The price of Chinese zodiac stamps commemorating the 1980 Year of the Monkey have rocketed to a historical high for a number of reasons, according to National Business Daily.
根据《每日经济新闻》报道，1980版的猴年生肖纪念邮票价格由于种种原因创下了历史新高。
As the first of its kind, these monkey stamps are sought-after items, with a single stamp fetching 12,000 yuan, much more than its original face value of 0.8 yuan. The complete set of stamps is priced at 1.5 million yuan.
该版猴票为我国发行的首套生肖邮票，因此颇受追捧。据悉，一枚邮票的价格已经从当时的发行价8分涨至1.2万元，整版价格更是达到150万元。
The reason for its high valuation is based on the fact that it was the first time China Post released stamps featuring the Chinese Zodiac since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
这套邮票价格如此之高的原因是因为这是中华人民共和国1949年建国以来，第一次中国邮政发行的生肖邮票。

Since then, China has been issuing stamps on the theme of the lunar calendar every year to mark the 12 Chinese astrological signs.
自此之后，中国每年都会发布以12生肖属相为主题的农历新年纪念邮票。
Small circulation also contributed to the monkey stamp's record price. Only five million "Golden Monkey" stamps were released for circulation in 1980, and they are exceedingly rare now.
流通量小也助长了给猴年邮票创纪录的价格。在1980年，只有500万“金猴”枚邮票发行，所以现在非常罕见。
In addition, the 1980 stamps were designed by Huang Yongyu, 92, a well-known Chinese master painter, making it a collectible item with extreme value.
除此之外，它的设计者是92岁的黄永玉大师，一位著名的画家，使它成为了极具收藏价值的物品。
China's newly issued lunar New Year monkey stamps marking 2016, another Year of the Monkey, also designed by Huang and each with a face value of 1.20 yuan, have attracted much attention, with collectors lining up outside post offices ahead of their release.
我国近日发行的2016年猴票同样由黄永玉创作。面值为每张1.2元钱，也颇受关注。在正式发布之前，收集者已经在邮局外排起了长队。