In a first, India Post will issue a miniature sheet with seven round-shaped stamps on Mahatma Gandhi on Tuesday in connection with his 150th birth anniversary celebrations.
The seven stamps, of denominations ₹5, ₹12, ₹20, ₹22, ₹41, and two stamps of ₹25, will be released along with seven sheetlets of 20 stamps each.
The face value of a set of seven round-shaped stamps is ₹150.
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5 lakh sheets
As many as 5 lakh miniature sheets have been printed for sale in the country and abroad.
This is the first time that round-shaped stamps are being issued by India Post, Sreejesh Krishnan of Trivandrum Philatelists, said.
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The stamps, tracing the life of Gandhi from a young lawyer in South Africa to the Mahatma, carry messages of non-violence, cleanliness, service to the needy, truth, and simplicity.
My message
The miniature sheet is inscribed with Gandhi’s quote ‘My life is my message.’
First day cover of the stamps, a brochure on who has designed the stamp and how many have been issued and other details, and one cancellation too will be released on the day.
Special covers on Gandhi will also be released at places such as Lucknow, Raipur, and Bengaluru.
Along with this, the stamps will be released in 125 countries around the world.
65 stamps so far
As many as 65 stamps on Mahatma Gandhi have been released earlier by India Post.
These include commemorative and definitive (used for day-to-day postal mailing) stamps such as a Khadi cloth stamp of denomination ₹100 and service/non-service set of four stamps on Mahatma Gandhi issued in 1948 on the occasion of the first anniversary of Independent India.
A ₹10-stamp picturing Mahatma Gandhi and emblazoned with the word ‘service’ for official use and brought out in 1948 is the costliest stamp in the country with value running into crores, says Mr. Krishnan, who has all Gandhi stamps in his collection but for the service stamps.