Over 100 years of triumphs, disappointments and culture can be found in stamps from China. From the original “Dragon” collection, to Mao Zedong stamps, to the $2,550 Anna Nizam Charminar stamp, you’ll be dazzled by the stories told in such poignant images. Here you’ll find a description of a few of the valuable and culturally significant China stamps.

Overprints of China stamps were common during the early 1900s. An overprint is the addition of text after a stamp has already been printed (usually to raise the price in relation to inflation). Because of the ever-changing economy, some stamps from that time period — such as the Sun Yat-sen — rose in value up into the thousands of dollars.

In November 1952, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunication released a set of four stamps to commemorate “the 35th Anniversary of the October Revolution.” The October Revolution (also known as The Bolshevik Revolution) was led by Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik party and the workers’ Soviets and eventually overthrew the government, making way for the USSR. They were issued in celebration of the friendship between China and the Soviets.

The first stamp had a picture of China’s Mao Zedong with Stalin on the Kremlin tower; the second one portrayed Lenin making a speech at the Second Representatives Conference of the Soviet Unions; the third one pictured a statue of Stalin standing at the Lenin Canal; the fourth showed Lenin making a speech. In 1997, a set of these stamps was sold at the Spring Auction of Jiade for $55,000 RMB.

One of them issued from the collection “To Mark the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base by Chairman Mao” was recently sold at an auction in Shaghai for $1.5 Million RMB (or roughly $199,880 USD). There were originally four stamps issued, including: Chairman Mao and Lin Biao at Tian An Men, Chairman Mao and his party in Jing gang Shan, the quotation “The political power comes from guns,” and another verse by Chairman Mao.

The Jianggangshan base become the birthplace of the Chinese Red Army and is often called “the cradle of the Chinese Revolution.” In addition to the historical significance of these commemorative China stamps, the controversy surrounding the issuance caused an uproar. Production was canceled and specimens were called to be destroyed.

Therefore, the Jinggangshan ones never made it to circulation and only a very small number exist in the hands of private collectors. In September 1968, after the establishment of Cultural Revolution Revolutionary Committees, the Ministry of Posts issued the “All China Is Red” stamp.

It pictured a red ocean, with workers, farmers and soldiers holding “the Quotations of Chairman Mao” and cheering; at the top, a red map of China with golden letters read “All China Is Red.” They were issued in Beijing for half a day before the China Atlas Press discovered that the Xisha and Nansha archipelagos were mistakenly missing from the map!

Due to its extremely limited number, the “All China Is Red” is one of the most famous rare ones in the world. Ten years ago, a post office sheet of 50 was displayed at the China Philatelic Expo in Guangzhou City and was considered a “national treasure,” valued at over 10,000,000 RMB.

While there is said to be about 18 million stamp collectors in China, there are millions of members in the Chinese Philatelic Society. The government is eager to begin trade with other stamp collectors, so the stamps are readily available worldwide.

Ebay has a list of stamps from Asia and China stamps can also be found at the Chinese Philatelic Information site or ChineseStamps.org. Whether you’re looking for dragons or emperors, you’ll find it in China!

Many people across the United States are embracing the “less is more” philosophy with popular television shows teaching homeowners to clean out their closets, purge their attics, get rid of all of the extra stuff in their lives that they don’t use on a daily basis. This includes grandmother’s china set that is stored in the dusty corner of the basement.

For most, it’s generally thought that you don’t want to throw out the set because it was grandmother’s, and you remember as a child having Thanksgiving dinner with one of those plates only after you were old enough to not break a piece of the set so carefully cherished for years.

But it’s chipped and maybe stained, and you don’t know what else to do with it, except store it in a box in the basement. There are a few things you can do to move that set from the corner of the basement into your showcase.

Repurpose:

You can repurpose your set into another function. An artfully designed mosaic can be a beautiful use for your broken bits. You may choose the most beautiful part of the piece to create a small piece of jewelry or a put a small piece of the choice painted bit on display.

The drawback is of course that a mosaic only uses pieces and parts of the whole.Having grandmother’s beloved china further broken up doesn’t quite feel right. And what happens to all of the discarded pieces?

For some people this is definitely not the way to address their nostalgia. It may be chipped maybe, but at least they’d like to keep it whole.

China Repair:

There are a few artists who specialize in china repair and porcelain restoration. The techniques they use are incredible with invisible repair lines and museum quality restoration. It is important to remember that these repairs do not usually allow the owners to use the china for meals. It’s generally discouraged to eat food from a repaired plate.

However, a professional china repair can allow you to display grandmother’s china set in your hutch as a whole set. A displayed platter sitting next to several teacups with an entire stack of plates artfully arranged can allow you and your modern family to always enjoy the nostalgia, history, and family tall tales at every special family event.

You should also be aware that you need to clean and your repaired items carefully. If you have monetarily valuable china pieces – beside sentimental value – you must clean them with care. A thorough scrubbing can damage and greatly reduce the value of your item. It can simply remove the patina of age and indeed its antique value or perhaps even its sentimental value.

A professional china restoration artist is experienced in cleaning pieces with tremendous attention to the value of the piece, with museum accepted solvents, and professionally standard cleaning agents.

If you have a set of grandmother’s dinnerware that you would like to bring out of the basement and use in your family’s home, china restoration should be a definite consideration for displaying your set in a beautiful arrangement and setting.