Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on 30th January, 1948. The country paid its homage to the 'Father of the Nation' by bringing out a set of four stamps on 15th August, 1948, to coincide with the First Anniversary of Independence. These stamps, bearing the effigy of Mahatma Gandhi, were printed by the helio-gravure process by the renowned Swiss firm of stamp printers viz., Courvoisier, La Chaux de Fonds. The printing was done on a coated paper made of pulp and silk, in sheets of 50 (10 x 5) stamps.

The Indian Embassy in Switzerland had a limited quantity of these four stamps overprinted 'SPECIMEN' in black, and had them mounted on a specially prepared golden folder for presentation purposes. These folders, as such, are rarely come across.