China Monkey Stamp: An Integral Addition to Your Collection

Some of the most widely sought classics for people buying China stamps online are the different releases of the China monkey stamp. Much like the China dragon stamp, the monkey releases are closely tied with Chinese culture, and no stamp auction would be the same without them. There are many instances in which we see the monkey surface in the history of China stamps.

In the past 30 years China Post produced three ‘Year of the Monkey’ stamp issues, one in 1980, 1992 and 2004. Extremely popular and collected avidly by China stamp aficionados; a compilation containing all three sets is considered quite an achievement.

But the ‘Year of the Monkey’ releases were not the first appearance of a China monkey stamp in philatelic history. A special three-part monkey series was introduced in 1963 called ‘The Golden Haired Monkey.” Although it was not related to any formal Chinese New Year observance, its significance did not go unnoticed, and the fact that the tradition was so short-lived make these stamps popular.

It took about twenty more years for the monkey to make an appearance again in the stamp world. In 1980 the Gengshen Year (Year of the Monkey) design was issued, featuring a sitting monkey against a red background. The single value stamp was denominated with a value of 8 fen and was designed by Shao Boling.

Then twelve years later, in 1992 a two-piece Year of the Monkey set was released, which included designs, entitled ‘The Auspicious Peach’ and ‘Magpie in the Plum,’ with values of 20 and 50 fen respectively. These two stamps were the first set of the lunar year stamps in the second circle and were created with folk paper-cut art.

The first design is illustrated with a peach and a monkey figurine and can be used to celebrate a birthday. The second design has a background of a Chinese seal character of a monkey, with a red paper-cut of a magpie in the foreground that is announcing good news to all.

The 2004 New Year stamp issued by China Post was very colorful and entitled ‘Year of the Monkey (Jiashen Year)’. Available solo or in booklets of four or six, each stamp carried a value of 801 fen. While this release certainly have as much history to go with it, many people still cherish it as part of their China stamp collection.

And indeed, no one buying China stamps would deny that China monkey stamps are a highly desired part of any growing collection. They represent a big part of the historical and cultural elements of the engaging hobby that is stamp-collecting.