FRANCE 1903-1916

Return To Catalogue - France overview

Note: on my website many of the pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the cd's;
contact me if you want to purchase them: evert@klaseboer.com.

1903 Sower type or 'Semeuse'

1) With lines and sun on the background

  10 c red
  15 c green
  20 c brown
  25 c blue
  30 c lilac
  45 c violet
  50 c blue
  50 c green
  50 c red
  60 c violet
  65 c red
  65 c green
  75 c lilac
  80 c red
  85 c red
  1 F blue

Surcharged

  '=50c' on 60 c violet
  '=50c' on 65 c red
  '=50c' on 80 c red
  '=50c' on 85 c red
  '=55c' on 60 c violet

Overprinted 'CONGRES DU B.I.T. 1930' (1930
  50 c red
  

These stamps are perforated 14 x 13 1/2.

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

2) With solid background, with ground beneath feet of sower

  10 c red

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

3) With solid background, without ground beneath feet of sower

5 F blue and 10 F red Strassbourg Philatelic Exhibition stamps, issued 4th June 1927 printed on the same sheet separated from each other by a white space with 'Strasbourg 1927' printed in blue on it (part of it is still shown on the 10 F stamp), genuine.

  1 c olive
  2 c green
  3 c orange
  5 c green
  5 c orange
  5 c lilac
  10 c red
  10 c green
  10 c blue
  15 c red-brown
  20 c red-brown
  20 c lilac
  25 c blue
  25 c brown
  30 c orange
  30 c lilac
  30 c blue
  30 c red
  35 c violet
  35 c green
  40 c olive
  40 c red
  40 c violet
  40 c blue
  1 F 05 red
  1 F 10 lilac
  1 F 40 lilac
  2 F green
  5 F blue (Strassbourg Philatelic Exh. stamp, 1927)
  10 F red (Strassbourg Philatelic Exh. stamp, 1927)

Surcharged

  '1/2 centime' on 1 c olive (1919)
  '=25c' on 30 c blue
  '=25c' on 35 c violet
  '=30' (red) on 35 c green (1940)
  '=50c' on 1F05 red
  '=90c' on 1F05 red
  '=1F10' on 1 F 40 lilac

These stamps overprinted with value in 'PARAS' or 'PIASTRES' were issued for the French Post Offices in Turkey.

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

4) Red cross issues

  10 + 5 c red, inscription 'CROIX ROUGE'
  '+5c' on 10 c red

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Overprinted 'F.M.' (military post)

  10 c red (lines in background)
  10 c red (solid background)
  15 c green
  50 c red
  50 c lilac

The 'F.M.' overprint has been forged!

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Overprinted 'Caisse d'Amortissement' and surcharged with additional value (colours of basic stamps changed)

(Overprint 'Caisse d'Amortissment')

  40 c + 10 c blue (red overprint, 1927)
  40 c + 10 c violet (red overprint, 1928)
  40 c + 10 c green (1929)
  40 c + 10 c lilac (1930)
  40 c + 10 c olive-green (1931)
  50 c + 25 c green (blue overprint, 1927)
  50 c + 25 c red (blue overprint, 1928)
  50 c + 25 c lilac (1929)
  50 c + 25 c brown (1930)
  50 c + 25 c violet (1931)
  1.50 F + 50 c violet (1930)
  1.50 F + 50 c red (1931)

Precancels:

(Precancel AFFRANCHts POSTES)

Precancel 'POSTES PARIS 1920'

Precancels 'POSTES PARIS 1921' of 'POSTES FRANCE 1921'

Precancels "POSTES PARIS 1922"

Precancelled stamps usually do not have a postal cancel (many forgeries have a normal postal cancel as well).

(Postcard in the same design, 10 c red, reduced size)

(A French stamp cancelled in Aden)

Stamps with overprint 'ANNULE' or 'SPECIMEN' for the so-called 'Cours d'Instruction'; a cours for postal workers, examples:

Postal forgeries:

(Postal forgery: Faux de Turin, appeared around 1909 and re-appeared in 1911)

The 10 c red (with lines and sun on background) has been forged once to deceive the postal authorities (in Paris around 1906). There are also four types of postal forgeries of the 10 c red with solid background and one of the 25 c blue with solid background. Examples of these forgeries can be found in 'Postal Forgeries of the World' by H.G. Leslie Fletcher. I've seen the 10 c red with solid background with the 'c' of '10 c' almost closed and a different perforation than the genuine stamp (this forgery is known under the name 'Faux de Turin'). More on this Turin forgery can be read in Schweiz. Philatelistische Nachrichten, June 1911 or http://briefmarken.ag/.

Modern forgery of the 5 c with 'error'

The stamp forger Fournier made forgeries of the "F.M." overprint. Here a page from the Fournier Album.

1917 Postage stamp of France (sower), with overprint 'T' in a triangle to be used as postage due stamp

  5 c green

This was a provisional issue, introduced due to a lack of 5 c postage due stamps. This stamp was used from 2 to 17 January 1917.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer