Postage stamps and postal history of Greenland

A 1938 stamp of Greenland.

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Greenland.

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Pakke-Porto stamps

A Pakke-Porto stamp.

Stamps were issued by the Kongelige Grønlandske Handelin in 1905 for use as parcel stamps. The stamps showed the coat of arms of Greenland, featuring a standing polar bear. Letters were handled free of charge by the Kongelige Grønlandske Handel until 1938.

A 1938 stamp of Greenland.

First stamps

The 1945 series.

In 1938, postal service was established and the first postage stamps of Greenland were issued on 1 December. The series consisted of five stamps with a portrait of the Danish king Christian X and two with the image of a polar bear.[1][2]

Later issues

In 1945, during the Second World War, a new set of stamps was printed by the American Bank Note Company. This series consisted of nine values, which in addition to King Christian X, also showed seals, Inuit in a kayak, dog sleds and polar bears.

On March 11, 1969, Greenland issued a stamp dedicated to the 70th birthday of King Frederick IX, which for the first time the name of the country was inscribed in two languages, Danish and Greenlandic.

A stamp issued in Ivigtût.

Local issues

Ivigtut

In 1922, in the town of Ivigtût (located in the southwestern part of Greenland, now abandoned), a green stamp with the image of a polar bear and the inscription “Ivigtut Kryolithbrud Bypost 1922" (Ivigtut Cryolite Mining Local mail 1922) was issued by the local mining company providing mail delivery to the small town.

Thule

Stamps were issued in 1935 for the remote settlement in Thule, in the northernmost area of ​​Greenland, found by Knud Rasmussen. The series was issued on the 25th anniversary of the founding of the settlement and depicted Knud Rasmussen, the Danish flag, walruses and local scenery. The stamps were valid for mail from Thule to Copenhagen.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Greenland. Archived 2012-04-14 at WebCite Sandafayre Stamp Atlas. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  2. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20180303053853/http://www.stampworldhistory.com:80/country-profiles-2/europe/denmark-greenland/ Retrieved 12 August 2018.
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