Postage stamps and postal history of Greenland

Last updated

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

Contents

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. GRL 1916 MiNr009 pm B002.jpg
A Pakke-Porto stamp.

Stamps were issued by the Kongelige Grønlandske Handel 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.


First stamps

The 1945 series. 1945gronland2kr.jpg
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 Frederik IX. For the first time, the name of the country was inscribed in two languages, Danish and Greenlandic.

A stamp issued in Ivigtut. StampIvigtutLocalPost1922.jpg
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.[ citation needed ]

The legitimacy of these stamps is strongly questioned, and are believed to have been created by American stamp collector Brad Arch in the 1960s.[ citation needed ]

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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knud Rasmussen</span> Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer and anthropologist (1879–1933)

Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen was a Greenlandic-Danish polar explorer and anthropologist. He has been called the "father of Eskimology" and was the first European to cross the Northwest Passage via dog sled. He remains well known in Greenland, Denmark and among Canadian Inuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cancellation (mail)</span> Postal marking to deface a stamp and prevent its re-use

A cancellation is a postal marking applied on a postage stamp or postal stationery to deface the stamp and to prevent its reuse. Cancellations come in a huge variety of designs, shapes, sizes, and colors. Modern cancellations commonly include the date and post office location where the stamps were mailed, in addition to lines or bars designed to cover the stamp itself. The term "postmark" refers specifically to the part that contains the date and posting location, but the term is often used interchangeably with "cancellation" as it may serve that purpose. The portion of a cancellation that is designed to deface the stamp and does not contain writing is also called the "obliteration" or killer. Some stamps are issued pre-cancelled with a printed or stamped cancellation and do not need to have a cancellation added. Cancellations can affect the value of stamps to collectors, positively or negatively. Cancellations of some countries have been extensively studied by philatelists, and many stamp collectors and postal history collectors collect cancellations in addition to the stamps themselves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qaanaaq</span> Place in Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Qaanaaq, formerly known as Thule or New Thule, is the main town in the northern part of the Avannaata municipality in northwestern Greenland. The town has a population of 646 as of 2020. The population was forcibly relocated from its former, traditional home, which was expropriated for the construction of a United States Air Force base in 1953. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the local Inuktun language and many also speak Kalaallisut and Danish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilulissat</span> City in Greenland

Ilulissat, formerly Jakobshavn or Jacobshaven, is the municipal seat and largest town of the Avannaata municipality in western Greenland, located approximately 350 km (220 mi) north of the Arctic Circle. With a population of 4,670 as of 2020, it is the third-largest city in Greenland, after Nuuk and Sisimiut. The city is home to almost as many sled-dogs as people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Perfin</span> Stamp with a name perforated across it

In philately, a perfin is a stamp that has had initials or a name perforated across it to discourage theft. The name is a contraction of perforated initials or perforated insignia. They are also sometimes called SPIFS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peary Land</span> Peninsula in northern Greenland

Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the northernmost point of Greenland's mainland, and Cape Bridgman in the northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Freuchen</span> Danish explorer and anthropologist (1886–1957)

Lorenz Peter Elfred Freuchen was a Danish explorer, author, journalist and anthropologist. He is notable for his role in Arctic exploration, namely the Thule Expeditions.

The Australian Antarctic Territory, claimed by Australia on 1 December 1959, has used a postal system as its main point of contact since its establishment, due to its isolation. The territory covers over 5.8 million kilometres squared and currently has 5 stations, after Wilkes Station closed down in 1969. Each of the bases has their own post office that are run by Australia Post, who also controls stamp issues according to recent or important events within the territory. The history of the postage system dates back to the original post office within the territory, which first opened in 1955, which was in conjunction with a stamp release. The current system now combines new technologies with aged systems to create more efficiency, with recent stamp releases commending the history of the Australian Antarctic Territory and the Arts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etah, Greenland</span> Place in Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark

Etah is an abandoned settlement in the Avannaata municipality in northern Greenland. It was a starting point of discovery expeditions to the North Pole and the landing site of the last migration of the Inuit from the Canadian Arctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenlandic krone</span> Planned currency for Greenland which was abandoned in 2009

The Greenlandic krone was a planned currency for Greenland, plans of which were abandoned in 2009. The same name is often used for currency issued during Greenland's time as a Danish colony. The name krone is derived from the Danish krone, introduced in an 1873 currency reform that replaced Danish mark and skilling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Jamaica</span>

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Therkel Mathiassen</span>

Therkel Mathiassen was a Danish archaeologist, anthropologist, cartographer, and ethnographer notable for his scientific study of the Arctic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of the Cape of Good Hope</span>

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Cape of Good Hope.

Dr. Erik Holtved was a Danish artist, archaeologist, linguist, and ethnologist. He was the first university-trained ethnologist to study the Inughuit, the northernmost Greenlandic Inuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jens Lind (botanist)</span> Danish botanist (1874–1939)

Jens Wilhelm August Lind was a Danish apothecary, botanist and mycologist. He was a pupil of Emil Rostrup and published a full account of all fungi collected in Denmark by Rostrup. These were mainly microfungi, such as plant pathogens. He also wrote accounts on microfungi from Greenland and elsewhere, mainly based on collections made by other persons on expeditions, e.g. Gjøa expedition and the Second Thule Expedition. Combining his pharmaceutical and mycological knowledge, he was early in experimenting on chemical control of plant pathogens and recommending it to other practitioners. He also - together with Knud Jessen - wrote an account on the immigration history of weeds to Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jørgen Brønlund</span> Greenlandic polar explorer

Jørgen Brønlund was a Greenlandic polar explorer, educator, and catechist. He participated in two Danish expeditions to Greenland in the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Greenland Trading Department</span>

The Royal Greenland Trading Department was a Danish state enterprise charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. The company managed the government of Greenland from 1774 to 1908 through its Board of Managers in Copenhagen and a series of Royal Inspectors and Governors in Godthaab and Godhavn on Greenland. The company was headquartered at Grønlandske Handels Plads at Christianshavn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British post offices in Crete</span>

British post offices in Crete provided the postal service in the territory of the island of Crete. Stamps inscribed in Greek were used in the British sphere of administration (Heraklion) during the Great Powers occupation of the island in 1898–1899.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grønlandske Handels Plads</span>

(Kongelige) Grønlandske Handels Plads is a waterfront area at the end of Strandgade in the northwestern corner of the Christianshavn neighbourhood of Copenhagen, Denmark. The area is bounded by the Trangraven canal to the north, Christianshavn Canal to the east, Krøyers Plads to the south and the main harbor to the west. The waterfront is also known as Nordatlantens Brygge. It is named for the Royal Greenland Trading Department and was for more than 200 years a hub for Danish trade on Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The most notable building is North Atlantic House, an 18th-century warehouse now used as a cultural centre for the North Atlantic area.

The Hans Egede Medal is awarded by the Royal Danish Geographical Society for outstanding services to geography, "principally for geographical studies and research in the Polar lands." It was instituted in 1916 and named after Hans Egede, a Danish missionary who established a mission in Greenland.

References

  1. Greenland. Archived 2012-04-06 at the Wayback Machine Sandafayre Stamp Atlas. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  2. "Greenland | Stamps and postal history | StampWorldHistory". Archived from the original on 2018-03-03. Retrieved 12 August 2018.[ title missing ]

Further reading