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Greenland Stamps

Commemoratives of 1945-1975


The first commemorative Greenland stamps appeared in early 1945, though they were not actually produced in Denmark or in Greenland.  The first official commemorative stamps for Greenland were not actually issued until 1957.


During early 1945, 30,200 sets of the American Banknote Company Issue of Greenland of February 1, 1945 were overprinted, in carmine or blue ink, "DANMARK / BEFRIET / 5 MAJ 1945" to celebrate the Liberation of Denmark from Germany.  The overprinted stamps (Sc. #19-27) are all shown in the image above.

As with the regular American Issue of Greenland pictorial definitive stamps, these overprinted varieties are very scarce today.



The five pictorial Greenland stamps shown above (Sc. #41-45) were issued between 1957 and 1969, and they feature the theme of Inuit (Eskimo) Legends

The designs of these stamps are as follows:


  • 35 Ø.  (1961) - Drum Dancer.
  • 50 Ø.  (1966) - The Boy and the Fox.
  • 60 Ø.  (1957) - The Mother of the Sea.
  • 80 Ø.  (1969) - The Girl and the Eagle.
  • 90 Ø.  (1967) - The Great Northern Diver and the Raven.



The
30 Ø. commemorative Greenland stamp shown above (Scott #46), at the left, was issued on November 5, 1958 to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Death of Hans Egede.

Hans Egede (1686-1758) was a Danish-Norwegian Lutheran missionary to the Inuit in Greenland.  Greenlanders have stylized him as the Apostle of Greenland.


The 30
Ø. commemorative Greenland stamp shown above (Scott #47), at the center, was issued on November 24, 1960 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Mission and Trading Station at Thule, established by Knud Rasmussen.

Knud Johan Victor Rasmussen (1879-1933) was a Greenland-born Danish polar explorer and anthropologist.  He spent his life studying the origins of the Inuit peoples of the polar regions of North America and Greenland, having led expeditions from Greenland, across Canada, to the Alaskan border.


The 35 Ø. commemorative Greenland stamp shown above (Scott #68), at the right, was issued on November 26, 1964 to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Samuel Kleinschmidt.

Samuel Kleinschmidt (1814-1886) was a Greenland-born German-Danish missionary and linguist.  He created the grammar for the Greenlandic language and translated much of the Bible into Greenlandic.



The two commemorative Greenland stamps shown above (Sc. #66-67) were issued on November 21, 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Atomic Theory of Niels Bohrs.

Niels Henrik David Bohrs (1885-1962) was a Danish philosopher, scientific researcher, and physicist, noted for his contributions to the understanding of atomic structure and quantum theory.  He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922.


The
50 Ø. commemorative stamp shown above (Scott #69), at the left, was issued on June 10, 1967 to celebrate the Royal Wedding of Crown Princess Margrethe to Prince Henri de Monpezat.


The 6
0 Ø. commemorative stamp shown above (Scott #70), at the right, was issued on March 11, 1969 to celebrate the 70th Birthday of King Frederik IX.



The
60 Ø. commemorative stamp shown above (Scott #76), at the left, was issued on May 4, 1970 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Liberation of Denmark.

The design features the
Liberation Celebration at Jakobshaven (
Ilulissat).


The 60 Ø. commemorative stamp shown above (Scott #77), at the right, was issued on May 6, 1971 to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Arrival of Hans Egede in Greenland and the beginning of Greenland's colonization.

The design features
Hans Egede and Gertrude Rask arriving in Greenland.



The
1.20 Kr. commemorative stamp shown above (Scott #101) was issued on October 16, 1975 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Sirius Sled Patrol in Northeastern Greenland.

The
Sirius Sled Patrol, established in 1950, is the only military sled patrol in the World.  It is an elite Danish naval unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance patrolling and enforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness of Northern and Eastern Greenland.




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Greenland Postage Stamps

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Greenland Stamps - Commemoratives of 1945-1975






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The two commemorative Greenland stamps shown above (Sc. #98-99) were issued on May 16, 1974 to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Royal Greenland Trade Department.

The design of the 1 Kr. denomination stamp features a trawler and kayaks.

The design of the 2 Kr. denomination stamp features the Old Trade Buildings in Copenhagen.



The
90 Ø. commemorative Greenland stamp shown above  (Sc. #100) was issued on September 4, 1975 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Greenland's Telecommunications System.

The design features a
falcon and radar
.