2018-09-17 Mon

Known as the Golden Warrior stamp, the first stamp of independent Kazakhstan was issued on 23 March 1992.

Under the Soviet Union, the Kazakh SSR postal service was an integral part of the Soviet system. The republic was periodically recognized in sets of stamps honoring the different parts of the USSR. Kazakhstan became independent in December 1991, and organized its own post.

The First stamp depicted Golden Man or Warrior which is based on an archaeological discovery. The Golden Man is a warrior’s costume from about the 5th century BC that was found in 1969 in a Scythian tomb about 60 km east of Almaty. It is made of more than 4000 separate gold pieces, many of them finely worked with animal motifs, and has a 70 cm-high headdress bearing skyward-pointing arrows, a pair of snarling snow leopards and a two-headed winged mythical beast.

The Golden Man has become modern Kazakhstan’s favourite national symbol, hence, appeared on the first stamp of the country. This 0.50 Russian ruble stamp is designed based on an imaginary warrior wearing the Golden Costume. He is flanked by the name of the country both in Kazakh and English on left and right respectively.

Image Courtesy: https://colnect.com