Revisiting China’s 1909 Temple of Heaven, Peking stamps

Stamp Market Tips — By Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

Due to the nature of government rules and controls on private wealth in the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese stamp market is an attractive vehicle for investment.

While interest in collecting Chinese stamps is genuinely high, the fluctuations of investor money make it the most active and volatile stamp market in the world.

These remarks on the Chinese market generally include stamps of Imperial China, China (1912-1949) and the Peoples Republic of China, but less so for the stamps of Taiwan (Republic of China).

In the Stamp Market Tips column in the Feb. 6, 2012, Linn’s, we tipped the 1909 set of three Temple of Heaven, Peking stamps (Scott 131-133). It is time to revisit that set.

The set was issued to commemorate the first year of the reign of the last emperor of China, Hsuan T’ung, who would later serve as Emperor Kang Teh in the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo.

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The 2019 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue values the set at $29.50 in unused hinged condition and $38.50 in used condition, with the used value in italics. The set is currently in demand in unused hinged condition and is selling for more than Scott catalog value. If you find it at or near Scott catalog value, it would be a very good buy.

Conversely, used sets only sell for about 50 percent of Scott catalog value.