2018-02-17 Sat

Russian stamps date from several eras in Russia's history, mostly marked by different political periods. Pre-1917 stamps are from the Russian Empire. The first stamp of the Russian Empire was a postage stamp issued in 1857.

When the decision of issuing postage stamps was taken, a Head of Post Rail Transportation was sent abroad to study the experience of using postage stamps. After the end of Crimean War, Alexey Charukovsky filed a project detailing the activities to introduce adhesive stamps in Russia.

Tsar Alexander II approved three two-coloured samples printed in denominations of 10, 20, and 30 kopecks. Designed by ESSP's senior engraver Franz (Feodor) Kepler, the first Russian postage stamp was printed on a white hand-made paper with a watermark in the form of a numerical "1".

The stamp was an imperforate 10-kopeck stamp depicting the coat of arms of Russia and printed using typography in brown and blue.

The stamps of Russian Empire are one of the most sought-after rarities.

Image Courtesy: Wikipedia.