Description: This blue-grey definitive stamp features a classic portrait of Mao Zedong wearing his iconic cap and buttoned tunic, looking slightly to the left. The issue was released by the East China People's Postal Service (華東人民郵政), as inscribed vertically on the right side. The face value is 500 Yuan, displayed as "500.00" (with the smaller zeros indicating no cents) in the bottom left corner and as the Chinese characters "伍佰圓" (Five Hundred Yuan) in the bottom right corner. The background consists of fine horizontal lines, giving the portrait a distinct engraved appearance.
Circa: 1949
Condition: Unused - Hinged
Notes:
This specific portrait design is one of the most recognizable early images of Mao on stamps, widely used across the East China Liberated Area before the standardized designs of the People's Republic were fully established in 1950.
As an issue of the East China region (encompassing Shanghai, Nanjing, and Shandong), these stamps saw heavy use during the final months of the Civil War as Communist forces consolidated control over the eastern seaboard.