The native states of India, also known as feudatory or princely states, were typically vassals under a local or regional ruler who owed allegiance to the British Raj. There were about 675 native states in all but many were not parts of British India proper because they never become possessions of the British Crown. Rather, they were tied to it in a system of subsidiary alliances. A total of 40 different states issued stamps prior to 1947. Alwar (also known as Ulwar during the British period) was a princely state in the Rajputana (now Rajasthan State) in the northwest of India. Maharajah Mangal Singh Prabhakar, who ruled from 1874-1892, issued the first stamps in 1877. Todays stamp is from the first issue in 1877. It has a face value of one Anna and shows an Indian dagger. CV for a mint copy is approx. 4 $.