Tunisia Postage Due Stamp, Ceres

Tunisia · 1888 · 1c

This is the first postage due stamp issued by Tunisia, then a French protectorate. The design features a seated figure of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture, holding a sickle and a sheaf of wheat, symbolizing the region's agricultural importance. The inscription "TUNISIE" appears at the top, with "CHIFFRE TAXE A PERCEVOIR" indicating its function as a tax to be collected for insufficient postage.

Issued in 1888 under the French Protectorate, this stamp marks the establishment of a formal postal system for collecting unpaid postage, reflecting the administrative influence of France in Tunisia.