French Indochina Postage Due Stamp

French Indochina · 1904 · 1c

This is a postage due stamp from French Indochina, featuring a large numeral '1' indicating the value of 1 centime. The design is simple and functional, with the inscription 'CHIFFRE-TAXE' at the top, meaning 'figure to tax', and 'INDO-CHINE' at the bottom. The stamp's purpose was to indicate the amount of postage due on underpaid mail.

Issued in 1904, this stamp was part of the first postage due series for French Indochina, a colonial territory that included modern-day Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. These stamps standardized the collection of insufficient postage across the region.