Rare stamps of India have always captured the attention of collectors and philatelists all across the globe because of their extremely high market-value and demand. Let's take a look at two of the most iconic stamps of India that are world-famous because of their rarity and historical significance.
10 Rupees Gandhi Stamp 1948:
When it comes to Indian stamps, the 10 Rupees Postage stamp
featuring Gandhiji, issued in 1948 is world-famous in the field of philately.
They were issued to celebrate the first anniversary of our country's
Independence. With this release, Mahatma Gandhi became the first Indian
personality to be honoured on a postage stamp of India. As few as 100 such
pieces were overprinted with the word "Service" and offered
exclusively to the then Governor General of India, C. Rajagopalachari. This
version of the famed Gandhi Stamp is considered as one of the rarest stamps of
India.
The initial idea was to print stamps with a picture of Mahatma Gandhi along with the text "Bapu" in Hindi in January 1948. The India Security Press in Nashik was asked to manufacture a set of four such stamps. However, Gandhi was killed before the stamps were issued. The plan was changed and the Government thought of releasing them as a tribute to the father of our nation. However, this time, they wanted to use a photogravure press to print the issues. The Swiss printers, Helio Courvoisier, Sa. LaChaux De Fonds were asked to print them as the India Security Press did not have the required technology for photogravure printing. Also, the text "Bapu" was depicted in Hindi as well as in Urdu to denote communal harmony. Four sets in denominations 1.5 annas, 3.5 annas, 12 annas and 10 rupees were produced and released on 15th August 1948.
The 10 Rs postage stamp of India had a reddish background and Mahatma Gandhi's image was in grey in colour. 250,000 such stamps were printed in sheets of 50, containing 5 rows of 10 stamps each. These rare stamps of India had a perforation of 11.5 mm. The mintage limit of service stamps are considered to be the least in the world. Some of them were handed out to important personalities. A sheet of 50 is showcased at the National Archives, Postal Museums, etc. According to experts, only eight such rare Indian stamps are owned by individual collectors.
On 5th October 2007, one set was sold for 38,000 Euros in
the David Feldman auction sale. Another example of these Indian rare stamps was
sold by the same company for 1,44,000 Euros in 2001. By this time, 18 such
stamps were known to collectors. A block of four overprinted 10 Rs Service
stamps was sold in Australia for 500,000 in April 2017.
Inverted head 4 Annas 1854:
Here's another Indian stamp that every philatelist dreams of
owning. The 4 Annas stamps were issued in red and blue colour in 1854 and are
considered to be one of the earliest multicoloured stamps. The error stamp was
accidentally manufactured during the production process and features an
inverted portrait of Queen Victoria.
The lithography process was used to print the rare Indian postage stamps at Survey Office in Calcutta. The red frames were printed first and the sheets were left to dry for a day. The blue-coloured portrait was printed inside the frame over this sheet on the following day. 206,040 such stamps in India were manufactured using Head Die I and Frame Die I on 13th October 1854. Each sheet contained just 12 stamps. Six sheets were placed inside the press backwards, leading to this invert error.
Only 28 examples of these old Indian stamps exist today and
all of them were used. Two or three examples are cut in square while the rest
are cut in an octagonal shape. The error was discovered much later in the year
1874. Three octagonal stamps are a part of the Tapling Collection and are
showcased at the British Library, London. The Royal Collection and The
Government of India Collection have one example each of the octagonal version.
Two square shaped versions were in the collection of Desai.
If you ever get a chance to catch a glimpse of these amazing
rarities of Indian philately, don't miss it!
Discover the designs and history behind two rare stamps of
India that every philatelist dreams of owning. Find out how the famed 10 Rupees
Gandhi Service Stamp and Inverted Head 4 Anna stamps were issued. Know about
their market value and provenance.