Postmark or Used Envelope or Ink Smudges????

Patience, those that may know may not have logged on since you posted 6 hours ago. 

Also shown in a 4 character overprint  Shaanxi  (North west China)
overprint  =  "Peoples Post"

Also, perhaps a member here can isolate the Pmk / characters, using PostmasterGS " PMK Reveal"  ?

To amplify: that character wasn't used (at least in modern times) in Japan to indicate a denomination of currency, but was used in China.

See:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yen_and_yuan_sign#Native_characters

Sorry, but I am confused. Are we trying to identify the characters in the postmark-like circle at the top of the thread or the on the stamp that rod222 posted?

I boosted the contrast of the image in the opening post a bit to make the characters more identifiable.



The characters on the right column seem to be 「納稅」, which means 'pay taxes', and which would suggest that this item has something to do with a revenue stamp.

The left half is too unclear for me to read, I am not sure if there are 2 or 3 characters. For the top one, it seems to be composed of 「勺」on the right, depending on what the radical on the left is, this character can be 「約」or 「的」. The first possibility means 'about, approximately', the second is equivalent to the preposition 'of' in English.

I just want to note that 「的」is a fairly modern preposition that has been more frequently used after the vernacularisation movement in early 20 century. Besides, the radical on the left looks more like a 「糸」, which would make the character to be「約」, 'approximately'.

As to what language this is ... the only readable term「納稅」is used in both Chinese and Japanese languages, so it can be either. However, I notice that the radical on the left in the second character 「稅」is more of a 「方」, instead of「禾」that is used in modern Mandarin. It could be an old way of writing 'tax' in either country.

This one is complicated in that it seems to have at least 2 overprints. The yellow block indicates that the characters should be read from top to bottom. The red indicates that the characters should be read from right to left.



From top right corner:
「改作」= change to
「人民郵政」= People's Post (as opposed to the original 「中華民國郵政」printed on the paper, which is governed by Republic of China)
「伍圓」= 5 yuan

Bottom yellow blocks, from the right:
「三十」= 30
「卅八」= 38 (「卅」is the old Chinese character denoting 30)

Bottom red block:
「江西」= Jiangxi, a province of China

Combined together, the overprint(s) on this item seems to change the value of the stamp from 5000 yuan in the Republic of China regime, to 5 yuan in the People's Republic of China regime. I don't know what 30 and 38 mean in this case. And this stamp may be only valid in Jiangxi?

I received the following reply from Kenneth James Bryson with the ISJP:

”I think it says 納税約束済 Nouzei yakusokuzumi, something like "Tax payment commitment confirmed"

Thank you everyone. I am always amazed at the depth of knowledge that can be dredged up on this forum. You all were very kind to answer my post and the discussion was enlightening. If I understood it correctly it has pretty much been decided that it was a Japanese cancellation showing a payment for grain. Not sure what to do with it in my collection but I will certainly put it somewhere with an explanation because in 5 years I would have to go through the whole process again. Thanks again to everyone! - Jeff

@linda
Hi Linda,

30 and 38  ? Maybe part of the cancelling hammer impressions?

Central China
Central Chinese Liberation Area (Honan, Hupeh, Hunan, Kiangsi)  Aug Sept 1949
The Base stamp is  Scott 6L25 1949   (Type A94)  $5 on $5000  Light Blue (overprinted)
(Overprinted Scott #903)
Kiangsi Postal and Telegraph Administration
Sun Yat Sen Issues of China 1945-1949 surcharged ("Peoples Post, Kiangsi")  (Scott parlance)

Same opt on Central Trust revenue stamps

Sorry I'm late in the game. Just got back in town.

Good job identifying the characters, Linda! Not easy to make them out at all.


Yes, it looks like this

Yes, these handstamps to indicate payment/prepayment can be found on postal documents, such as bands used to bundle newspapers. In the latter case, only the handstamp will appear with no actual postage/revenue stamps

Linda or other native speakers are better suited to answer that question. Based on how frequently and casually I've seen the English word "chop" used to describe a lot of handstamps, I would tell you there are different types of "chops" (based on the English usage), just like there are different types of vehicles (car, motorcycle, tricycle...).

The traditional Chinese chop was basically carved into the flat end of a small wood block/stick, although they can get very fancy in terms of inlaying/overlaying of the wood surface. When I was growing up, it strictly referred to an identification/signature handstamp (specifically, a name). It was the equivalent of your signature. The manufacture of these was supposed to be strictly controlled. Like getting a license, you had to provide the proper identification or the original chop in order to have one made. In reality, I'm sure some were made freelance or "under the table". Since I was born in Asia, I actually have one, somewhere... I remember seeing it once when I was a kid. It might be in all my Dad's stuff, which we haven't finished going through.

I've seen the English term used to refer to almost any handstamp. Since traditionally it was carved, that means it is fixed wording. So I've seen the English term "chop" for the handstamps that you showed. I defer to native speakers to let us know if they are also called the same term for "chop" in Chinese or Japanese.

The 2 word handstamps you showed above basically means cancelled. Those revenue stamps were basically used to pay the tax on rice. I'm not sure what the additional reddish round inscription in the center was used for. Probably someone can decipher if you provided a close-up.

That is consistent with my understanding that it should refer to some official/legal fixed handstamp, rather than just any handstamp. I had similar reaction as Linda when I first heard the English term, and how it was frequently used to cover a wide range of handstamps. The first time I heard "chop", I was wondering what karate had to do with philately!?!