It's a rather attractive set, that one from Hyderabad
De La Rue in London made the plates, but the Mint in Hyderabad did the printing.
As you can see, Hyderabad wasn't in the habit of putting its name on its stamps. It only ever did so once, for the 1945 Victory commemorative:
The rest of the time, it was content to use 'H(is E(exalted) H(ighness) the Nizam's Government or Dominions:
I don't know for sure, but I suspect it may have had something to do with the province of Berar - a very large region to the north of Hyderabad proper, which was 'leased' in perpetuity to the British. Despite that, Hyderabad remained a loyal ally of the British
And incidentally, have a look at the papers of your 4 and 8 Pies stamps. There were also printings on laid paper. Gibbons rates the 4 Pies at £6 used and the 8 Pies £4.50 on laid paper. These used to be pretty common, but it's ages since I last saw one.
Posted 03/15/2011 9:25 pm
