Danish Stamps
Definitives of 1905-1917
The new Danish stamps issued during this period featured lower-denomination numeral-type definitive stamps, provisionally revalued definitive stamps, and the first Danish postage stamps to feature the portrait of the reigning monarch.
 WMK 112
|
 WMK 113
|
Two paper watermarks were used for Danish stamps between 1905 and 1917, and they are both shown above. They will be referred to by their WMK numbers in the descriptions below.
Only the major denominations and colors will be shown in the images below. The production varieties of these definitive postage stamps will be indicated in the catalog detail tables.
The eight lower-denomination definitive Danish stamps shown above were issued between 1905 and 1917. This definitive stamp design, with various production modifications, would remain in use, for lower-denominations, well into the 20th Century.
At the top, these stamps feature heraldic lions on either side of a crown. In the middle, they feature a large denomination numeral, within an oval, and waves on either side. The waves are symbolic of the three waters that separate the principal Danish islands.
The catalog attributes for stamps that are perforated 13 and printed on paper with WMK 113 are as follows:
- 01 Ø. (1906 - Sc. #57) - Orange.
- 02 Ø. (1905 - Sc. #58) - Carmine.
- 03 Ø. (1905 - Sc. #59) - Gray.
- 04 Ø. (1905 - Sc. #60) - Dull Blue.
- 05 Ø. (1912 - Sc. #61) - Deep Green.
- 10 Ø. (1912 - Sc. #62) - Deep Rose.
- 15 Ø. (1905 - Sc. #63) - Lilac.
- 20 Ø. (1912 - Sc. #64) - Dark Blue.
The catalog attributes for stamps that are perforated 14 x 14 1/2 and printed on paper with WMK 113 are as follows:
- 02 Ø. (1917 - Sc. #58a) - Carmine.
- 04 Ø. (1917 - Sc. #60a) - Dull Blue.
The five portrait definitive Danish stamps shown above were issued between 1904 and 1906.
These stamps are all engraved, perforated 13 and printed on paper with WMK 113.
These stamps feature the right-facing portrait of King Christian IX. These are the first Danish definitive postage stamps to feature the portrait of a reigning monarch.
The catalog attributes for stamps from the first engraving are as follows:
- 010 Ø. (1904 - Sc. #65) - Scarlet.
- 020 Ø. (1904 - Sc. #66) - Blue.
- 025 Ø. (1905 - Sc. #67) - Brown.
- 050 Ø. (1905 - Sc. #68) - Dull Violet.
- 100 Ø. (1905 - Sc. #69) - Ocher.
The catalog attributes for stamps that are re-engraved are as follows:
- 005 Ø. (1905 - Sc. #70) - Green.
- 010 Ø. (1906 - Sc. #71) - Scarlet.
The seven portrait definitive Danish stamps shown above were issued between 1907 and 1912.
These stamps are all engraved, perforated 13 and printed on paper with WMK 113.
These stamps feature the facing portrait of King Frederik VIII.
The catalog attributes are as follows:
- 005 Ø. (1907 - Sc. #72) - Green.
- 010 Ø. (1907 - Sc. #73) - Red.
- 020 Ø. (1907 - Sc. #74) - Indigo, Bright Blue.
- 025 Ø. (1907 - Sc. #75) - Olive Brown.
- 035 Ø. (1912 - Sc. #76) - Deep Orange.
- 050 Ø. (1907 - Sc. #77) - Claret.
- 100 Ø. (1907 - Sc. #78) - Bister Brown.
A shortage of 035 Ø. stamps necessitated the provisional overprinting and revaluation of the three obsolete definitive stamps shown above during 1912.
The catalog attributes are as follows:
- 35 Ø. on 16 Ø. (1912 - Sc. #79) - Slate & Brown.
- 35 Ø. on 20 Ø. (1912 - Sc. #80) - Rose & Gray.
- 35 Ø. on 32 Ø. (1912 - Sc. #81) - Green.
The Five Kroner pictorial definitive stamp shown above was issued on September 16, 1912.
This stamp is engraved, perforated 13 and printed on paper with WMK 113.
The central design of this stamp features the General Post Office in Copenhagen.
The catalog attributes are as follows:
- 05 K. (1912 - Sc. #82) - Red.
eBay Auction and Store Links
Denmark and Faroe Islands
Postage Stamps
The following links feature category-focused affiliated seller listings on various eBay sites worldwide. They may enable visitors to shop
for and to buy specific items for the
particular collecting subject they've just read about.
The
affiliated eBay seller auction lots provided by eBay,
Inc. are not the responsibility of the management of this
website. On high priced material, make sure the lots you are buying are properly authenticated.
Remember
that the lots on European eBay sites are priced in EUROS or in POUNDS. Shipping
charges may be more, and the lots may take longer to arrive. Also, make
sure the foreign seller ships to your country, before bidding on or
buying his lot.
Return to Danish Stamps from
Definitives of 1905-1917
King Christian IX of Denmark
Christian (1818-1906) reigned as King Christian IX of Denmark from 1863 to 1906.
Christian was not actually in the line-of-succession to the Danish throne. King Frederik VII of Denmark (1808-1863), who was unable to father children, chose Christian as his heir-presumptive in 1853.
By the time his portrait first appeared on Danish postage stamps, Christian was already 85 years old. He died of natural causes on January 29, 1906, barely two years after the postage stamps with his portrait were issued.
King Christian IX was succeeded by his oldest son, Frederik (1843-1912), who ascended to the Danish throne as King Frederik VIII.
King Frederik VIII of Denmark
Christian Frederik Vilhelm Carl (1843-1912) reigned as King Frederik VIII of Denmark from 1906 to 1912.
Due to his father's longevity, Frederik served as Crown Prince for 43 years, and when he finally succeeded to the throne of Denmark, he was already 62 years old.
Being 68 years old and in ill health, Frederik was taking a walk through a park during a visit to Hamburg on May 14, 1912, when he collapsed on a bench and died from what is believed to be a seizure.
King Frederik VIII was succeeded by his oldest son, Christian (1870-1947), who ascended to the Danish throne as King Christian X.