Having realised the commercial value of Gandhi memorabilia after the recent storm raised by a London auction house putting Mahatma's letter under hammer, a number of Gandhi items have found their way on internet auction sites.
E-bay, an internet auction site has hordes of Mahatma Gandhi memorabilia up on sale. Be it the postcard with Gandhi's pictures on it selling for minimum Rs 10 to leather watch with Gandhi's face embossed on the dial selling for a whooping Rs 2 lakh, a buyer can choose anything depending on his interest and his purchasing power.
Soon after Gandhi's assassination, Gandhi topi (cap) had become a craze for many Indians but lately, T shirts with Gandhi's picture printed on them to even coffee mugs with Gandhi's slogan has become popular.
So you have people selling everything from stamps to some really funny pictures of Gandhi's like him grinning while being escorted by two detectives in Folkestone are now receiving a number of queries from potential buyers. Even Rs two note bearing Gandhi's pictures are now being sold for 100 times and more than its original value.
"Gandhi memorabilia have now become popular. I had bought 3000 sets of 1969 Gandhi stamps which are no longer available in India. I have now sold most of them online," says Amit Chowdhury, Stampex, a Kolkata based group selling old stamps on internet.
{{/usCountry}}"Gandhi memorabilia have now become popular. I had bought 3000 sets of 1969 Gandhi stamps which are no longer available in India. I have now sold most of them online," says Amit Chowdhury, Stampex, a Kolkata based group selling old stamps on internet.
{{/usCountry}}"The demand for Gandhi stamps come from a number of other countries too and not just India," he adds.
Chowdhury says that it is not just the stamps which are in demand online but also folders and articles related to Gandhi.
Up on sale is also an postcard with former US President, Abraham Lincon and Mahatma Gandhi sourced from a philately exhibition in US Hyderabad which the seller claims is original. Even the ordinary sheet of postal stamps with Gandhi's picture on them is selling for much higher than the market price. Besides, them one also has rare stamps with Gandhi's picture on sale.