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Preview of Stamps Catalogue: VOLUME 1

INDO CHINA (French colony in Asia)

Return To Catalogue - Annam and Tonkin - Indo China 1893 issue - Issues 1903-1920 - Issues 1920 onwards - Miscellaneous - 'CHINE' overprints - Canton - Hoi-Hao - Kouang Tcheou-Wan - Mong-tseu - Tchongking - Packhoi - Yunnan-Fou

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Indo China (Indochine in French) consisted of the French colony of Cochin-China and the French protectorates of Annam, Tonkin, Laos and Cambodia. Cochin China, Tonkin, and Annam were later combined to form a new country: Vietnam. The capital of Indo-China was Hanoi.

Stamps of the French Colonies used in Indo China

Stamps of the french colonies were used in Indo China, cancelled with a diamond like shape of small dots with "CCH" in the center

Stamp of the French Colonies used in Cochin-China:

A "TOURANE" line cancel used on a French Colonies postage due stamp.

Stamps used in Saigon:

This is a forged Tete-beche pair made by the stamp forger Fournier. This forgery was listed as 'First choice forgery' under 'Colonies Francaises' in his 1914 pricelist. It has the cancel "COCHINCHINE 6 OCT 76 SAIGON"

I've been told that this is a forgery, I have no further information.

COCHIN-CHINA (Cochin-Chine)

Kotschinchina

1886 Stamps of the French colonies surcharged:

  '5' on 25 c yellow
  '5 C.CH.' on 2 c brown on yellow
  '5 C.CH.' on 25 c yellow
  '5' on 25 c black
  '15 / 15' on 30 c brown

A '5 C.CH.' on 25 c black was prepared, but not issued.

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

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

Forgeries:

(Forged cancels and forged overprints taken from a 'Fournier Album of Philatelic Forgeries')

The forged Fournier cancels are:
"* SAIGON * 3E/7 NOV 86 COCHINCHINE"
"MYTHO 2E/16 AOUT 92 COCHINCHINE"
"* COCHINCHINE * 6 OCT 76 SAIGON"
"SAIGON CENTRAL 2E/24 OCT 92 COCHINCHINE"
"BACLIEU 1E/27 JUIN 92 COCHINCHINE"

(Forged cancels of Fournier)

The forged Fournier cancels of Tonkin are:
"NAM-DINH 1 OCT. 92 TONKIN"
"HANOI 3E/27 FEVR 88 TONKIN"
"HA-NOI 2E/21 JUIL 92 TONKIN"

Fournier forgeries with the "HANOI 3E/27 FEVR 88 TONKIN" cancel as shown above, this forgery was offered as genuine on an internet auction

Fournier forgeries with forged "* COCHINCHINE * 6 OCT 76 SAIGON" and "MYTHO 2E/16 AOUT 92 COCHINCHINE" cancels

Fournier forgery with forged "* SAIGON * 3E/7 NOV 86 COCHINCHINE" cancel

This is a 5 F postage due forgery of the French Colonies made by Fournier taken from a Fournier Album of Philatelic forgeries with "FAUX" overprint and a green cancel "SAIGON CENTRAL COCHINCHINE 2E/24 OCT 92". Also the same forgery with the same cancel pasted on a piece of paper. Next to it a 2 F forgery also with the same cancel. Also a 1 F and a 2 F with a forged "BACLIEU 1E/27 JUIN 92 COCHINCHINE" cancel and a 1 F and 5 F with forged "NAM-DINH 1OCT 92 TONKIN" cancel. Also two 5 F forgeries with forged "SAIGON 3E/7 NOV 86 COCHINCHINE" cancel (in blue and black). And a few 2 F forgeries with "MYTHO 2E/16 AOUT 92 COCHINCHINE" cancel.

Different kind of 1 F forgery with "BACLIEU 1E/27 JUIN 92 COCHINCHINE" cancel.

A 1 c forged stamp (the top left part of the "1" is too short) with a forged Fournier cancel "MYTHO 2E 16 AOUT 92 COCHINCINE", see also: French colonies, postage due stamps, primitive forgery type 2. Also a 20 c forgery of the same type with a forged "HANOI 3E/27 FEVR 88 TONKIN" cancel.

1 F red Fournier forgery (very clear dot below the last "R" of "PERCEVOIR") with a "SAIGON" cancel that does not seem to appear in the Fournier Album.

Image found on http://sbuchfr.free.fr/faux_taxe_col_gen.htm. It is said there that the "0" of the right hand stamp was replaced by a "15", but it appears to be from a forgery set instead. The cancel "HANOI 3E/27 FEVR 88 TONKIN" can be found in the Fournier Album. See also French colonies, postage due stamps, primitive forgery type 2

"NAM-DINH TONKON 1 OCT. 92" Fournier forged cancel on a forged 60 c postage due stamp of the French Colonies, see French colonies, postage due stamps, primitive forgery type 2

Postage due stamps of the French Colonies with diagonal overprint "COCHINCHINE" are bogus stamps made by the forger Georges Carion in 1895.

Bogus "COCHINCHINE" overprints on postage due stamps of the French Colonies. I have seen this overprint on the values 5 c black, 10 c black, 15 c black, 20 c black, 30 c black, 40 c black, 60 c black, 1 F brown, 2 F brown and 5 F brown. The forged cancel on this issue are "BACLIEU 2E/9 FEVR 94 COCHINCHINE", "CORR... ARMEES 1 AVRIL 94 SAIGON" in brown and "MYTHO 2E/28 MARS 84 COCHINCHINE", "GOCOTS 2E 29 MARS 94", "SAIGON-CENTRAL 4E/27 MARS 94 COCHINCHINE". The other cancels might be genuine?

This red overprint is much larger. They have the cancel "COCHINCHINE JANV 21".

Two Carion advertisements in the 'Evergreen State Philatelist'. His names is spelled George in the first and Georges in the second advertisement. In both cases an image of the COCHINCHINE stamps is placed at the left hand side.

Advertisement of Carion in the Montreal Philatelist Vol.1 No. 7 page 30, praising the Cochinchina forgeries he made.....

INDO CHINA

1889 Stamps of the French colonies, overprinted

  overprint: 'INDO-CHINE 1889 5 R - D' (red)
    5 on 35 c brown on yellow

  overprint:'INDO-CHINE 89 5 R D'
    5 on 35 c brown on yellow

The letters 'R' and 'D' refer to the colonial governor P.Richaud and the postmaster in Saigon P.Demars. In the first overprint '1889' also exists in a smaller type. This overprint also exists inverted. The second overprint exists with missing '89' (all very rare).

Missing '89'

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

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

Forgeries: Fournier has made forgeries of these stamps, inclusive inverted overprints in black (genuine overprints are red!):

(Inverted and normal forged black overprint, for more information on these forgeries, click here)

Forged Fournier overprints (reduced sizes) taken from a Fournier Album

For stamps of Indo China 1893 issue, click here and stamps issued later than 1903, click here.

Parcel stamps

1891 Stamps of French colonies, overprinted "INDO-CHINE TIMBRE COLIS POSTAUX" in red

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

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

Forged Fournier overprints (reduced sizes) taken from a Fournier Album

More Parcel stamps were issued from 1898 onwards, click here for more information.

Copyright by Evert Klaseboer