Stamp auction raises Rp 20m

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta raised Rp 20 million in an auction of stamps bearing the university's pictures on Monday.

The auction's chief organizer, Toni A. Dharoko, said that during the event four stamps were on offer. Among them were ones signed by university rector Ichlasul Amal, which sold for Rp 8.75 million, and others signed by Yogyakarta monarch Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, which went for Rp 4.1 million.

The auction was held in cooperation with the Directorate General for Post and Telecommunications, which launched the limited editions of the two stamps with a face value of Rp 500 and Rp 1,000 respectively.

Director General of Post and Telecommunications Sasmito Dirdjo said in his speech, read by the head of Yogyakarta's Ministry of Communications, CH Munandar, that the stamp was the first to be dedicated to a university in the country. (44/edt)