What are the “reprints”?
Some of the early unified (non-regional) and Northeast China commemoratives were officially reprinted by the government in the 1950’s as a service to stamp collectors who missed out on the originals because of the turmoil during unification. These reprints were on sale at the post offices and were valid for postage. Most reprinted sets have characteristic changes which help distinguish them from the original printings. These changes are noted in the various catalogues but none seem to have the latest information on determining the more difficult issues (#105-7 and #117-21). Check with your PRC dealer for the latest information. Most of the original printings are now in very limited supply. The last reprinted set was Scott #141-50 for unified issues and #1L176-8 for regional issues. The Scott catalogue only prices the reprints per set in a footnote after the listing for the original printing. In all but one case, the value of the different stamps within each reprinted set are virtually
