Asian philately, or Far-Eastern philately, is a specialized area of philately

Philately

Philately is the study of stamps and postal history and other related items. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting, which does not necessarily involve the study of stamps. It is possible to be a philatelist without owning any stamps...

 which focuses on the stamps of China, Japan, Hong Kong and neighboring countries. Stamp collectors

Stamp collecting

Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is one of the world's most popular hobbies, with the number of collectors in the United States alone estimated to be over 20 million.- Collecting :...

 and stamp dealers

Stamp dealer

A stamp dealer is a company or an individual who deals in postage stamps and philatelic products. It also includes individuals who sell postage stamps for day to day use or official stamps for use on court documents.-Stamps on Approval Basis:...

 often specialize in a particular aspect of Asian philately, and many stamp auction

Philatelic auction

A philatelic auction, or stamp auction is a sale of stamps, covers and other philatelic material usually run by stamp dealers or specialist collectibles auctioneers, such as, David Feldman, Christie's and Sotheby's, where prospective purchasers place bids in an attempt to obtain the desired...

s are devoted to this area of interest. Hong Kong is a major center for Asian philately with Chinese collectors and investors

Philatelic investment

Philatelic investment is investment in collectible postage stamps for the purpose of realizing a profit. Philatelic investment was popular during the 1970s but then fell out of favour following a speculative bubble and prices of rare stamps took many years to recover. Investing in rare stamps...

 some of the biggest buyers.

The Chinese Red Revenues

So called because of their colour, these stamps are highly sought after by collectors.

The Golden Monkey stamp

In addition to interest in rarities by advanced collectors there has been spirited public interest in stamps such as the Golden Monkey

Chinese Golden Monkey stamp

The Chinese Golden Monkey Stamp was a postage stamp issued in China in 1980 of which 5 million copies were printed and which therefore cannot be regarded as rare but which has come to symbolise the strong market for collectable postage stamps in Asia...

 the 1980 Chinese zodiac

Chinese zodiac

The Shēngxiào , better known in English as the Chinese Zodiac, is a scheme that relates each year to an animal and its reputed attributes, according to a 12-year mathematical cycle...

 stamp which is considered auspicious. A full sheet of this stamp, which is not rare — 5 million were printed, sold in 2011 for $180,000 with a single stamp selling for $1,500. This stamp had a catalogue value of $10 unused and $5 used in 1988. Demand for Chinese zodiac stamps extends to current issues such as the Year of the Rabbit stamp issued in 2011 with supplies selling out at post offices in China within a few hours.

See also

• Postage stamps and postal history of China
  Postage stamps and postal history of China
  The history of the postage stamps and postal history of China is complicated by the gradual decay of Imperial China and the years of civil war and Japanese occupation in the 1930s and 1940s.- Imperial China :...
  
  
• Postage stamps and postal history of Hong Kong
  Postage stamps and postal history of Hong Kong
  Hong Kong formerly produced postage stamps with the name Hong Kong, with the face of the reigning monarchs of the United Kingdom, or with the royal symbols . After the Hong Kong's transfer of sovereignty to China, stamps are now issued with the name Hong Kong, China...
  
  
• Postage stamps and postal history of Japan
  Postage stamps and postal history of Japan
  The story of the postage stamps and postal history of Japan begins with official government posts, which had existed for some time prior to 1630, when they were reformed.- Foreign post offices :...