Description: This brown 5 Yuan stamp is a special commemorative release issued by the East China Postal Service (華東郵政) to mark the 7th Anniversary of the Shandong Wartime Postal Administration. While it shares the same dynamic "Train and Postal Runner" vignette as the standard definitives—depicting a foot courier and steam locomotive under a revolutionary star—this version is distinct because of the date "1949.2.7" printed in the bottom center panel (replacing the simple "1949" found on the regular issues). The denomination is 5 Yuan, indicated by the "5.00" in the bottom left and the Chinese characters "伍圓" in the bottom right.
Circa: 1949
Condition: Unused - Hinged
Notes:
This issue is classified by philatelists under Chinese Liberated Area local posts, specifically produced for the Hua Dong (East China) region which integrated newly seized territories across Anhui, Jiangsu, and Shandong provinces. The prominent "1949.2.7" date on the tablet does not represent the day the stamp was sold; instead, it commemorates the Jinghan Railway Strike of 1923, a historic labor uprising that became an essential political symbol for the early Chinese Communist Party. Due to active wartime blockades and severe resource shortages, these regional stamps were printed on coarse, unwatermarked wood-pulp paper utilizing primitive local perforation machines, resulting in highly characteristic ragged or uneven edges.