Early South African History

South Africa, Sun City · 1998-06-28

Official

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front

Cachet: The cachet is a close up illustration of an early stone age hand axe, painted in earthy tones of brown, ochre and cream against a warm gradient background. The stone shows a sharp, tapering point at the bottom with a broader, rougher edge at the top, and the flaking pattern across its surface is picked out in fine detail to show how the tool was worked. Above the illustration the title "Early South African History" appears in bold green lettering. The design puts the object itself front and centre, letting the texture and shape of the axe carry the visual weight of the cover.

Info card

No info card was provided for this cover.

Additional information

This cover is postmarked on 28 June 1998 in Sun City. The five stamps depict an early stone age hand axe, a Nqabeni pot, San rock engravings, early iron age pots and a Lydenburg head pot, spanning a wide stretch of South Africa's early human history. The Sun City postmark used for this issue features an outline of a fossil skull, tying the cover to the country's rich record of early human occupation. The stamps together move chronologically from stone tool making through to early pottery and rock art traditions.

Theme: Heritage

Condition: FineGood condition. Minor wear or small imperfections, but overall well-presented.

Addressed: No

Signed: No

SAPO serial number: 6.78

Estimated value: ~US$0.1

This is a high-level, subjective estimate only, not a professional appraisal.