2017-04-20 Thu

A 1948 INR 10 Gandhi “SERVICE” overprinted stamp sold for a world record price at an auction!

India’s first anniversary of independence was celebrated by paying a tribute to the Father of our Nation. A set of four commemorative stamps of different denominations were issued by the Government of India on 15th August 1948 depicting the portrait of Mahatma Gandhi.

Later a very small numbers of these stamps of all denominations were overprinted with "SERVICE" and were available exclusively for the use of the official mails of the Secretariat of the Governor General C. Rajagopalachari.

Only a hundred stamps of INR 10 were overprinted. While many examples of the other denominations are known to exist, only 18 odd specimens of INR 10 are known in existence today!

A "unique" strip of four ten-rupee stamps, a valuable rarity of Independent India, was sold by Stanley Gibbons for over an astronomical 5,00,000 pound – approximately Rs 4.14 crore – as on Wednesday 19th April 2017. This 1948 Gandhi overprint stamp set a world record of the most priced modern stamp of the world!

The purchase of this stamp by an Australian investor is proof of the demand and interest in the markets for rare Indian stamps. Only last year in yet another auction one of these ‘INR 10 Gandhi “SERVICE” stamp was sold for 160,000 pounds (approximately Rs 1.32 crore).

Well...check your collections. Maybe you will find such rarity!