FranceFirst Postage Stamp

Cérès & the Second Republic

France’s first postage stamp was issued on January 1st, during the short-lived Second Republic following the fall of Louis-Philippe in 1848. Designed by Jacques-Jean Barre, chief engraver at the Paris Mint, the 20 centimes black features Cérès, the Roman goddess of agriculture and a symbol of liberty and renewal. As far as I know, there are at least six colour shades, and subtle plate flaws make each stamp uniquely its own. While the example shown here is mint, postmarks play a big role, and as often seen in the philatelic world, a first-day cancellation can make a stamp roughly four times more valuable than a mint example. The black grille cancel is far more common, while red and blue grille cancels are rare and especially prized. There are also official 1862 reprints, printing errors, and essais worth exploring. This Cérès issue would go on to influence philately far beyond France, its design echoing through future classics, from the 1856 Corrientes first issues of Argentina (a rough yet charming local replication of the Cérès type) to Greece’s very first stamp set, the 1861 Large Hermes Head, engraved at the Paris Mint by Albert Désiré Barre, son of Jacques-Jean Barre, who created the original Cérès.