FA1. Pitney Bowes-GB “5340", "5357" and "6500"(MV).
Wide frank, either 32 or 34mm wide by 23mm tall, with simulated perforation border.
“POSTAGE PAID” below country inscription at top.
Scrolls at sides narrow, 2 mm thick.
M# with “PB” or “PBH” prefix, low between TM and frank.
TM: DC
A. Model 5340. M# with "PB" prefix. V/F $≋0.00
B. Model 5357. M# with "PB" prefix. V/F $≋00.oo
C. Model 6500. M# with "PBH" prefix. V/F $≋00.00
a. Error: V/F $≋0.00o (PB1250 - Model 5340 erroneously fitted with a Model 5357 frame die incorporating a fixed zero)
FA2. Pitney Bowes-GB “6300” series (MV).
Similar to Type FA1 but the “POSTAGE PAID inscription is at bottom above the meter number.
The scroll ornaments at the sides are larger, 4mm thick.
M# with “PB” prefix breaks bottom frame line.
TM: DC
V/F: $≋0.00
FA3. Pitney Bowes-GB “6900” (MV).
Frank is much taller than Types FA1 and FA2. (See Type FA4.)
The meter number is between "POSTAGE PAID" and the bottom frame line.
M# with "PBE" prefix, numbers 0001-0299.
TM: DC
V/F: $≋0.00
FA4. Pitney Bowes “E400” (MV).
Frank is identical to Type FA3 but the meter numbers are different and the value figures have a fixed zero at right enabling postage values up to 999.90.
A. Meter numbers PBE 0300 and up.
B. Meter number with "PBP" prefix.
TM: DC
V/F: $≋00.00
FA5. Pitney Bowes-GB “A/B900” series (MV).
Similar to Type FA1 but the date and value figures are on the same level.
The scroll ornaments at the sides are narrow.
Value figures are large.
M# with “PB” (A900) or “PBP” (B900) prefix.
TM: DC
V/F: $≋00.00
FA6. Neopost “Electronic” (MV).
Frank 31 x 21 mm.
M# with “N” prefix breaks bottom frame line.
Date figures widely spaced.
TM: DC
V/F: $≋00.00
FA7. Pitney Bowes "E700" (digital).
Fairly small frank with no outer frame line below the meter number.
Two columns of numbers left of the town mark.
M# with “PBP60” prefix across the bottom.
TM: SC
V/F: $≋00.00
FA8. Pitney Bowes "B700" (digital).
Similar to Type FA7 but the frank and town mark are larger.
With complete bottom border.
Frank is 32 mm wide.
M# with “PBP 85” prefix.
TM: SC
V/F: $≋00.00
FA9. Pitney Bowes “DM300” (digital).
Very similar to Type FA8 but larger.
Frank is 34 mm wide.
M# with “PBP 62” prefix.
TM: SC
V/F: $≋00.00
FA10. Neopost “205”/“2205” (MV).
Small frank slightly taller than wide.
M# with "N" breaks bottom frame line.
A. Model 205. With tall date figures.
B. Model 2205. With short date figures.
TM: BIC
V/F: 00·00 00·oo
FA11. Pitney Bowes "DM500/800/1000" (digital).
Similar to Type FA9 but with indentations in the bottom frame line.
With a single column of numbers at left of the town mark.
M# above bottom frame line, 91021-91999 with "PBP" prefix.
TM: SC
V/F: $ 000.00
FA12. Pitney Bowes "DM100" (digital).
Nearly identical to Type FA11 but the stops in the date are slightly above the bottom of the numbers.
M# with "PBP" prefix, 90101-91000 and 92001-93000.
Wide rectangle, 69 x 24 mm with straight line double outer border.
“POSTAGE PAID” at top left, “HONG KONG POST OFFICE” at bottom.
M# with “No.” prefix above “HONG”.
M#s 44 and 45 only seen.
V/F: ≋00.00
PO2. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV).
Similar to Type PO1 but slightly wider at 71 mm.
Meter number either at left above “HONG” or centered.
A. Without transaction number [Scarce]
B. With 5- or 6-digit transaction number at far left [Scarce] (shown)
C. As B, but transaction number is boxed [Very scarce]
V/F: 000.00
a. Printed in green, used for collecting Postage Due
NOTE: Stamps of similar design but without “POSTAGE PAID”, with or without handstamped “STAMP DUTY PAID” are provisional revenue stamps, not postage stamps.
PO3. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV).
Similar to PO2 but with four vertical wavy lines at the sides of the value figures.
A. With unboxed transaction number at far left [Scarce]
B. With boxed transaction number at far left (shown)
V/F: 000.00
PO4. Hong Kong Post proprietary system (digital), 1995 or earlier. [Scarce]
Used on international mail only.
Large, wide label with light blue underprint of diagonal “HONGKONGPOSTOFFICE” in echelon.
Borderless design with “HONG KONG POST OFFICE’ and service indicator at top and various
data imprinted including operator, destination and weight as well as date/time and postage.
A. With "SPEEDPOST" in top line
B. With "PARCEL" in top line
V/F: HK$000.00
PO5. Hasler “Mailmaster” (MV).
As Type PO3 but with Chinese characters at sides of “POSTAGE PAID” and between “HONG KONG” and “POST OFFICE”.
Issued under Chinese administration.
Meter numbers 91, 105, 131, 132, and 135 seen.
A. Without transaction number
B. Boxed transaction number at left (135)
V/F: 000.00
a. Ten cent stamp without date (shown) used to fill a temporary shortage of ten cent adhesive stamps between 10 April and 4 May, 2002. Thirty machines (nos. 65, 67, 69, 70, 72, 75, 78, 80, 89, 92 93, 95, 98, 100, 102, 104, 107, 115, 116, 117 119, 120, 124, 127, 129, 131, 132, 133, 137, 138) were used for this purpose. Stamps purchased by 4 May remained valid for use after that date.
PO6. Hong Kong Post proprietary system using an Epson LQ-590 printer(digital), 1997.
Stamp for international mail as Type PO4 but issued under Chinese administration.
Differs mainly from Type PO4 in bilingual (English-Chinese) entries for most of the elements.
Printed on label with horizontal underprint “HONGKONGPOSTOFFICE”.
A. SPEEDPOST
B. PARCEL
C. LOCAL COURIER POST (omits the "Dest. Country" line)
V/F: HK$000.00
PO7. "Integrated Post Services System" (digital), 2010.
Printed on white self-adhesive label with meter number in off-white at bottom left and stylized bird logo at center right.
The point-of-sale data is printed in black.
A. With "POSTAGE PAID" (English and Chinese) below "HONG KONG".
B. Without "POSTAGE PAID"
V/F: $0.00
a. Stamp used for registered mail, with registration number added below right of the barcode
NOTES:
The image at right has been darkened to show the meter number and bird logo which are all but invisible in the actual stamp unless viewed under UV light.
The same white labels are used in self-service vending machines. See Type PV3.
PO8. "Integrated Post Services System" (digital-thermal), 22 September 2014.
Printed on white self-adhesive label with Hong Kong Post logo and batch number visible in UV light, invisible in normal light.
The text is printed in black with format as follows:
* HONG KONG, CHINA at upper right
* 3 letter post office ID, value figures or POSTAGE PAID
* date, weight and 2 letter destination code
* transaction code
* bar code
* identification number
The transaction number above the bar code has a prefix which identifies the mail class. (see below)
A. With value figures (on stamps generated for non-account holders)
B. With "POSTAGE PAID" (on stamps generated for Hong Kong Post account holders) (shown)
C. With large letter in center of stamp identifying the size of the mail piece ♦
V/F: $0.00 $00.0 $00.00 $000.00 POSTAGE PAID
Transaction code prefixes:
a. blank, without transaction code (ordinary surface mail)
b. Batch (bulk mail)
c. AA (Recorded delivery)
d. CP (Parcel post)
e. DA (Local CourierPost)
f. EA (Speedpost)
g. PP (underpaid)
h. RA and RB (Registered)
j. VV (Insured)
The 17-character identification number contains codes for the Post Office ID, an item number, the date, destination, service code, and a check value.
♦ Sub-type C first appeared in late 2017. Three letters are found: P for small letters, G for large or thick letters, and E for packets and parcels.
NOTE: Type PO8 replaced Type PO7. The replacement process started on 22 September 2014 and was completed by mid-2015.
PO9. "Integrated Post Services System" (digital-thermal), 24 May 2018.
As Type PO8 but with bilingual country name. This stamp replaced Type PO8.
A. Stamp for local mail, blank line below the weight at right
B. Stamp for registered mail, transaction number with R and 2nd letter below the weight
C. Stamp for courier mail, transaction number with D and 2nd letter below the weight
V/F: $00.0 $000.0 $0000.0
NOTE: We must assume more sub-types and varieties, similar to those shown for Type PO8, will be reported over time. They will be added as we learn of them.
GROUP PD: Special stamps used only for collecting Postage Due
Wide rectangle with double straight-line border broken at top left by transaction number and bottom left by date.
“PARCEL POST/ PAID” above “HONG KONG” at left.
Meter number at top center preceded by “No”.
Inner frame with “ $ and ¢ ” in little frames above and below the value figures.
A. Printed on yellow adhesive labels with "FRANCOPOST" underprint [Scarce on cover or large piece]
B. Provisional stamp printed on brown paper tape straight at top and bottom with serrated portions at center of sides. Meter number 9 ♦ [Exceptionally rare]
V/F: 0000
a. As B with purple "POSTAGE" hand stamp. Meter number 2 ♦ [Exceptionally rare]
♦ The stamps on brown paper labels (B, Hong Kong P.O.) and (a, Kowloon P.O.) were used to mail food parcels to China in January 1961. Only the two stamps shown are known at this time. Others may exist.
PP2. Pitney Bowes “Automax” (MV). [Scarce on cover]
Similar to Type PP1 but “PARCEL POST” is at top right.
“ $ ¢ ” below value figures.
Five-digit transaction number at top left.
Upper left frame lines may or may not be present.
Printed on yellow adhesive labels.
A. Frank 66mm wide, no frame lines above and left of the transaction counter number (shown)
B. Frank 73mm wide, no frame lines above the transaction counter number but with frame lines left of the number
V/F: =0.00 =00.00
GROUP PV: Digital stamps from self-service vending machines
A self-service digital stamp vending machine was trialed in the lobby of the General Post Office starting 9 August 1994.
The stamp is similar to Type PO3 but much wider.
Frank frame printed from a solid die and point-of-sale data applied by dot-matrix printer.
The identifier "GPO-01" is at bottom right.
The point-of-sale data shows a transaction number, the date, and the value figures between two groups of wavy lines.
The experiment was halted after a few months due to frequent mechanical breakdown.
V/F: $ØØØ.ØØ
PV2. Wang Global (digital/ink jet), 4 May 1998. [Very scarce]
Very similar to Post Office Type PO5 but taller and not as wide.
The value figures are shorter but thicker that with PV1.
The wavy line ornaments at the sides of the value figures are taller and thinner.
The identifier "GPO" is in the center.
As with Type PV1 only a single machine, located in the lobby of the General Post Office, was used.
The trial lasted three months and was terminated on 8 August due to its slowness of operation.
V/F: $000.00
PV3. Hong Kong Post "Postal Service Kiosk" (digital), 12 April 2010.
Very similar to Post Office Type PO7 but with different text fonts.
As with PO7, printed on white self-adhesive label with machine number in off-white at bottom left and stylized bird logo at right (barely visible in the illustration).
The Chinese 'POSTAGE PAID' is at upper left rather than below "HONG KONG" as on Type PO7.
The barcode is taller and not quite as wide as on PO7.
Other text differences exist.
All stamps, not just those used for registered mail, have the barcode.
PV4. Hong Kong Post "Postage Label Vending Machine (PLVM)" (digital), 17 December 2018.
The PLVM kiosks were introduced to replace traditional postage stamp vending machines.
A trial was was conducted from 17 December 2018 at three post offices, with rollout to all post offices being completed by 26 May 2020.
Printed on self-adhesive label with label roll number at bottom left and Hong Kong Post bird logo (visible under UV light) in the centre.
A plain white label was used until 23 December 2021, when it was superseded by a coloured label bearing a stylised Bauhinia Blakeana (Hong Kong's national flower).
Both label designs were available for purchase on that day only, although existing stamps on plain labels could be used after that date.
Value above QR code at right.
A. Post Office machines: "P" prefix followed by three-character PO code and two-digit machine number above date.
B. Machines installed at private mail rooms and service suites:
Alternatively, the mail item can be weighed and a specific mail service requested to calculate and print the required rate.
NOTE: Unlike Type PV3, these labels can be used on any date despite having the date of purchase shown.
PV5. Hong Kong Post "iPostal Kiosk" (digital), 19 July 2021.
Similar to Type PV4. Three machines installed for public trial.
Printed on a self-adhesive label with label roll number at bottom left and Hong Kong Post bird logo (visible under UV light) in the centre.
A plain white label was used until 23 December 2021, when it was superseded by a coloured label bearing a stylised Bauhinia Blakeana (Hong Kong's national flower).
Both label designs were available for purchase on that day only, although existing stamps on plain labels could be used after that date.
Value above QR code at right.
"K" prefix followed by three-character PO code and two-digit machine number above date.
V/F: $0.0
A standard set of values can be selected, equating to the normal local and international surface and airmail rates:
Alternatively, the mail item can be weighed and a specific mail service requested to calculate and print the required rate.
NOTE: Labels can be used on any date despite having the date of purchase shown.
Labels printed for a specific service (Speedpost, Vantage, e-Express, registered mail, Local CourierPost) must be deposited within the machine at the time of posting.
Depending on the type of service, an additional label may also need to be printed and affixed to the mail item (see large image).