HONG KONG.- Zurich Asia successfully held a Live Internet Auction in its office in Hong Kong on 2 & 3 June, offering 2,300 lots of rare philatelic treasures, banknotes and coins.

There was great interest in stamps from the Liberated Areas of China and the People’s Republic of China. The star lot was a complete sheet of 80 stamps of 8 fen from 1980 Year of the Monkey (“Golden Monkey”) which realized HK$1,023,500/ US$131,218, exceeding its pre-sale high estimate. In very fresh condition and with a shiny golden colour, this rare offering is one of the most highly sought-after Chinese philatelic items.

Among the prized Qing dynasty stamps on offer was an 1897 small figures surcharge, 4 cents on 3 cents revenue stamp, which sold for HK$195,500/ US$25,064. A very fine example of this rare variety, it is in mint condition with full original gum.

Of note was a special section of philatelic items related to the Basel Mission, a Switzerland-based Lutheran missionary society established in 1815. In 1847, missionaries arrived in Hong Kong and worked first in Guangdong Province before transferring to Hong Kong in 1851.

Among the highlights in this section was a 1913 King George V 1 cent brown stationery card to Kaiying, tied by a ‘HONG KONG’ circular date stamp, which achieved HK$23,000/ US$2,949. It features a few rare transits, including bilingual ‘SHUMCHUN’, ‘NANTOW/24.9.13’ char. ‘CANTON/LUNGKONGHUI/25.9.13’ circular date stamps and a ‘LUNKONGHUI/KWAICHUNG’ tombstone frame chop in red.