The Hong Kong 'China' Overprints

British Post Offices in China from 1917 - 1930

Registered Envelopes

Five different sizes of Registered Envelopes were produced with the "China" overprint. Three separate types of envelope were produced but these envelopes were only printed in a couple of sizes. These types can be distinguished by the insurance schedules printed on the backs of the envelopes and were as follows:

Type C1	Schedule consisting of two columns ranging from 300 to 3000 Francs and 25 Cents to $2.50.
Type C2	Schedule consisting of three columns ranging from 120 to 1200 Dollars, 300 to 3000 Francs and 25 Cents to $2.50.
Type C3	Schedule consisting of three columns ranging from 120 to 1200 Dollars, 300 to 3000 Francs and 20 Cents to $2.00.

	Quantity Produced	Quantity of Unused Examples	Quantity of Used Examples	Earliest Known Usage	Latest Known Usage
All C1				Mar 3, 1917	Apr 24, 1922 I
F C1	6,630			Sep 18, 1921
G C1	23,101			Nov 19, 1921	Feb 1, 1926 I
G C2	Unknown	None	None
G C3	Unknown	Two	None
H C1	18,554			Mar 17, 1922	Nov 27 1922 I
H C3	Unknown	Two	None
H2 C1	18,555			Jul 14, 1921 I	Jul 14 1922 I
K C1	19,072			Sep 17, 1921
K C2	Unknown	None	None

Size F (3 1/4 in . x 5 1/4 in.) Sub-type C1
Quantity Produced 6,630

F C1 A.jpg

F C1 B.jpg

Size F (3 1/4 in. x 5 1/4 in.), Sub-type C1

This registered envelope, dated September 18, 1921, from Liu Kung Tau to Great Britain, was franked with one SG4 1 cent red which paid the Wei Hai Wei rate. Cancelled with a Webb Type C Index C CDS and marked with a Norton Type C registration handstamp.

F C1 Used Sep 18 21 Wei Hai Wei.jpg

Size G (3 3/4 in. x 6 in.) Sub-type C1
Quantity produced 23,101

G C1 A.jpg

G C1 B.jpg

Latest Known Usage
A registered envelope from Wei Hai Wei to the Netherlands, type G C1, franked with two SG 18 1 cent stamps, one SG 19 2 cent stamp and one SG 21 6 cent stamp paying the 10 cent registered letter fee and the 10 cent Treaty Port/UPU rate. Cancelled with a Webb type H cds and a faint Norton type C registration handstamp. This is the latest known usage of G C1 envelope and less than fifty examples of the type H cds and less than twenty five of the Registered handstamps are known to exist on cover per Webb.

G C1 Used Feb 1 26 Wei Hai Wei Netherlands.jpg

Registered Envelopes
SIZE G (3 3/4 in. x 6 in.) Sub-type C2

While Webb, Perrin and H&G speculate that this type exists, no copy has ever been found.

SIZE G (3 3/4 in. x 6 in.) Sub-type C3

Perrin reports seeing two unused copies. This example, being ex-Dyer is believed to be one of those copies

G C3 A.jpg

G C3 B.jpg

Size H (5 in. x 8 in.) Sub-type C1

This registered envelope, ex-Chan, and dated November 27, 1922 is franked with one SG22 8 cent stamp which paid the 10c registered letter fee and the 4 cent per 20 gram rate between the Treaty Ports and Hong Kong. Cancelled with a Webb type M cds and a Norton type C boxed registration label in black, this is believed to be the latest know usage of the H C1 registered envelope, the latest known usage of the black Registration label, which was used from 1919 onwards but is more often found in violet. A number of other covers exist with the November 27, 1922 type M cds, which is the latest date known for this particular cds

H C1 Used Nov 27 1922 Hankow.jpg

Size H (5 in. x 8 in.) Sub-type C3

The Type H C3 envelope is not previously recorded in Gibbons, Webb, Perrin or Tsang but has a listing and is unpriced in Higgins and Gage. The two unused examples shown here are believed to be the only existing copies of this type of Registered Envelope. No used examples are known to exist.

H C3 A.jpg

H C3 B.jpg

Size H2 (4 in. x 9 in.) Sub-type C1
Quantity produced 18,555

H2 C1 A.jpg

H2 C1 B.jpg

Size H2 (4 in. x 9 in.) Sub-type C1
Latest known usage of the H2 C1 Envelope

This envelope, from Swatow to Great Britain, dated July 14, 1922 is franked with two SG1 1 cent stamps, one SG3 4 cent stamp and one
SG6 10 cent stamp for a total of 26 cents, which paid the 10c registered letter fee and the 10c + 6c Treaty Port/UPU rate. The stamps are tied with four Webb type I double circle CDS's with Index letter B, which is quite rare as Index A is most commonly seen. Webb lists
less than 25 examples of a type I with any index letter in existence. In addition, the boxed "R" registration stamp is extremely rare. Webb reports only one copy dated 22 March 1919, but Norton records the earliest and latest dates as 22 Sep 1914 and 1 Sep 22 respectively.
This is believed to be one of only four examples of this handstamp.
This is also believed to be the latest known usage of the H2 C1 envelope.

H2 C1 Used Jul 14 1922 Swatow.jpg

SIZE K (6 in. x 11 1/2 in.) Sub-type C1
Quantity produced 19,072

This registered envelope from Shanghai to Australia, dated September 17, 1921 is franked with two SG3 4 cent, one SG6 10 cent, one SG8 20 cent and one SG12 50 cent stamps paying the 10c registered letter fee and the 10c plus 6c Treaty Port/UPU rate for a total of 98 cents and weight of 280 grams. The boxed registration is a standard Norton Type C and the postage is cancelled with four Webb type R4 markings, which were commonly used in lieu of a cds.

K C1 Used Shanghai Australia.jpg