View source for Navigation and Commerce issue

[[File:1892 Ivory Coast stamp 4c.jpg|right|thumb|An 1892 4c stamp for Côte d'Ivoire of the Navigation and Commerce series]]
The '''Navigation and Commerce''' issue is a series of [[key type stamp]]s issued for the [[French colonial empire|colonial territories of France]]. It was designed by [[Louis-Eugène Mouchon]].<ref>[[Dallay]] stamp catalogue.</ref>

The issue uses a standard design featuring [[allegory|allegorical]] representations of navigation and commerce. The territory name is imprinted in a rectangular [[Cartouche (design)|cartouche]] centered at the bottom of the stamp.

In French colonies, it is the first series of territory-specific postal releases. Adding the territory name helped reduce revenue loss incurred when stamps were purchased in colonies with low-value currencies, then sold or used in colonies with high-valued currencies.<ref>"Navigation et commerce pour les colonies", in ''Chronique du timbre-poste français'', Éditions Chroniques and La Poste, 2005, {{ISBN|2-205-05738-3}}, page 69</ref>

It was first released in 1892, with later releases featuring new color schemes. Dates vary by territory, but by 1900 values start appearing [[Overprint|surcharged]] in red or black ink to use the remaining stocks while colonies then used illustrated stamps.
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== List of French territories that used Navigation and Commerce stamps ==

{{columns-list|colwidth=18em|
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Anjouan|Anjouan]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Benin|Benin]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Côte d'Ivoire|Côte d'Ivoire]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Benin|Dahomey]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Diego-Suárez|Diego-Suárez]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of French Congo|French Congo]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of French Guiana|French Guiana]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Guinea|French Guinea]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of French Polynesia|French Polynesia/Oceania]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of French Sudan|French Sudan]]<ref>Scott 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalog.  Scott Publishing Company 2007: 211.</ref>
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Gabon|Gabon]]<ref>Scott 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalog.  Scott Publishing Company 2007: 1.</ref>
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of the Comoros|Grand Comoro Island]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Guadeloupe|Guadeloupe]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of French India|India]]<ref>Scott 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalog.  Scott Publishing Company 2007: 1249.</ref>
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Indochina|Indochina]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Madagascar|Madagascar]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Martinique|Martinique]]<ref>Scott 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalog.  Scott Publishing Company 2007: 769.</ref>
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Mayotte|Mayotte]]<ref>Scott 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalog.  Scott Publishing Company 2007: 803.</ref>
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of the Comoros|Moheli]]<ref>Scott 2007 Standard Postage Stamp Catalog.  Scott Publishing Company 2007: 901.</ref>
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of New Caledonia|New Caledonia]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Madagascar|Nossi-Be]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Obock|Obock]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Reunion|Reunion]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Senegal|Senegal]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Senegambia and Niger|Senegambia & Niger]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Saint Pierre and Miquelon|Saint Pierre and Miquelon]]
*[[Postage stamps and postal history of Madagascar|Ste. Marie de Madagascar]]<ref>Scott 2008 Standard Postage Stamp Catalog.  Scott Publishing Company 2008: 797.</ref>
}}
<gallery>
File:Stamp Anjouan 1892 1c.jpg|Anjouan
File:Stamp Benin 1893 40c.jpg|Benin
File:Stamp Gabon 1904 10c.jpg|Gabon
File:Stamp Grand Comoro 1897 5c.jpg|Grand Comoro
File:Stamp Madagascar 1900 10c.jpg|Madagascar
File:Stamp Martinique 1892 4c.jpg|Martinique
File:Stamp Mayotte 1892 2c.jpg|Mayotte
File:Stamp Moheli 1906 2c.jpg|Moheli
File:Stamp Senegambia and Niger 1903 2c.jpg|Senegambia & Niger
File:Stamp frcolonies madagascar.jpg|Ste. Marie de Madagascar
</gallery>

==Forgeries==
[[Charles Hirschburger]], a [[Philatelic fakes and forgeries|forger of postage stamps]], and successor to master forger [[François Fournier (stamp forger)|François Fournier]], made copies of the Navigation and Commerce stamps from the various colonies, including "most denominations".   These were produced between 1917 and 1923 and are sometimes called "Fournier" forgeries.  They are still extremely common.  The forgeries are perforated 13.5 by 14, whereas the genuine ones are 14 by 13.5.   There are also details in the designs which distinguish the forgeries.<ref>Varro E. Tyler, ''Linn's Focus on Forgeries: A Guide to Forgeries of Common Stamps,''Ohio, 1993, p. 44.</ref>  The forgeries were made on sheets of 30 stamps, each having a different colony name in the lower panel.  Counterfeit overprints also were made for this series.<ref>[[Fernand Serrane]], ''The Serrane Guide: Stamp Forgeries of the World to 1926,'' Pennsylvania, [1926] 1998, p. 28.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

;Sources
* [[Scott catalog|Scott Catalog]], 2008 edition.

[[Category:Postage stamps]]
[[Category:Postage stamps of France]]


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