Revenue stamps of Hong Kong

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A 3c revenue stamp issued in 1867. Hong Kong 1867 stamp duty revenue stamp.jpg
A 3c revenue stamp issued in 1867.
A King Edward VII revenue stamp cancelled with an over-embossing die. Hong Kong overembossing die mark on revenue stamp.jpg
A King Edward VII revenue stamp cancelled with an over-embossing die.

Hong Kong issued revenue stamps from 1867 to the 1990s, both when it was a British colony as well as when it was under Japanese occupation.

Hong Kong East Asian city

Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a special administrative region on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary in southern China. With over 7.4 million people of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world.

British Hong Kong Crown colony and British dependent territory in East Asia between 1841 and 1997

British Hong Kong denotes the period during which Hong Kong was governed as a colony and British Dependent Territory of the United Kingdom. Hong Kong was under British rule from 1841 and was briefly occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945 before surrendering the territory back to British forces, resuming British rule from 1945 to 1997. The colonial period began with the occupation of Hong Kong Island in 1841 during the First Opium War. The island was ceded by Qing dynasty in the aftermath of the war in 1842 and established as a Crown colony in 1843. The colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War and was further extended when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898.

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong occupation of Hong Kong during World War II by the Japanese Empire for 3 years and 8 months from 25 December 1941 to 30 August 1945

The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (香港日據時期) began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce fighting against the overwhelming Japanese forces that had invaded the territory. The occupation lasted for three years and eight months until Japan surrendered at the end of Second World War. The length of this period (三年零八個月) later became a metonym of the occupation.

Contents

Stamp Duty

Hong Kong's first revenues were issued in 1867. A set of nine stamps from 3c to $10 was issued portraying Queen Victoria. In 1873 a 2c value was added in a smaller format, and this is a very rare stamp. In January 1880, a stamp from the 1867 issue was surcharged, and this was valid for both postal and fiscal use. Postage stamps were overprinted S.O.(Stamp Office) or S.D.(Stamp Duty) in 1885 as provisionals when there was a shortage of stamps. The 1867 designs were reissued in new colours in 1885, and this time further values and designs were also added. There were further provisional surcharges up to 1898.

Queen Victoria British monarch who reigned 1837–1901

Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. On 1 May 1876, she adopted the additional title of Empress of India. Known as the Victorian era, her reign of 63 years and seven months was longer than that of any of her predecessors. It was a period of industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire.

Postal fiscal stamp

A postal fiscal is a revenue stamp that has been authorised for postal use. Postal fiscals may arise because there is a shortage of postage stamps for a country or out of economy to use up obsolete or excess stocks of revenue stamps. Postal fiscals are to be distinguished from stamps marked "Postage and Revenue" which were always intended for either use, or revenue stamps used postally by accident or because local postal regulations did not prohibit such use. Postal fiscal status may usually only be identified from the cancels on used stamps or where the stamp is found on cover.

In 1903 a new set was issued showing King Edward VII, who had acceded to the throne following Victoria's death two years earlier. Twenty six values from 1c to $200 were issued, and some are very rare while others are commoner. Some values of this set were reissued in a new watermark in 1907. Ten-cent stamps were surcharged for use as five-cents in 1908 following a shortage of stamps. Later that year a numeral 5c stamp was issued replacing these provisionals.

A new set in a design similar to the 1903 issue but with the portrait of King George V was issued in 1912, with twenty three values from 5c to $200. In 1921, this issue and the 1908 numeral design were reissued on paper with a different watermark. A 10c provisional was issued in 1933.

In 1939, new stamps portraying King George VI were issued. These exist in a number of different watermarks and perforations and continued to be issued until 1951 (with the exception of the Japanese occupation from 1941–45). Provisional surcharges were also issued in 1948 and 1951.

In 1953, a 15c Queen Elizabeth II postage stamp was overprinted STAMP DUTY. This was followed by a new set a year later with ten values from 10c to $20. During Elizabeth's reign, the numeral design of 1908 was again reissued with different sizes, watermarks and papers. The last issue of Hong Kong revenues was in 1980, when a set of thirteen values from $3 to $1200 was issued. These are common and readily available. Two surcharges on this issue were made around 1990. [1]

Overprints

Various stamp duty issues were overprinted for other purposes between the early 20th century and 1978. The first of these were for bills of exchange. Many stamps exist overprinted or handstamped B OF E or BILL OF EXCHANGE in a variety of formats. These continued to be used until they were withdrawn in 1978.

Around 1945, King George V stamp duty issues from the 1920s were overprinted CONTRACT NOTE. These are very rare as limited stocks were available for overprinting. Later various King George VI postage or stamp duty stamps were similarly overprinted. Similar overprints were issued on Queen Elizabeth II revenues in 1956, and these remained in use until the 1970s. Various provisional surcharges were also issued.

Between 1946 and 1948, four postage or stamp duty stamps were also issued overprinted RECEIPT STAMP, or additionally surcharged.

Japanese occupation

On 25 December 1941, British forces in Hong Kong surrendered to Japan following several days of fierce fighting. From 1942, Japanese revenue stamps were used in Hong Kong, and these can only be identified by their cancellations. In 1943 and 1944, Japanese postage or revenue stamps were overprinted for Hong Kong. New designs were also issued printed locally, showing either the HSBC building (then the government headquarters) or Mount Fuji.

Collecting

Hong Kong revenues are popular with collectors from Hong Kong or China. [2] On 6 October 2013 a 1903 1c stamp sold on eBay for $7887. This stamp is very rare as only two recently discovered copies are known, and it was previously thought that this was never issued. It is therefore one of the greatest rarities of British Empire revenue philately. [3]

See also

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References

Citations
  1. ↑ Barefoot, John. British Commonwealth Revenues. 9th edition. York: J. Barefoot, 2012, pp. 157-169. ISBN   0906845726
  2. ↑ Hong Kong. I.B RedGuy, 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Monthly "Stamp News" Market Tipster Column. Glen Stephens, February 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
Sources

Monography: Hong Kong Fiscal Seals & Adhesives by Philippe Orsetti (http://www.hongkongstudycircle.com/papers.html)

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