Scinde District Dawk, Red Sealing Wax Wafer

India · 1852 · 1/2 Anna

This stamp features the merchant's mark of the British East India Company, resembling a heart shape divided into three sections with the letters 'EIC' above. The design is embossed on a red sealing wax wafer and surrounded by the inscription 'SCINDE DISTRICT DAWK' and the denomination '1/2 ANNA'. It is considered the first postage stamp issued in Asia.

Issued under the authority of Sir Bartle Frere for the Scinde (now Sindh) province, this stamp was used on the highly organized postal system, or 'dawk'. It predates the first all-India stamps by two years.