Rare Stamp - Scinde Dawk the First Stamps of Asia

1852 red sealing wafer Scinde Dawk stamp

Scinde Dawk was a very old postal system of runners that served the Indus Valley of Sindh, an area of present-day Pakistan. The term also refers to the first postage stamps in Asia, the forerunners of the adhesive stamps used throughout India, Burma, the Straits Settlements and other areas controlled by the British East India Company.[1] 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.

Country of production : Sindh
Location of production : Die produced by De La Rue, London
Date of production : 1852
Nature of rarity : Very rare
Estimated existence : Less than 100
Face value : one-half anna

Rare Stamp - Scinde Dawk the First Stamps of Asia