France Postage Due, Red Numeral on Gray

France · 1882 · 1c

This is a classic French postage due stamp, part of a long-running series first issued in 1882. The design is purely functional, featuring a large numeral '1' indicating the centime amount due, printed in red over an ornate gray background. The text 'CHIFFRE-TAXE A PERCEVOIR' translates to 'figure-tax to be collected'.

Postage due stamps were used by postal services to collect insufficient postage from the recipient of a letter, a common practice in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.