Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
INDIA at the top and annas at the bottom.
- 1INDIA
- 2HALF ANNA
- Inscription
- INDIA · HALF ANNA
- Meaning
- An anna was one sixteenth of a rupee.
- Issued by
- British India (East India Company)
- Today
- India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar
- Year
- 1854. 1854 lithographed issue.
- Made by
- Henry Edward Landor Thuillier (printing supervised by, died 1906)
One fact
India’s first general issue was printed in Calcutta in 1854 under Captain Henry Thuillier, after the East India Company refused to have them made in England.
Source and public-domain rule
India, Government work published more than 60 years ago. Government work published 1854. Copyright in a Government work, where the Government is the first owner, lasts sixty years from the beginning of the year after first publication. Indian postage stamps are made by or under the direction of the Government. Legal sources: Copyright Act 1957, s. 28 (Government works.
Scan: India 1854.jpg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 1002295968), licence templates {{PD-old}} (a public-domain reason different from ours; both are recorded). Downloaded 2026-10-19, sha256 4c2a6240fccf…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-19 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a human rights review is pending. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
