Latest use of the Chefoo dollar chop postmark and tieprint

This postcard mailed from Chefoo, China, to Barnes, England, on May 5, 1899, bears two strikes of the Chefoo dollar chop postmark. It is the latest known usage of this postmark.

The Chefoo dollar chop is a striking cancellation that stands out when seen on cover. It is the size of a silver dollar.

Used in this sense, the word "chop" made its way into the English language from Hindi via the British Raj. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines chop as "a seal or official stamp or its impression."

Collectors of Asian stamps and postal history frequently use the word to refer to any cancellation, postal marking or handstamp on either a cover or a stamp.

The Chefoo dollar chop is a most desirable marking. According to a recent census, there are only 165 examples known either as a transit marking or canceling a stamp.

The Chefoo dollar chop is the eighth most common known. Dollar chop postmarks are known to have existed for 30 locations, but three of them were never used. Dollar chops were among the first cancellations of the newly formed Imperial Chinese government post in 1897.

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