Chasing the Dragon...and the Monkey and the Rooster(4)

It was at a time when the country was recovering from a "cultural revolution" (1966-76) and stamp collectors were only beginning to start up their hobby again. For that reason, the print-run was kept conservative and was to be only 6 million.

However, printing ink ran out sooner than expected and as a result, only 5 million monkey zodiac stamps were printed, Geng remembers. After further eliminating stamps that were of poor quality, the number of monkey zodiac stamps that finally showed up on the market was only about 4 million - the lowest number in the zodiac series to this day.

Since then, as public demands for these annual collectibles increased, the print numbers went up in response.

Between 1986 and 1991, the number stayed at around 120 million pieces. In 1992, the start of the second cycle of zodiac stamps, it increased to more than 200 million. In 1993, the Year of the Rooster, 250 million stamps were produced, effectively making that zodiac stamp the least valuable in the market today, according to Geng.

As public interest in zodiac stamps cooled, less stamps were printed in subsequent years, right up till 2003, the Year of the Goat. Only 38 million stamps were issued that year.

Yu from Madian Memorabilia Market says a set of 2003 Goat-Year stamps has now risen to about 1,700 yuan, appreciating from 80 yuan just two years ago.

Geng says that for those who collect stamps as an investment, there are still ways to observe the rise and fall of the market value. But the old collector frets that the monetary drivers overshadow the artistic intentions.

Stamp collecting is ultimately for the art, rather than for the money, he muses.