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Preview of Stamps Catalogue: VOLUME 1

NEW CALEDONIA 1881-1892

Return To Catalogue - New Caledonia 1859 issue - New Caledonia 1892-1906 - New Caledonia 1907-1920 - New Caledonia miscellaneous

Note: on my website many of the pictures can not be seen! They are of course present in the catalogue;
contact me if you want to purchase it.

Stamps of the french colonies used in New Caledonia

(Noumea Nlle Caledonie)

For New Caledonia 1859 issue (head of Napoleon III), click here.

1881-1892 Stamps of the french colonies surcharged

Surcharged "NCE", value and two horizontal bars

  '5' on 40 c red
  '5' on 75 c red
  '05' on 40 c red
  '25' on 35 c violet on yellow
  '25' on 75 c red

Some values exists surcharged inverted (see pictures)

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Surcharged "N.C.E." and value

(Reduced sizes)

  '5 c.' on 1 F green (on french colonies stamp of 1877)
  '5 c.' on 1 F green (on french colonies stamp of 1881, two types of overprint)
  '10 c.' on 30 c brown
  '10 c.' on 40 c red (perforated)
  '10 c.' on 40 c red (imperforated, different type; Peace and Commerce)

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Surcharged 'NCE' in a fancy pattern and value (1892)

  5 c on 20 c red on green
  5 c on 75 c red (overprint black or blue)
  10 c on 1 F green (overprint black or blue)
  10 c on 1 F green (overprint blue, on French Colonies stamp of 1877)

All overprints exist inverted. According to the Serrane guide, unofficial reprints of these inverted overprints were made with the original devices.

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Forged overprints exist, for example the forger Fournier made forgeries of these stamps.

Page with forged Fournier overprints, at the top the forged New Caledonia overprints. Image obtained from http://asppi.org/faux.php?affichage=fournier_fr

Forgeries? An unissued "5" on 1 F (with the date 1881!) and another "10" on 1 F, probably made by the same forger.

Another very dubious stamp "10" on 1 F with "NOUMEA 24 SEPT 03 NELLE CALEDONIE"

Primitive "5 c." on 1 F forgery, it looks like the overprint was drawn by hand? Next to it another "NCE 25" on 35 c forgery (also handdrawn?) with a Martinique cancel still partly visible

1892 Stamps of the french colonies overprinted "Nlle CALEDONIE" diagonally

On peace and commerce issue of 1877 (imperforate)

  2 c brown on yellow
  4 c brown
  20 c red on green
  35 c grey on yellow
  40 c red
  1 F green

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

On 1881 issue (colonies postes, perforated)

  1 c black
  2 c brown
  4 c brown
  5 c green
  10 c black
  15 c blue
  20 c red on green
  25 c yellow
  25 c black
  30 c brown
  35 c grey on yellow
  40 c red
  75 c red
  1 F green

vc = very common
c  = common
*  = not so common
** = uncommon

*** = very uncommon
R   = rare
RR  = very rare
RRR = extremely rare

Forgeries exist, example:

Fournier forgeries

The above Fournier forgery is a forged overprint on a forged stamp (note the the horizontal and vertical perforation does not match in the corners) with a forged postmark "NOUVELLE CALEDONIE 2E/3 SEPT 29 NOUMEA" or "NOUVELLE CALEDONIE 19 MAI 92 NOUMEA". In the forged overprint "NLLE CALEDONIE" there is no accent on the "E" of "CALEDONIE". In the Fournier Album of Philatelic Forgeries another forged overprint can be found with the "=" starting below the first "L" of "NLLE" instead of the second "L" (but with an accent on the "E"). More information on forgeries of the French colonies can be found by clicking here.'

Forged Fournier cancels (second row, first two cancels): "NOUVELLE CALEDONIE 2E/3 SEPT 92 NOUMEA" and "NLLE CALEDONIE 19 MAI 92 NOUMEA"

These forgeries appear to have another forged Fournier cancel "NOUVELLE CALEDONIE 2E 26 FEVR 92 NOUMEA". There is only one line below "NLLE". The basic stamps however are different from the Fournier forgeries. See for examples the more rounded "O"s in "COLONIES" or the very peculiar "E" in "FRANCAISE". They might actually have been Oneglia forgeries?

I've been told that this is a forgery as well. The basic stamp appears genuine to me. The overprint is probably forged.

Another forgery

For stamps issued form 1892 to 1906, click here.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer