FLOAT

China 'The Whole Country Is Red'

Maker
People's Republic of China (Ministry of Posts)
Year
1968
Rank
25 of 100

China 'The Whole Country Is Red'

China 'The Whole Country Is Red' by People's Republic of China (Ministry of Posts) (1968) is ranked 25 in the FLOAT 100 for Stamps. It sold for $2,000,000 on 23 November 2018. The most legendary Cultural Revolution rarity — pulled within hours of issue over a politically sensitive cartographic error, making survivors among the most valuable Chinese stamps.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

The most legendary Cultural Revolution rarity — pulled within hours of issue over a politically sensitive cartographic error, making survivors among the most valuable Chinese stamps.

8 fen, map of China shaded red with worker/farmer/soldier; withdrawn within a day because Taiwan was left unshaded; ~9 of the famous variety known; pristine unused

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$2,000,000
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
23 November 2018

China Guardian, Beijing, 23 Nov 2018: single pristine unused example 13.8 million yuan (~$2.0M) — then the most expensive stamp ever sold in China.

This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
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2026-08-08