So Who's Afraid Of The Indian States?

wow! I really enjoy seeing this stuff. Confuses the heck out of me but neat just the same. Thanks.

figured out how to upload more images, here are two more, one more of Bundi and one of Kishengarh.

The cancellations on the Bundi are a bit problematic: not very clear and they don't tie the stamps to the paper. There are faked Bundi covers out there, and they've been around for a while. Unfortunately, age is no guarantee of genuineness with the Indian States. Again, if they're on cover, around $60-$80.

The Kishangarh is also a bit of a problem. Gibbons lists the 1 Rupee brown-lilac imperf (at £20), but it doesn't list it pin-perf, as your stamp is. This may just mean that Gibbons haven't yet seen this colour in pin-perf, or ... there were printings of these stamps, in different colours, for revenue use. I don't know Kishangarh well enough to say which yours is. However, if you held a gun to my head and demanded a choice, I'd say it's a legitimate postage stamp, and simply not yet listed.

This is an example of a later issue printed in a different colour, for revenue use:



Here is a cover with the 1 Anna in the regulation shade for postal issues:



Kishangarh is a fun state to collect, though. It's full of quirks, like this strip of the later 1 Rupee stamp.



The printers cut stamp 4 from row 5 out of every sheet. It isn't known why for certain, but it's believed the cliché in that position may have been defective.

Kishangarh also famously printed its later stamps, from about 1912 on, in the Diamond Soap Works



Am I arousing your interest yet?

...and you said you didn't collect Travancore!
Hehehe I have you under my magic spell,
I am the Puppetmaster

Gorgeous quadriga of stamps there Tony. (sigh)
You must have deep pochets and long arms.

Stirred you up a bit, did it, Rod? Got in amongst you, eh? Well, here's the rest of that lot:



SG 24a: The 1914-22 5 Cash olive-bistre, watermark A



SG 34a: The 1924-39 5 Cash chocolate, watermark C, and



SG 37b: The 10 Cash pink from the same set

As to what I'm doing with these, I can only plead the Annie Oakley defence. I didn't know the gun was loaded.

To quote a BeeSee saying,
I snaggle daggled your images. :)
Beautiful stuff.
When you retire you can offer them as a sale to me,
Pass on the goodies to the younger generation.

I intend to have a pretty luxurious retirement, you know, Rod

That last brace,
a fair challenge for the perf guage,
and try reading the wmk.

The perfs are pretty diabolical, but the watermark is very clear: the second (wide-spaced version) of Type C.

Thank you tony for the info on my Kishangargh and Bundi stamps. Two things I learned, one is that they might not be genuine and two, even if they are, they are not worth LOTS of money. The Kishengargh I had purchased from the top Philataist in India at the time (about 1970), Mr Jal Cooper so it has to be genuine. I do not understand enough to know the difference between pin perf and imperf. The Bundi was purchased from a vendor, and does not have the full cover/envelope. Learnt many new things: paper quality has to be matching the year, the date stamp should be readable (I see on one of your postings the year 1946). What do you suggest? If I do want to sell the lot (one Kishengarh and about four Bundi) now, where and for how much. I have moved about twelve houses since I bought them, and they have moved with me. Not that I expect to move much any more. Maybe I should pass them on to my children with the hopes that they may be worth more in the future. But I doubt if they will research and try to sell thirty years down the road. I had looked at Stantley and Gibbons catalogs in the past but with not much luck as to valuation.

Stampscommunity, the Bundi are most probably genuine. It's a bit of a paradox, but their NOT being on envelopes reassures me. If someone was going to go to that much trouble to produce fakes, they would have done them on full envelopes, not just pieces of paper like that. The value is much harder to determine. Perhaps around $20 to $30 each.

The difference between imperf and pin-perf? Those Kishangarh stamps were issued either imperf(orate) - without perforations at all -



or pin-perf



This means that needle-like holes were punched in the paper, rather than removing little paper discs, as you find in normal perforations these days. (It was never a very satisfactory method of perforation, and AFAIK, it hasn't been used for some years.) Your Kishangarh stamp appears to have a row of pin perforations along the top, which makes it unusual. I don't doubt that it's a genuine Kishangarh stamp. The question in my mind is whether it was a postage or a revenue stamp.

ebay is probably the best place to sell these items. It gets by far the widest exposure to the right collectors. On the other hand, Indian States stamps are definitely on the move. Prices for them overall have been moving ahead by around 6-7% a year for the last few years, and that trend looks likely to accelerate if anything. If you don't need the money immediately, I'd put these aside for your children. They'll earn you better than bank interest, anyway!

Hydrabad, victory issue FDC, have an elephant on it.. the date of issue is not clear..

Tony: thanks for the information. Would there be interest on ebay in the US for Indian stamps? I would think there would be more interest in them in the Commonwealth countries. However, there might be buyers on ebay from all over the world and mailing stamps abroad will not be a problem. I do not need the money right now. I had some First Day Covers, don't know where they are. Don't even know if they were true first day covers or if FDCs have value.

Actually, the coordinator of the new India Study Circle Bundi Handbook is in the US, and there are plenty of collectors there, but interest is worldwide - particularly strong in the UK.

I don't think I have any FDCs from anywhere, so I'm a bad judge of value. However, from what I hear, they're pretty hard to shift in general.

Tony,

I have recently started collecting again (stopped collecting in the last 15 years due to the distractions of college etc..I am 31 years old) and I want to focus on the Indian states (as I am Indian although living in Canada). Unlike most people I am attracted to "uglies". All though I don't consider them ugly, I am very attracted to the historical attachment to these stamps and old stamps of even other countries. Just the fact that its been around for a good 80-150 years is good enough for me.

In fact I am actually repulsed by modern, shiny, glossy stamps :(

I wasn't aware there were 550 indian states pre-independence..wow. Also, I was always confused with why their were even stamps just showing "India Postage" of the same era. Thanks for sorting that out.

I am originally from Hyderabad and actually believe it or not I am from the Nizam's family (Yeah most of the family is pretty broke...well compared to what was inherited..). Ironically, believe it or not, the 8th Nizam of Hyderabad (its just an official title) who is still living , Mukkaram Jah actually had an Australian wife and at one point was the biggest land owner in Australia (I believe he gave sheep farming a go and lost a ton of money).

Anyway, back on topic, thanks for this awesome post, its going to be my go to guide until I buy a Catalogue for indian states.

Sadly, I have my old collection back in India with a ton load of Hyderbad stamps of the Nizam era..although most of them the common ones I think.

So, its going to be a fresh start but thanks a ton for this post :)