Hong Kong has generated a huge variety of postage stamps for collectors since its first stamp was issued in 1862. There are many, many subcategories of rare and collectible Hong Kong postage stamps being bought and sold at any given time, and there are enough varieties to inspire an endless number of approaches to collecting Hong Kong stamps.
When the first stamps came to Hong Kong in 1862, it was a British colony and stamps tended to feature Queen Victoria (and later subsequent monarchs). In 1997 Hong Kong was returned to China, and from this point stamps featured the name of Hong Kong in Chinese, 香港, (as it had in the British era), but with a new English phrase: HONG KONG, CHINA. Both eras have included many different collectible stamps commemorating a huge number of different subjects. The handover of HK to China itself has been the subject of some popular postal items, even from other countries.
See also: Hong Kong rare banknotes and collectible paper money
Various Hong Kong stamp collectibles
There are several varieties of Hong Kong philatelic collectibles. Different types appeal to different collectors for various reasons. Here are some of the types of items to consider.
Hong Kong first day covers
Hong Kong postage stamp collectors often look for first day covers (FDCs) for sale. These special philatelic collectibles feature a postage stamp that has been used postally to send something within or from the stamp-issuing country; the entire collectible first day cover includes the post card or envelope or other sent item, plus the stamp, and a postmark, dated the first day of official issue. All of these things together that make up a FDC can be very collectible to Hong Kong stamp lovers, especially those who are interested in HK covers generally. If you are looking for Hong Kong first day covers for sale, you are generally in luck because there is a steady turnover in the market. Sellers list new HK FDCs for sale often, and there are always new sales offers to browse through. Hong Kong first day covers can be great display pieces, just like other covers.
Browse 343 current Hong Kong stamps and postal collectibles for sale offers here
Hong Kong MLH stamps
Mint lightly-hinged postage stamps from Hong Kong, and mint very-lightly hinged stamps, include many very nice pieces that can’t be sold as MNH but which nonetheless are beautiful and affordable additions to any HK stamp collection. Stamps of this variety for sale quite often include the abbreviations MLH and MVLH in their titles and/or descriptions, even from otherwise-non-English listings.
There are different reasons a buyer may be interested in MLH Hong Kong stamps for sale: you may be looking for a stamp that is too expensive in MNH form; or you may be looking for a stamp that is hard to find and currently is only available as MLH. You may not have a personal choice for either MNH or MLH stamps from Hong Kong and can take advantage of this to widen your scope.
Hong Kong MNH stamps
Hong Kong collectible postage stamps sold in mint never-hinged (MNH) condition comprise arguably the busiest and most popular category of stamps. These perfect or near-perfect stamps have never been attached to a hinge for display by any collector. They represent pristine pieces that have a high appeal to many buyers, even those who don’t mind the occasional MLH or MVLH stamp.
Stamps sold in this condition usually have some variation in their listing title or description of “MNH”, “mint NH”, “mint unhinged”, et cetera. Other terms may include, depending on the seller and his or her location and language, “post fresh”, “postfrisch”, “sans charniere”, or “sin charnela”. When browsing Hong Kong postage stamps for sale, look for any of these terms to find stamps in true MNH condition.
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Also, check the images posted by the seller to make sure you are ordering what the seller promises. “MNH” is a popular term that it is sometimes seen on sales of stamps that are not exactly MNH — read the descriptions carefully as well.
Hong Kong airmail stamps
Hong Kong airmail postal collectibles usually means aerogrammes and envelopes sent to and from HK by airmail, because with few exceptions — such as two stamps from 2006 inscribed AIR MAIL POSTAGE (Scott #1227 and #1228) — there haven’t been many true airmail stamps in Hong Kong, either in the British era or the post-1997 Chinese era.
Pieces of airmail related to Hong Kong can take many forms. Depending on your needs, some unique items for sale in this category may appeal to you more than others. There are airmail covers to and from specific places that some collect, or certain years or more specific dates that you find collectible. Whatever your personal style, there are usually quite a few Hong Kong airmail postal collectibles of various types available from several vendors at any given time. These unique items are a great way to build a genuinely one-of-a-kind collection of HK stamps.
Hong Kong error stamps
Occasionally, a postage stamp from Hong Kong will have an error in its printing process. Stamp collectors who hunt for interesting HK postal items for their own collections are often inspired to collect such error stamps. Misprinted Hong Kong postage stamps, or stamps with some other mistake in their manufacturing process (miscut or mis-perforated, for example) have a great appeal because generally they are pretty unusual. At their best, Hong Kong stamp errors can be literally one-of-a-kind.
Just as Hong Kong error stamps are rare, so too are such stamps actually for sale. When an especially interesting or nice error stamp, or one of a handful of well-known but not high-priced error stamps, is listed, collectors compete to see who can order it first. Such is the cut-throat nature of collecting Hong Kong error stamps.
Hong Kong fake and reprinted stamps
Getting a replica of an expensive or rare Hong Kong stamp is a perfect way for many buyers to fill in holes in their collections. Forged stamps, created for whatever reason, are a fun way to see a piece of Hong Kong postal history for your very eyes, even if it isn’t strictly authentic. There are various reasons that replicas of Hong Kong stamps may exist — perhaps they were once intended to be passed off illegally as the real thing, or maybe they have been made by a stamp lover with the passion and the means to do it.
Whatever, as long as the fake stamp copy is clearly marked as such by the seller, replicas of interesting or especially notable Hong Kong postage stamps are of significant appeal to many collectors. Curious buyers can look through the current selection of these odd stamps, and see if anything grabs them.
Hong Kong full stamp sheets
An interesting way to collect Hong Kong postage stamps is to look for uncut full sheets for sale. Generally, these collectibles are regular-issue perforated stamps but haven’t been separated. Some Hong Kong full stamp sheets are fresh from the printing process. Perfectly centered and printed sheets can be the subject of fierce competition when they are offered for sale by various vendors and collectibles sellers.
Some full sheets were actually used on packages or other posted items. These cancelled full stamp sheets from Hong Kong are also popular with some collectors. Full sheets, as well as other related items such as stamp mini-sheets, appear often in online sales listings. There is a great variety of full HK stamp sheets for sale, and collectors can benefit by watching listings diligently, and keeping in mind that while many collectors do not watch such listings, others do, so be sure to keep on top of what’s being sold.
Hong Kong imperforate stamps
Imperforate Hong Kong postage stamps can exist for a variety of reasons. Many collectors are looking for nice examples of “imperf” stamps from HK for their own collections. Some of the most beloved imperforate stamps of Hong Kong come from the early days of the area’s postal history, when Hong Kong was a British colony and stamps were often not perforated as a matter of course.
More recent examples of imperforate stamps from Hong Kong can include souvenir sheets or other special collector’s pieces that were never meant to be perforated. A third category can include modern stamp sheets that were intended to be perforated and used as normal, but, perhaps rejected due to a printing error, have made it into the collector marketplace intact before the perforation process.
If imperforate stamps fit your own Hong Kong stamp collection, watch the sales listings closely. There are many, many sellers who often list some great examples of these stamps in their own shops. Offers come and go frequently.
Hong Kong joint stamp issues
Hong Kong has released several postage stamps jointly with other countries, and these joint issues are beloved by certain collectors of Hong Kong stamps. With their international style and spirit of friendship, joint Hong Kong stamp issues make up a particularly interesting corner of the HK stamp world.
Some of the countries that Hong Kong has released a joint postage stamp with include France, Brazil, Australia, Portugal, and even mainland China. Collectors who concentrate on stamps from these countries may be especially drawn to the joint stamps with Hong Kong. Jointly-issued postage stamps that were used on actual covers (and even first-day covers) to and from the countries involved may be especially attractive to many buyers.
Also of note are, like any stamps, joint-issue stamps that have had an error in the printing process, which appeal to many collectors.
Hong Kong overprinted stamps
An enormously beloved and popular type of Hong Kong collectible postage stamp is the overprinted and surcharged stamp. While regular stamps impress with their various designs, provenances, and historical importance, having stamps with interesting or rare overprints and surcharges added to them only increases this appeal.
After the first Hong Kong postage stamp came in 1862, issued by colonizers Britain, the first three decades or so of Hong Kong stamp history included quite a few overprinted stamps. Most of these were regular stamps with surcharges, always in dollars and cents. In 1891, an overprint was added to a 2¢ stamp of 1882 reading 1841 Hong Kong JUBILEE 1891. A few varieties of this overprint exist and a double-overprint version is especially rare. This overprint celebrated 50 years of colonial rule.
During World War II, occupying Japanese forces used Japanese stamps with overprints in Hong Kong, which appeal to many collectors.
Hong Kong perforate stamps
Hong Kong postage stamps, like most postage stamps in the world, are by nature perforated. Sellers who list HK stamps as being perforated (or “perf”) generally do so as a descriptive element, not because perforated stamps are particularly rare or unusual. However, there are exceptions.
Some stamps that were not usually perforated (“imperf”) may exist in perforated varieties. Or, minisheets or other special collectibles may include a stamp with perforations around it, but with the stamp intact and not separated from the larger main piece. Other varieties of Hong Kong perforate stamps can include those with errors in the perforation process, in which (for example) perforation does not extend to the edge of the sheet or stamp, or cuts through the stamp’s design.
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Hong Kong postage due stamps
Hong Kong issued its first postage due stamps in 1923, several decades after its first regular stamps, and have done so several times in the ensuing decades. At the time of the first issue, Hong Kong was a British colony; postage due stamps have been issued both during this time and after the 1997 return of HK to China. The 1923 postage due stamps of Hong Kong came in five varieties with five different denominations from 1¢ to 10¢, and featured both the English phrase POSTAGE DUE and the Chinese characters 欠資. These two inscriptions were used on subsequent versions of the 1923 design, which came at several times in a variety of denominations.
A new design for Hong Kong postage due stamps came in 1986, and again featured both of the inscriptions above, as well as the single character 欠 (“due”, or “owed”) as a large part of the background image.
After HK was returned to China, yet another series of postage due stamps was released, in 2004; these too showed the phrases POSTAGE DUE and 欠資. Included in this design is a highly stylized-cum-unreadable Chinese character in the background under the text.
Hong Kong revenue stamps
Collectible Hong Kong revenue stamps exist in two broad varieties: those intended for use postally (including a three-set of $2, $3, and $10 stamps in 1874, the smallest denomination of which also included the inscription STAMP DUTY), and revenue stamps intended merely for the collection of taxes and other funds and not as postage.
Revenue stamps from Hong Kong are one of the lesser-known corners of the HK stamp collectors’ world, and as such there are some pretty interesting and nice examples for sale that many buyers don’t see. If you are interested in any kind of Hong Kong postage due stamp or stamps, you would do well to keep a close eye on the sales listings that come and go daily from various vendors. While your buying competition may not be as fierce or crowded as other HK stamp categories, the niche-like quality of revenue stamps means that the buyers who are watching may be that much more passionate and diligent. Good luck!
Hong Kong stamp blocks
Collectible Hong Kong postage stamps include multi-stamp blocks of 2, 4, or more stamps that have not been separated. Most such stamp blocks will be perforated, as usual, but the stamps have not been torn from each other. Hong Kong stamp blocks exist for not only the era when HK was a British colony (when stamps were issued from 1862), but also since 1997 when Hong Kong became a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China.
If you collect one (or both) of these eras of Hong Kong stamps, you may be able to find some nice and affordable stamp blocks for sale at any given time. Those who collect Hong Kong stamp blocks may also be interested in stamp blocks from other countries who have issued HK-related stamps that collectors have gotten a hold of and have introduced into the marketplace. For example, other nations, especially neighbors like Singapore, have honored the return of Hong Kong to China in the late 1990s, and buyers may search for blocks of stamps of this type.
Some stamp blocks have also been used for regular postage, and interesting covers and postmarks will appeal to many collectors who specialize in postal items related to Hong Kong.
Hong Kong stamp covers
Those who collect Hong Kong postage stamps often concentrate on finding interesting and unique covers — envelopes, postcards, and other items that were actually mailed and still have cancelled stamps attached to them.
Interesting and collectible Hong Kong stamp covers may include a wide variety of items — mail to or from Britain (either before or after HK was a British colony, depending on your tastes); items sent within Hong Kong or to and from mainland China; items to Taiwan, Macau, or other neighbors. For some collectors, covers from certain post offices or with certain postmarks, or pieces that were mailed in, to, or from Hong Kong in certain years or on a certain day. Hong Kong stamp cover collectors can also be interested in official mail or mail between notable people in Hong Kong history.
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Hong Kong maximum cards
Collectible Hong Kong maximum cards are bought and sold daily by many different collectors of Hong Kong postage stamps. There are quite a few nice examples of these special postal collectibles; maximum cards (a.k.a. maxi-cards) exist from Hong Kong in several different guises.
A Hong Kong-related maximum card is a post card that features artwork that matches that of a particular stamp; the two are generally designed in conjunction with one another. This card will then have been mailed, and the cancellation stamp used will feature a third design element related to the card and stamp. All three things together make a maximum card, and in Hong Kong, maxicards have been issued for various reasons and to commemorate various subjects.
The maximum card area of Hong Kong stamp collecting can be an enormously entertaining one, but can be fraught with competition, as buyers fight to see the newest and best examples for sale first.
Hong Kong stamp minisheets
Hong Kong postal authorities have issued a few miniature souvenir stamp sheets for collectors of HK stamps at various times. Minisheets from Hong Kong feature several different but related stamps, perforated but not separated from their containing sheet; the whole piece is designed as a commemoration of some specific event or other subject related to Hong Kong.
Mini souvenir sheets are somewhat similar to maximum cards, except maximum cards generally have only one stamp and technically should include a special postmark while being sent somewhere postally. Miniature sheets, on the other hand, show an entire series of stamps in different denominations, and the bigger space allows the designer to stretch out and create more intricate and impressive artwork. Even the stamps’ placement on the sheet is an important part of the design. Various collectors and other sellers often specialize in selling Hong Kong stamp minisheets, and interested buyers should keep an eye on the marketplace to see the latest items.
A few interesting stamp minisheets from Hong Kong that you may see include:
- 2003 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China: Eighteen stamps depicting various places designated as World Heritage Sites in the People’s Republic of China.
- 2004 Badminton: Twenty stamps showing badminton players in five rows of four themed stamps each. All stamps have a face value of HK$1.40.
- 2004 Hong Kong coins: Of particular interest to Hong Kong coin collectors, this minisheet is a set of four stamps showing various examples of Hong Kong currency over the years. (A fifth stamp showing a HK$10 coin is not included in the minisheet.)
There are many other souvenir stamp minisheets in addition to these few examples available for Hong Kong collectors.
Hong Kong stamp sets
Collectible complete sets of Hong Kong postage stamps are popular with many collectors, and this is an especially busy area of the hobby. Stamp collectors often have a completist personality, and this frequently extends to buying a whole set of a particular series of stamps. Rare stamp sets especially are the subject of much competition in the sales listings.
The appeal of a complete set is that a collector can have each denomination of a certain design of Hong Kong stamps, and the varieties that exist across the set. While many times it is possible (as you can see by browsing the current listings) to buy complete sets at once, some collectors find they must build such collections one by one, particularly for older and more rare Hong Kong stamps. With a high turnover rate and a large number of offers, Hong Kong stamp sets for sale listings should be monitored closely by interested buyers.
Your Hong Kong stamp collection
There are endless great Hong Kong stamps for sale at any given time online, and thousands of different ways to approach collecting HK stamps and covers. Whatever your choices are for your own collection, you can’t go wrong. It’s all about the pure enjoyment of collecting!
