India 10 Rupees Mahatma Gandhi postage stamp

Mahatma Gandhi 10 Rs. issue of 1948
Country of production	India
Location of production	Hélio Courvoisier, Geneva, Switzerland
Date of production	1948
Nature of rarity	"Service" Overprint - Extremely rare
Number in existence	250,000 normal stamps, "Service" Overprint - 100, "Service" Overprint in Private Collections - 8
Face value	10 Rupees

The 10 Rupees Postage stamp depicting Mahatma Gandhi issued by India in 1948 is one of India's most famous stamps.^[1] A set of 100 of these stamps were overprinted with the word "Service" and provided only to the Governor General of India for his official use. This "Service" overprinted stamp is one of India's costliest and rarest stamps. This stamp was a part of the "Service" 1948 set which was auctioned for 38,000 Euros in the David Feldman's auction sale on 5 October 2007.^[2] In an auction on May 19 2011 at Geneva, David Feldman's sold the 1948 10 Rupee Mahatma Gandhi stamp of India for a World Record price of EUR 144,000 (US$ 205,000), this is also a record for the most expensive modern stamp.^[3]

History

The plan to issue a set of stamps depicting Mahatma Gandhi ("Bapu"), the architect of Indian independence, was initiated in January 1948. The Indian Security Press in Nashik was entrusted the task to produce a set of 4 stamps. But before the stamps were issued, Gandhi was assassinated.^[1] The Indian Government decided to print these stamps using photogravure press and hence had to employ the services of the Swiss printers, Helio Courvoisier, Sa. LaChaux De Fonds, instead of the Indian Security Press. The word "Bapu" was printed on the stamp in Hindi and Urdu languages as a symbol of communal harmony. Four sets of stamps with denominations 1.5 annas, 3.5 annas, 12 annas and 10 rupees were issued. The stamps were controversial since Bapu was not shown in his customary dhoti. One of the stamps of the set was issued with a very high price of 10 Rs., out of reach of the common populace in India.^[1] The stamps were issued on 15 August 1948, on the occasion of the Independence Day of India.

Technical details

Photo of the Sheet of 10 Rupees Mahatma Gandhi Stamp Overprinted Service, which was exhibited at International Philately Exhibition Indipex 2011 at New Delhi, India

The 10 Rs. stamp depicted Bapu in grey colour with a reddish-brown background. A total of 250,000 stamps were printed in sheets of 50 stamps, 5 rows of 10 stamps each, with a perforation of 11.5 mm.^[4]

Service issue

A set of stamps over-printed as "Service" was issued to the Government of India for official purposes. Only 100 Mahatama Gandhi 10 Rs. stamps were overprinted with "Service" and issued for the use of C. Rajagopalachari, the Governor General of India, making it the world's least printed stamp.^[5] Of the hundred stamps that were overprinted with "Service", a few were gifted to dignitaries, while most remain at the National Archives, Postal Museums, etc. As per the recent book published by Dr. Reuben Ramkissoon and Dr. Rajagopalan ,^[6] less than 8 copies of the Gandhi 10 Rs Service stamps reside in private hands. Forgeries of the overprint are known.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Art in miniature". The Hindu. 2006-04-21. http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2307/stories/20060421000906600.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-18. 
2. ^ Santanu Panigrahi. "Mahatma Gandhi 1948 issue of India". The FILA capsule Vol. 3 No. 3, May–June-2008. http://www.scribd.com/doc/6710129/Filacapsule0308. Retrieved 2009-01-18. 
3. ^ Estelle. "New auction World Record for a modern stamp". http://www.davidfeldman.com/2011/05/david-feldman-sets-new-auction-world-record-for-a-modern-stamp/. Retrieved 2011-05-20. 
4. ^ Ashok Kumar Bayanwala (2006-04-21). "1948 August 15, Gandhi ji - The first Indian to be on stamps of India". http://stampsofindia.com/readroom/b013.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-18. 
5. ^ Madhukar and Savitha Jhingan (2006-04-21). "Mahatma Gandhi". http://www.stampsonindia.com/mahatma/india/b01-in01.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-18. 
6. ^ Reuben A. Ramkissoon,Rajagopalan V. Rajan, A philatelic handbook on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi)