Ceres, 20 centimes blue, Type I

France · 1849 · 20c

This stamp features a profile of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, grain, and fertility, designed by Jacques-Jean Barre. It is part of France's first postage stamp series, known as the Ceres series, which marked the nation's entry into the postal reform movement. The design is classic and simple, with the denomination '20 C.' below the portrait and 'REPUB. FRANC.' above, all within an ornate frame.

Issued in 1849 during the Second Republic, this was one of the first postage stamps of France, introduced just nine years after Great Britain's Penny Black. It represents a major milestone in French postal history, standardizing postage rates for the first time.