Scinde Dawk is the name of the first adhesive postage stamps in Asia and worlds round stamps. The name derives from the words “Scinde”, the British spelling of the name of the province of Sindh, and “Dawk”, the anglicised spelling of the Hindustani word “Dak” or Post. There are two very well-known Scinde Dawk designs – red and blue. Both of the items had a value of only one-half anna each, but today they rank among the rare classics of philately. Such a scarce 1852 Scinde Dawk 1/2a blue is to be sold by Gaertner auction house on August 16.
The first Scinde Dawk stamps were issued on July 1, 1852. These were red sealing wax wafer stamps, embossed with a backing of paper. They were so fragile that they easily cracked and were often used as a seal on a letter. The stamps are very rare because the majority of them were destroyed when the letter was opened. There were several attempts to improve the design of the items. That`s how the blue stamps appeared. They were made by simultaneous printing and embossing. These stamps are found in several shades of blue and they too are found with blue dividing lines between the stamps. This last version was issued shortly before the Scinde Dawks were withdrawn from use.
The auction house described the lot as “unused without gum, trimmed at right and with several small surface marks, but still a fresh and attractive copy of this rarity”. The lot is being offered with a starting price of 12,000€ (or roughly $13,900).
