France year 1920 charity labels – Orphans stamps set MNH
In 1920, France did not issue a new set of stamps for the War Orphans Fund (Orphelins de la Guerre). Instead, postal services continued to use the iconic series first issued between 1917 and 1919.
However, in 1922, a second set was created by overprinting and surcharging the remaining stock of the original 1917–19 stamps. If you are looking for the stamps available around the 1920 era, you are likely looking for one of these two sets.
1. The Original Series (1917–1919)
These are the most famous and artistically significant “Orphan” stamps. They were the first semi-postals of France (stamps with a surcharge for charity).
| Denomination | Color | Design |
| 2c + 3c | Brown / Red | Soldier in trench |
| 5c + 5c | Green | Soldier in trench |
| 15c + 10c | Grey-green | Mourning woman and child |
| 25c + 15c | Blue | Female figure with sword |
| 35c + 25c | Violet | Female figure with sword |
| 50c + 50c | Brown | The Lion of Belfort |
| 1fr + 1fr | Claret | “The Marseillaise” (Rude’s relief) |
| 5fr + 5fr | Deep Blue | “The Marseillaise” (Rude’s relief) |
- Catalog Numbers: Yvert & Tellier #148–155; Scott #B3–B10.
- Market Value: A full mint set is rare and highly valuable, often exceeding $3,000–$5,000 USD due to the scarcity of the high-value 5fr stamp.
2. The Overprinted Series (1922)
Because postal rates changed, the original stamps were overprinted with new values in 1922. These are the ones most commonly found in collections from that specific decade.
- Values: This set includes 8 stamps (e.g., “5c” surcharged on the 2c+3c brown).
- Appearance: They look identical to the 1917 set but feature a black surcharge (a new number printed over the old price).
- Catalog Numbers: Yvert & Tellier #162–169; Scott #B12–B19.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.