Gold Standard issue
| Gold Standard issue | |
|---|---|
Red Army Soldier: a Gold Standard stamp of the USSR, 1 ruble in gold, red and brown, imperforate, 1923
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| Country of production | Soviet Union |
| Location of production | Moscow |
| Date of production | October 1923 – March 1927 |
| Designer | Ivan Shadr |
| Depicts | worker, peasant, Red Army soldier |
| Notability | first definitive series of the USSR |
| Face value | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50 kopecks, 1, 2, 3 & 5 rubles in gold |
The Gold Standard issue or Small Head issue was the first definitive series of postage stamps issued by the Soviet Union between 1923 and 1927. The stamps were designed by Ivan Shadr.
The RSFSR Government re-issued definitive stamps with regular frequency. By the time of the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, with its more than 200 million inhabitants, there was an urgent need for more stamps of various face values that would reflect the change of the state name. New stamps were also required due to the monetary reform in the Soviet Union and the introduction of the chervonets (equal to 10 rubles), backed by the gold standard.
The first definitive series of postage stamps, which the Russians themselves name "standard series", was issued by the newly formed USSR in October 1923. Because its face values corresponded to the introduced gold standard, the series usually goes under the name of "Gold Standard". These stamps are also known as "Small Head" issues. They were thoroughly described by H. L. Aronson.
The design of this series was not new. It was modified and simplified from former stamp issues of the RSFSR. Representatives of the three main strata of the population, the Worker, the Peasant, and the Red Army Soldier, were depicted on the stamps.
The Russian sculptor and artist-designer Ivan Shadr was the stamp design author. He worked on this project very conscientiously. Live models from his hometown of Shadrinsk were chosen for producing at first sculptures of those three types. Then, the sculptures were photographed from all sides. The final stamp design was selected on the best view of the sculptures.
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