | 320,00 | — | violet overprint | |||
| Set of 7 (all overprint varietes) | –,– | 215,00 | °) dark rose red over reddish orange *) unused copies are unknown so far |
|||||
Overprint details
The left stamp shows the original overprint, known as commercially used (overprint type I). The middle stamp shows a different overprint (overprint type II), considered philatelic. It could be the same handstamp as the left stamp but in a very late worn (or repaired) condition. The yellow arrows point to the main difference. The stamp at the right shows a double overprint (both colours, type II above type I). Except for the commercially used stamps (10c, 40c, 50c, $1), all other stamps (for example, with violet or dark rose-red over violet overprint) of this handstamp type are stated as bogus / privately made.
The first adopted postmark of Ang’angxi (type 1, YY.MM.DD) is usually hard to read (often illegible). Used on 1st and 2nd stamp issues. Around August 1946, another adopted postmark (type 2, DD.MM.YY) was used on the 2nd and 3rd stamp issue from Ang’angxi.
Commercial covers
Domestic cover posted from Ang’angxi (昂昂溪), 21 May 1946 to Fengtian [aka Mukden], nowadays Shenyang (瀋陽). Paid 50c standard letter rate. The postmark type 1 reads Ang’angxi (昂昂溪), Longjiang Province (龍江省).
Domestic cover posted from Ang’angxi (昂昂溪), 15 April 1946 to Yinghao Town, Dianchi County, Henan Province (河南省澠池縣英豪鎮). Paid $4 airmail letter rate. The postmark read Ang’angxi (昂昂溪), Longjiang Province (龍江省). The black chop on the front “航空” indicates airmail. Airmails were sent through the airport in Qiqihar (齊齊哈爾) onward. Tied by postmark Type 1 of Ang’angxi (昂昂溪).
Front side
Rear side
1st cancellation on Nationalist stamp issue (Kerr 54.4)
| Provisional Issue: | Stamps Overprinted “Chinese Republic” |
|---|---|
| Issued: | February 1946 in Harbin (哈爾濱) |
| Issued by: | Harbin Postal Administration (哈爾濱郵政管理局) |
| Period of use: | May 1946 (in Ang’angxi (昂昂溪)) |
| Overprint: | “Republic of China” (“中華民國”) |
| Print: | Machine-overprinted with types in red |
| Currency: | Northeast Currency (東北幣) |
Stamps on piece
The stamps were issued in February 1946 under the KMT in Harbin (哈爾濱) and were used in Harbin until liberation at the end of April 1946. Ang’angxi is more than 300 km away from Harbin. How the stamps got in May 1946 to Ang’angxi is unclear. Probably a traveller or even a stamp dealer took them and posted them here. At least there is a direct train connection between Ang’angxi and Harbin. Prices apply only to legible postmarks type 1 from Ang’angxi.
Market prices (USD)
| (★) | ⊙ | ✉ | Kerr Cat. No. | Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAAX-1 | 20c | dark ochre brown | L2 | 30,00 | 260,00 | 54.1 | ||
| NAAX-2 | 30c | dark brown ochre | L2 | 30,00 | 260,00 | 54.2 | ||
| NAAX-3 | 50c | dark brown ochre | R4 | 30,00 | 260,00 | 54.3 | ||
| Set of 3 | 90,00 | |||||||
2nd stamp issue (similar to Kerr 10.40-44 + unlisted)
| Provisional Issue: | Stamps Overprinted “Chinese Post Temporarily Used” and Surcharged |
|---|---|
| Issued: | August 1946 |
| Issued by: | Ang’angxi Postal Administration (昂昂溪郵政管理局) |
| Period of use: | August to September 1946 |
| Overprint: | “Chinese Post Temporarily Used” and Surcharged (“中華郵政 暫作” 改值郵票) |
| Print: | Hand-overprinted with wooden chop in black |
| Currency: | Northeast Currency (東北幣) |
Market prices (USD)
| (★) | ⊙ | ✉ | Kerr Cat. No. | Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAX-5*) | $1 / 2c | dark yellow green | R4 | –,– | 40,00 | 160,00 | — | black overprint |
| AAX-6*) | $5 / 30c | dark brown orange | R4 | –,– | 100,00 | 300,00 | — | black overprint |
| Set of 2 | –,– | 140,00 | *) unused copies are unknown so far | |||||
Overprint details
The yellow arrows below point to the main characteristic distinguishing the left, bogus and the right, issued by the Ang’angxi Postal Administration and commercially used stamps. The commercially used overprint always has a distance between the top row (“中華郵政”) and the following line (“壹 暫”) of at least 3 mm (up to 7 mm). In the Kerr catalogue, this set is listed as Kerr 10.40-44 (black overprint) and 10.45-48 (red overprint). Both overprints listed in Kerr are later, privately made, bogus philatelic issues. The officially issued, commercially used stamps of this issue do not exist unused, whereas all counterfeit stamps only exist unused. Furthermore, the overprint colour on the bogus stamps is dark blue-black instead of black. The red overprint was never used commercially. A forged postmark type F1 in red also took a place to produce fake covers in combination with the bogus stamps from Ang’angxi.
Commercial covers
Domestic cover posted from Ang’angxi (昂昂溪), 17 August 1946 to Changchun (長春). Paid $1 standard letter rate. The postmark reads Ang’angxi (昂昂溪), Longjiang Province (龍江省). Tied by postmark Type 2 of Ang’angxi (昂昂溪).
3rd stamp issue (Kerr 10.49-61A)
| Commemorative Issue: | Stamps Overprinted “Commemorate Double 10 – 35 Years Republic China” |
|---|---|
| Issued: | 10 October 1946 |
| Issued by: | Ang’angxi Postal Administration (昂昂溪郵政管理局) |
| Period of use: | October 1946 |
| Overprint: | “Commemorate Double 10 – 35 Years Republic China” (“紀念雙十 民國三十五年”) |
| Print: | Hand-overprinted with rubber chop in dark blue violet |
| Currency: | Northeast Currency (東北幣) |
$1
The 3rd stamp issue of Ang’angxi has mainly a political and philatelic background. The postage rate in October 1946 had already increased for domestic letters up to $2, so except for the $1 denomination, most of the stamps of this set could not be practically used as postage stamps because their denomination was too low. Used copies of smaller denominations can be found, but they usually have philatelic postmarks (CTO). The political aspect was to show that the communist authorities were a continuation of the revolution of 1911, which established the Republic of China.