Nelson Mandela stamp issued in South Africa

The postal service printed five million copies of the silver stamp, which costs about $4.50

South Africa's postal service has issued a commemorative stamp with a portrait of Nelson Mandela on the 24th anniversary of his release from prison during white minority rule.

The postal service said today that it printed five million copies of the silver stamp, which costs about $ 4.50 and comes in a folder with information about Mandela, the anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black president in 1994.

It says the stamp is available at all 1,591 post offices in South Africa and that stamp collectors around the world can buy it online.

Mandela spent 27 years in prison and was released on February 11, 1990. He died December 5 at the age of 95.