Hong Kong ‘B62’ Cancellations

Until the Philippines joined the Universal Postal Union (UPU) on May 1, 1877, the use of Spanish-Philippine stamps was not accepted on mail to foreign countries outside the Spanish empire. Very few overseas covers from the 1850s through 1877 to countries outside the Spanish empire were sent through the Manila Post Office.

To enable correspondence to be sent to non-Spanish empire countries, stock of British Asian stamps from India, Straits Settlements and Hong Kong were maintained by local merchants for use on foreign mail. The British Asian stamps were applied to overseas covers, which were then hand-carried to a departing ship en-route to a British Port, where they entered into the postal system and were accordingly cancelled. The postal rates for the British Asian stamps applied in Manila were calculated from the British port to its final destination.

For letters travelling through the port of Hong Kong, the British Asian stamps were typically cancelled with a black, oval ‘B62’ cancel.

A number of Spanish-Philippine stamps issued between the 1870s and 1890s have been found with the Hong Kong 'B62' cancel, indicating that these stamps were used on overseas mail passing through the port of Hong Kong, and possibly received the 'B62' transit cancel which in some cases was applied directly on the stamps. It was decreed that all overseas correspondence from May 1, 1877, regardless of destination, were to be affixed with Spanish-Philippine stamps and cancelled at Philippine Post Offices. It is most likely that the stamps issued before May 1, 1877 were 'old stock' and postally used after May 1877 from which time letters were authorised to be sent to non-Spanish empire countries with the use of Philippine stamps.

List of Known Philippine Stamps with ‘B62’ Cancel

(Click on Scott # to view picture of stamps)

King Alfonso XII Issues

Scott #	Value	Date of Issue	Notes
40	10c Green	March 1, 1871
49	25c Ultramarine	1874
52	2c Rose	August 1875	Note 1
55	10c Blue	August 1877
56	12c Lilac	January 1876	Note 1
62	25m Black	April 1878
67	100m Yellow Green	1879
73	8c on 100m Carmine	September 1879
73a	8c on 100m Carmine	September 1879	‘COREROS’ Error
76	2c Carmine	April 19, 1880
79	2-4/8c (First Retouch)	November 1883
83	8c Yellow-Brown	April 19, 1880	On Piece with #76
P1	1/8c Green	January 1, 1886

Note 1: Copies in the Gooding collection shows a partial Rhomboid cancel in addition to the ‘B62’ cancel, indicating that the cover was cancelled in the Philippines most probably after May 1, 1877.

Surcharge Era Stamps

Scott #	Value	Date of Issue
98	1r on 5c Grey-Blue	February 22, 1883
101	1c on 2-4/8c Ultramarine	September 11, 1886
106	8c on 2-4/8c Ultramarine	December 3, 1887
116	8c on 2r Blue	April 1881

King Alfonso XIII

Scott #	Value	Date of Issue
144	2c Claret	1892
167	12-4/8c Yellow-Green	1890

References:

1) Spanish Period Corner – Hong Kong “B62” Cancels on Early 1870s Philippine Stamps. Don Peterson, Philippine Philatelic Journal, Volume XXVIII, Number 3, Third Quarter 2006, Pages 23-24).

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 Last Update: 14.03.2018