Denmark



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The first postage stamps were introduced on 1 April 1851, a four (Fire) rigsbankskilling stamp printed in brown, a square design with a crown, sword, and sceptre in the centre.


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This was followed on 1 May by a 2rbs value in blue using the denomination as the design.

Both stamps were typographed, watermarked (with a crown), and imperforate, and distinctive for having a yellow-brown burelage printed on top of the design. The 2rbs prepaid the local postage rate in Kobenhavn, while the 4rbs was the national rate.

The design and first printings were made by M. W. Ferslew, but he died and the subsequent printing was by H. H. Thiele, whose firm printed Denmark's stamps for the next 80 years.

Four rbs stamps were introduced on 1st May 1851 for use in the Duchy of Slesvig.

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In 1854 the currency was renamed to just "skilling" and "rigsdaler", and new stamps were printed, still square and using the coat of arms, but with the new currency names, and the inscriptions abbreviated so that they could be read as either Danish or German ("FRM" instead of "FRIMAERKE" for instance). Values of 2s, 4s, 8s, and 16s were issued at various times from 1854 to 1857. In 1858 the dotted pattern in the background was replaced with wavy lines, in 1863 a larger crown was used in the watermark and the stamps were rouletted.

Along with postage stamps, the use of numeral cancellations was adopted, consisting of a number with several concentric circles, each number corresponding to a particular post office. "1" was Copenhagen, "2" the office in Hamburg, "5" Aarhus, and so forth.

The Second War of Schleswig in 1864 was a traumatic loss for Denmark, and immediately after it a new issue of stamps featured the traditional symbols of royalty more prominently than the previous issues. Values of 2s, 3s, 4s, 8s, and 16s came out between May 1864 and 1868. These were the first Danish stamps to be perforated.

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In 1870 the first of the long-running "numeral" issue appeared. The design was an oval with the denomination in large numerals in the centre, surrounded by an ornate frame in a different colour. The frame is very nearly symmetric, but not entirely, and the sharp-eyed can identify the stamps with inverted frames. Some of the inverts are quite common, the employees at the printing plant presumably also having difficulties knowing which way was up.

In 1873, the currency was changed to the decimal kroner, which necessitated new stamps. The perforation spacing was changed in 1895, and the watermark in 1902.

Meanwhile, in 1882 the Universal Postal Union standardised on particular colours of stamps for international mail. The "Arms type" was designed to meet this requirement; the 5 ore printed in green, and the 20 ore in blue, followed up in 1885 by a 10 ore in red.



Source: GPFS

In 1904, King Christian IX became the first king of Denmark to be depicted on a stamp.


Source: GPFS





In the following year, a new type of numeral design appeared for the lower values - denomination in an oval with three wavy lines on each side, representing the three waters separating the largest Danish islands. This design proved so popular that variations on it remain in use as of 2003.



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 In 1907, the Christian IX design was updated with a portrait of the new King, Frederick VIII.

In 1912, several types of stamps were surcharged to 35 ore. In the same year, Denmark's first pictorial stamp was a 5-kroner issue depicting the Copenhagen General Post Office.

King Christian X appeared in profile between 1913 and 1928, in a long-lived series that featured a number of colour and value changes.

In 1918, a need for 27 ore value resulted in surcharges on newspaper stamps.
 
On 5 October 1920, Denmark's first commemorative stamps, a set of three pictorials, marked the reunion of northern Schleswig with Denmark following a plebiscite. 1924 saw commemoratives for the 300th anniversary of the postal service, and in 1926 the original two designs were adapted for an issue noting the 75th anniversary of their introduction.

In 1927 a set of six stamps depicted a caravel, modelled after an old engraving. The 1927 set was typographed; from 1933 to 1940 the design was reissued with the use of engraving instead. The engraved design was soon changed to reduce the left-side margin, with the "Type IIs" having only one column of squares between sail and frame line, where the "Type Is" have two columns.

The GPFS website (on which the above description is based) has detailed information on these issues:

• 1851-1900
• 1900-1945

Also see the detailed Danish Classic Stamps 1851-70 (in Danish).