One of the finest collections ever formed of a single-stamp issue - China's 3¢ Red Revenue surcharges of 1897 - was auctioned on June 23 in New York City by Matthew Bennett.

Exhibited only once, in Taiwan in 1981, the collection was mounted on 64 pages. "In terms of rarity, this is probably the best collection of Red Revenue surcharges ever assembled," said China stamp expert Larry Gibson of the Michael Rogers auction firm.

The centrepiece of the collection is a unique horizontal pair of the $1 small surcharge, with a realisation estimate of $500,000 to $750,000. Only 34 examples of the stamp - considered China's most valuable - are recorded. It fetched $500,000 at the auction.

The Red Revenue surcharges and other surcharged stamps of the period were produced as a temporary measure when the Chinese Imperial Post was inaugurated in 1897. The currency was changed from silver teals to silver dollars. Consequently, new denominations of stamps were required. In order to meet the immediate demand, the 3¢ revenue stamps, along with the Small Dragons and Dowagers were surcharged into dollar-currency stamps. Linn's News