The 10 most iconic French stamp series

Since 1849, France has issued thousands of stamps. But a few series stand out: they were in use for decades, in dozens of values and colours, and turn up in almost every album. Here are the ten most iconic, in chronological order.

These stamps share a trait that makes them hard to identify: within a series, the design is identical and only the value and the colour change. Always check the value figure before anything else.

1. Ceres (1849)

20 c black, 18491 F vermilion, 1849Siege of Paris, 1870Bordeaux issue, 1870

This is the first French stamp. On 1 January 1849, the Second Republic issued a black 20 centimes showing Ceres, the Roman goddess of harvests, symbol of a nurturing Republic. It was designed by Jacques-Jean Barre, chief engraver of the Paris Mint.

How to recognise it:

• a woman's head in profile, crowned with ears of wheat and leaves;
• the inscription REPUB. FRANC. at the top and POSTES at the bottom;
• no perforations: the first Ceres stamps were cut apart with scissors.

Ceres disappeared under the Second Empire, then came back in 1870 with the Third Republic. The Siege of Paris and Bordeaux issues (1870-1871), the latter printed in the provinces because Paris was cut off, are highly sought after today. To tell them apart, look closely at the printing and the edges: the Bordeaux stamps are imperforate, with a coarser, lithographed design. See the 1849 Ceres · and those of 1870.

2. Napoleon III (1852-1870)

Presidency, 1852Empire, imperforate, 1853Empire, perforated, 1862Laureated Empire

When Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte took power, his portrait replaced Ceres. There are three main families:

• the "Presidency" (1852): Louis-Napoléon is still prince-president, and the stamp reads REPUB. FRANC.;
• the "Empire, unlaureated" (1853): he has become Napoleon III and the inscription changes to EMPIRE FRANC. The stamps are imperforate until 1862, when perforation arrived in France;
• the "Empire, laureated" (from 1862): after the victories of the Italian campaign, the emperor wears a laurel wreath.

So the first identification step is simple: is the head bare or crowned with laurels? Then: are the edges straight or perforated? See the 1852 Presidency · the 1853 Empire · the laureated Empire.

3. The Sage type (1876-1900)

Sage 20 cSage 25 c

After the fall of the Empire and the return of Ceres, the Third Republic held a competition. The winner was Jules-Auguste Sage, with an allegory called "Peace and Commerce": Peace, standing, holds out her hand to Mercury, god of commerce, above a globe. Collectors simply call it "the Sage".

It is the longest-running series of the 19th century: a quarter of a century in use, dozens of values and shades. It is famous among collectors for its two types:

• type I, "N under B": below the globe, the N of the engraver's signature sits under the letter B of RÉPUBLIQUE;
• type II, "N under U": the N is under the U.

A simple magnifying glass is enough, and the difference in catalogue value between the two types can be significant for the same face value. See the 1876 Sage stamps.

4. Blanc, Mouchon and Merson (1900)

Blanc type 2 cMouchon type 20 cMerson type 5 F

For the 1900 World's Fair and the new century, the post office replaced the Sage with three designs at once, each for a range of values:

• the Blanc type (designed by Joseph Blanc), for the low values from 1 to 5 centimes: an allegorical scene, with a pair of scales at the top left;
• the Mouchon type (Louis-Eugène Mouchon), for the middle values: a seated woman holds a tablet reading DROITS DE L'HOMME (Rights of Man);
• the Merson type (Luc-Olivier Merson), for the high values from 40 centimes to 5 francs: a large two-colour design, easy to spot.

The Mouchon was soon retouched (from 1902) and gave way to the Sower. The Blanc and the Merson, on the other hand, were used for decades, with many shades and overprints. To know which one you have, the value is almost enough: low, middle or high. See the 1900 issues.

5. The Sower (from 1903)

Lined Sower, 1903Cameo Sower with ground, 1906Cameo Sower, 1906

The Sower (la Semeuse) is probably the most famous image in French philately. The design comes from the sculptor and medallist Oscar Roty, who created it for the silver coins of the late 1890s: a young woman wearing a Phrygian cap sows grain towards the rising sun.

Several variants followed one another, and that is where identification gets interesting:

• the lined Sower (1903): the background behind the figure is made of horizontal lines;
• the cameo Sower (1906): the background becomes solid. The very first printings still show ground under the Sower's feet ("with ground"), soon removed ("without ground");
• hundreds of values, colours and overprints as postal rates rose, until the 1930s.

The Sower came back several times, notably in 1960 with the switch to the new franc. See the 1903 lined Sower · the 1906 cameo Sower.

6. Pasteur (1923)

Pasteur 10 c, 1923

In 1923, for the centenary of the birth of Louis Pasteur (1822), France issued a definitive series bearing his portrait. It is often described as the first French definitive to show a real person who was neither a ruler nor an allegory.

How to recognise it: the bearded scientist in profile, facing right, with his name PASTEUR at the bottom of the frame. The series has around ten values in different colours, used until the mid-1920s, plus a few overprints. See the 1923 Pasteur stamps.

7. Peace (1932)

Peace 65 cPeace 1.50 F

Designed by Paul-Albert Laurens, Peace (la Paix) is a standing, draped woman holding out an olive branch. She served as the everyday stamp throughout the interwar years, from 1932 to the Second World War, in a great many values.

For specialists, Peace is all about types: the red 50 centimes, the most used value, exists in several types that differ only by tiny details of the design, and some panes even carry advertising in the margins. See the 1932 Peace stamps.

8. Mercury (1938)

Mercury 25 cMercury 40 cMercury 70 c

Mercury shows the head of the god of commerce wearing his winged helmet, with the caduceus on the left. Designed by Georges-Léo Degorce, it served for the low values in the late 1930s and during the war.

A small curiosity to watch for: under the Vichy regime, in 1942, the RF inscription disappeared from some printings in favour of POSTES FRANÇAISES. Two stamps with the same design, but not from the same period. See the 1938 Mercury stamps · 1939.

9. Marianne (since 1944)

Gandon MarianneBriat Marianne, 1990Marianne l'Engagée, 2018

Since the Liberation, the face of the Republic on everyday French stamps has been Marianne. Each era has its own, often chosen by the President of the Republic, and each is named after its designer:

• Marianne de Gandon (1945), by Pierre Gandon, the first to last;
• Muller, Decaris, Cocteau, Cheffer and Béquet Mariannes in the following decades, then an interlude with the Sabine and the Liberty (see no. 10);
• the Bicentenary Marianne (1990), by Louis Briat;
• the 14 July Marianne (1997), by Ève Luquet;
• then Lamouche (2005), Beaujard (2008), Ciappa and Kawena (2013), and "l'Engagée" (2018), by Yseult Digan.

Each Marianne comes in many values and colours and, since the 1990s, as non-denominated stamps ("lettre prioritaire", "lettre verte"…) that stay valid whatever the rate. To identify them, look at the face first (it changes with each Marianne), then the value or the rate inscription. See the 1945 stamps · 1990 · 2018.

10. Gandon's Sabine and Liberty (1977-1990)

Sabine 2.10 FLiberty 0.80 FLiberty 2.00 F

Between the Béquet and Briat Mariannes, two definitives by Pierre Gandon (who had already designed the 1945 Marianne) took Marianne's place:

• the Sabine (1977), chosen under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, comes from David's painting The Intervention of the Sabine Women: a woman's face in profile, hair tied up;
• the Liberty (1982), chosen under François Mitterrand, takes the figure from Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, wearing the Phrygian cap. It stayed in use until the Briat Marianne arrived in 1990.

Both come in dozens of values and colours, in sheets, booklets and coils. As with the Mariannes, look at the face first, then the value. See the 1977 Sabine stamps · the 1982 Liberty stamps.

Honourable mentions

• Iris (1939), a small definitive of the war years;
• the Algiers and Dulac Mariannes (1944), issued at the Liberation;
• Decaris's Rooster (1962), one of the few French definitives without a face.

Identifying a stamp from these series

These series are a real puzzle: dozens of stamps with the same design, differing only by a figure, a colour or a tiny detail. Our tool compares your photo with the whole catalogue and suggests the closest stamps: all that is left is to check the value. Identify your stamp from a photo, then check the perforation and watermark with our guide Perforations and watermarks. And to find out what it is worth: How much is my stamp worth?