China: Pjz-17 (What Is That Number ?)

Hi,

Can someone tell me what the imprinted number means. This is on the sheet of the Mi 3030-3085 (Ethnic Groups) issue from 1999. See the relevant part of the sheet attached.

Thanks

Is that a used stamp on a cover that went thru the U.S. POSTAL SERVICE . Then it is a routing code or a canceling machine ? Can we see the complete stamp or cover .

Sorry I was not clear enough. This is the lower right section of the stamps' sheet. The whole sheet has one stamp each of Mi 3030-3085. And basically the number has been printed on the sheet as shown.

Serial number.

https://www.xabusiness.com/china-ov...s/pjz-17.htm

http://www.chinastampshere.com/new-...rt_order=asc

Well, I do not believe it is a serial number. A serial number would be different for each sheet, like the serial number on our US banknotes. Maybe it is a production number?


Peter

Thanks a lot for this link

http://www.chinastampshere.com/new-...rt_order=asc

I think this in fact does explain it. So there seem to be stamp issues with a serial number, amongst others, citation from the link:
"
Postage stamps of the people's republic of China. C-headed Commemorative Stamps, S-headed Special Stamps, W-headed Stamps, Serially Numbered Stamps, J-headed Commemorative Stamps, T-headed Special Stamps, Commemorative and Special Stamps Since 1992, Regular Stamps, Other Stamps"

It would be interesting to know when a stamp qualifies for getting a serial number, since there seems to be considerbale gaps in time of the serial numbers to be granted. PJZ-17 is stamps from 1999, PJZ-18 from 2005.

I am with Peter on this one; I do not believe it is a serial number.

Look at the full sheets and note the numbers all located at the upper left hand side. This number appears to change on every sheet.

These numbers are located in the upper left hand side, why is your located at the bottom? I cannot find any other sheet with a number at the bottom corner like yours.

In my opinion, admitting that I am far from experienced in this era China stamps, there is still discovery work to be done to explain the number.
Don

Two random sheet examples from ebay

I am still somewhat confused.

The links talk about PJZ-17 to be the 55th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China issued in 2004. My Michel tells me this to be the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China issued in 1999. The later makes sense since the header of the sheet reads 1949-1999.

In addition PJZ-18 is advertised as "PJZ-18 First Successful Flight of China's Manned Shenzhou 6 Spaceship". The sheetlet to me is about the year of the rooster.

Can someone check this please, my Michel does stop short of 2005.

You do have a point, Peter and studebaker.

The C and A numbers, could they be the number of the individual sheet ? The PJZ-number being a serial number which has only been printed on every 20th sheet or so ? There is a scheme like this in Germany where only every 5th or 10th stamp (coil stamps) get a number (on the rear) printed, a sort of control number.

If the number is the same on every sheet it is not a serial number. It may be an order number or something like it. A serial number should be different from sheet to sheet, hence it's name.
A control number , as printed on the back of coil stamps in the US and elsewhere is different from a serial number.
Maybe the Chinese Post Office is using an "Issue number"?


Peter

Leaves the question on why it is not found on all sheets, in the 12 sheets I looked at none of them had it.
Don

Hi,

To me it is not important what the name of that number is. It seems this number (PJZ-17) has been used in the context of this particular issue. The issue with the number following (PJZ-18) was launched in 2005, thus 6 years later. So maybe issue number is the better word. Still peculiar what the rational of this number is and which issue "qualifies" for it.

And it also seems that the number (PJZ-17) has not been printed on every sheet of that issue. Also unclear why.

PJZ is a series of souvenir sheets (or mini-sheets) issued by China Post Office. Usually, they use the sheets that they could not sell (or cheap) to add the overprint on them and issue them at a special event. For example, PJZ-17 was overprinted by a few special cancels with china characters in the middle of the circles. The original sheets were issue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of PRC. Since they printed too many such sheets, 5 years later, they still have plenty. Hence, they overprinted them for the 55th anniversary of PRC. Please see attached image and you will see the difference.

As for the price, some overprinted version is more expensive but sometimes it is the other way around.

I also attached an image of PJZ-1, which was the first souvenir sheet issued in this series. It was overprinted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between PRC and Thailand in 1995, while the original sheets were issued in 1993.

Nicely solved Tang Stamps.
Thank you.

You are very welcome.

Hi everyone !
PJZ stands for Something that means International Philatelic Exhibition in Chinese (please, if someone can confirm the exact acronym translation, that would be great).
Anyway, Chinese stamps and blocs of various years have been overprinted later on, sometimes years after the original issue, with PJZ-xx in the context of International Philatelic Exhibitions.
As of today (June 2017), there are 20 PJZ overprinted blocs and sheets. The first (PJZ-1) was issued in 1995 : it is an overprint on the bloc 1993-13(T) and so on with the next PJZ, until PJZ-20 in 2015.
I hope this helps !