2018-04-18 Wed

The most expensive lot that was sold in 2017 was a rare strip of four 1948 Indian Gandhi Stamps which realized a record-breaking price of half a million pounds i.e. USD 668,510. This is the highest paid Indian Stamp ever.

The 10 Rupees Postage stamp depicting Mahatma Gandhi, issued by India in 1948, is one of India's most famous stamps. It was issued on 15 August 1948, on the occasion of the first anniversary of India's Independence Day.

The original plan was to issue a set of 4 stamps depicting Mahatma Gandhi in January 1948. However, before the stamps were issued, Gandhi was assassinated. The Indian Government decided to print these stamps as a memorial. Four sets of stamps with denominations 1.5 annas, 3.5 annas, 12 annas and 10 rupees were issued.

Among them, only 100 Mahatma Gandhi 10 Rs. stamps were overprinted with "Service". Of the hundred “Service overprinted” stamps, a few were given to dignitaries, while most, including an intact sheet of 50, remain at the National Archives, Postal Museums, etc. Less than 8 copies of the Gandhi 10 Rs Service stamps reside in private hands.

This 10 Rupees "Service" overprinted stamp features a left-facing portrait of Gandhi with the word "Bapu" was printed on the stamp in Hindi and Urdu languages as a symbol of communal harmony.

This valuable and rare strip of four stamps was sold to an Australian Investor in a private auction for US$668,510, in the year 2017. Previously, Stanley Gibbons sold a single Gandhi ten-rupee stamp to a client in Uruguay for 160,000 pounds.

To watch a docudrama on this stamp click here.

Image Courtesy: https://findyourstampsvalue.com