German post offices in China

[1] Later stamps issued for use at a post office abroad can generally be identified by overprints even when not postally used.

In a 2006 auction, a 40 Pfennig Germania hand-stamped "China" (Tientsin issue) stamp from 1900 realized 100,152 Euros.

From 1900 onwards, stamps of the Germania definitive series were issued with new style of horizontal "China" overprint.

The unoverprinted German and Kiautschou stamps used at any of these offices are referred to collectively as "Petschili" issues.

[6] Stamps printed for use in the German post offices in China but with a bilingual cancel reading "TSINGTAU-KIAUTSCHOU" or "TSINTAU CHINA" in the period 1898-1901 are actually forerunners of Kiautschou Pachtgebiet,[7] which did not issue distinctive stamps of its own until early 1901.