The Navigation and Commerce issue is a series of key type stamps issued for the colonial territories of France. It was designed by

Louis-Eugène Mouchon Louis-Eugène Mouchon (30 August 1843, in Paris – 1914) was a French painter, graphic artist, medalist, engraver and sculptor. He created state papers, stamps, coins, currency and medals. He was the son and pupil of Louis Claude Mouchon, the pai ...

. The issue uses a standard design featuring

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory ...

representations of navigation and commerce. The territory name is imprinted in a rectangular

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fe ...

centered at the bottom of the stamp. In French colonies, it is the first series of territory-specific postal releases. Adding the territory name helped reduce revenue loss incurred when stamps were purchased in colonies with low-value currencies, then sold or used in colonies with high-valued currencies. It was first released in 1892, with later releases featuring new color schemes. Dates vary by territory, but by 1900 values start appearing surcharged in red or black ink to use the remaining stocks while colonies then used illustrated stamps.

List of French territories that used Navigation and Commerce stamps

File:Stamp Anjouan 1892 1c.jpg, Anjouan File:Stamp Benin 1893 40c.jpg, Benin File:Stamp Gabon 1904 10c.jpg, Gabon File:Stamp Grand Comoro 1897 5c.jpg, Grand Comoro File:Stamp Madagascar 1900 10c.jpg, Madagascar File:Stamp Martinique 1892 4c.jpg, Martinique File:Stamp Mayotte 1892 2c.jpg, Mayotte File:Stamp Moheli 1906 2c.jpg, Moheli File:Stamp Senegambia and Niger 1903 2c.jpg, Senegambia & Niger File:Stamp frcolonies madagascar.jpg, Ste. Marie de Madagascar

Forgeries

Charles Hirschburger Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, a forger of postage stamps, and successor to master forger François Fournier, made copies of the Navigation and Commerce stamps from the various colonies, including "most denominations". These were produced between 1917 and 1923 and are sometimes called "Fournier" forgeries. They are still extremely common. The forgeries are perforated 13.5 by 14, whereas the genuine ones are 14 by 13.5. There are also details in the designs which distinguish the forgeries. The forgeries were made on sheets of 30 stamps, each having a different colony name in the lower panel. Counterfeit overprints also were made for this series. Fernand Serrane, ''The Serrane Guide: Stamp Forgeries of the World to 1926,'' Pennsylvania, 9261998, p. 28.

References

;Sources * Scott Catalog, 2008 edition. Postage stamps Postage stamps of France {{philately-stub