CHINA, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF

sample stamp


Catalog # Denom.      Date      Turtle      Description      Comment
60 1999 Unidentified Plastron Postal card w/ stamp printed directly on it. Both stamp & cachet depict ancient bone fragment and plastron used for divination. Bone fragment and plastron inscribed w/ Chinese characters.
80 06 Nov 05 Cartoon Turtles Sheet of 12 identical stamps and 10 labels. Labels MAY be available for personalization but the default pictures on the labels all show children in various activities. Two labels show children at the beach w/ cartoon turtles. Issued for International Children's Day. Design on all 12 stamps consists of 12 red circles, each containing a cartoon human figure and an animal (representing the Chinese signs of the zodiac?). The stamps are Scott China, People's Republic of #3460. The sheet (and therefore the labels) are not listed by Scott.
80 Unknown Chelonia mydas Sheet of sixteen identical stamps w/ red design that looks like a decorative knot. A tab is attached to the right side of each stamp. One tab depicts Chelonia mydas. Each tab inscribed "novozymes". In recent years PRC has issued many sheets w/ stamps depicting the same decorative red knot. They have different numbers of stamps in the sheet, different layouts, different marginal decorations and different tab designs. Not all have turtles. (See Linn's Stamp News, 26 Dec 2011, pg. 36 for further discussion of these sheets).
1.20y 2010 Odontochelys Semi-dorsal view w/ head pointed down. Small fossil, skeleton, and two views of skull on right side of stamp. Inscribed "Odontochelys semistestacea". This stamp is most likely a Cinderella. Odontochelys is thought by many to be an early ancestor of modern day turtles. Note the ribs on the small fossil and the skeleton.
1.20y 2010 Odontochelys Semi-ventral view of one individual with head pointed up. Small fossil, skeleton and two views of skull on right of stamp. This stamp is most likely a Cinderella. Odontochelys is thought by many to be an early ancestor of modern day turtles. Note the ribs on the small fossil and the skeleton.
80f 31 Jul 04 Unidentified Chelonian Sheet of sixteen Scott China #3375 w/ a pink peony on each. Each stamp has a tab beneath it. Four identical tabs depict a crudely drawn turtle facing left. Other tabs depict a snake and two different pictures of foliage. Left margin of sheet depicts an old man w/ a hiking staff who may be gathering herbs for folk medicine. There are no turtles on the stamps; only on the tabs. Scott did not formerly mention this sheet but it is now footnoted. No number is assigned, it is just mentioned in a footnote.
80 Two Unident. Species Sheet of sixteen identical stamps w/ red design that looks as if it may be woven out of yarn. Tab attached to bottom of each stamp. Left margin of sheet w/ prehistoric scene including two unidentified turtles. One may be Archelon and the other a tortoise. These MAY be personalized stamps in which the buyer supplies the pictures to be printed on the tabs.
60 See Description Postal card w/ imprinted stamp, issued by the Chinese postal authorities. Front of card shows a fossilized skeleton of Manchurochelys liaoxiensis, from the Early Cretaceous Period, 1.25 million years ago. No turtle on stamp; on front of card only.
SC 80f 2003? Small, Crude Turtle Sheet of eight identical stamps depicting a metal vessel w/ three legs. Bottom selvedge depicts the same square plate depicted on China Scott #3326. Turtle difficult to discern even w/ magnification. Chinese postal authorities confirm the presence of a turtle on this plate.
SC 530 8f 02 Sep 60 Turtle Tower Lake of the Returning Sword in Hanoi, Vietnam w/ Turtle Tower prominent in center of stamp. The Lake of the Returning Sword has to do w/ a Vietnamese legend involving a large turtle and a sword.
SC 2210 30f 25 Mar 89 Fanciful Turtle Two tiny, turtle-like animals w/ white carapaces and long tails, on a silk painting excavated from Han Tomb #1 at Mawangdui, Changsha. These may be dragons w/ turtle shells.
SC 2211 $5 25 Mar 89 Fanciful Turtle Mini sheet comprising total designs of #2208-#2210 (the entire painting). May represent dragons w/ turtle shells.
SC 2586 500f 20 Jul 95 Turtle Rock & Lighthouse S/S showing Taihu Lake in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. A large rock known as "Turtle Rock" or "Turtle Island" is depicted and "Turtle Head Island Lighthouse" appears in the lower right corner. Information regarding the name of the island comes from a German description of the stamp on the internet.
SC 2586 a 500f 24 Mar 97 Turtle Rock This is Scott China 2586 (which see), o/p'd (in Chinese) "Hong Kong Returns to China PJZ-5".
SC 2717 20f 02 Sep 96 Unidentified Plastron Chinese inscription on ancient turtle plastron from Shang dynasty.
SC 3326 60f 13 Dec 03 Small, Crude Turtle Square plate w/ turtle and fish patterns. Turtle is very small and difficult to discern, even w/ magnification. From set depicting bronze wares of Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Chinese postal authorities confirm the presence of a turtle on this plate.
SC 3561 var. 1.20 09 Feb 07 Unidentified Plastron Sheet of twelve stamps and twelve tabs. Left margin of sheet has a drawing of a plastron with inscriptions on it. This is an example of a practice called pyromancy in which bone or a plastron was heated and then used to divine the future. When a plastron was used, it was called plastromancy, a special type of pyromancy. *** Scott has assigned #3561 to the individual stamps but does not mention the sheet. I have called the sheet #3561 var where "var" stands for variety. There are no turtles on the stamps themselves.

Main page Last updated:   Jun 5, 2012