Stamps of Sweden
Definitives of 1885-1911
The definitive stamps of Sweden, for the period between 1885 and 1904, reflected the last of the Numeral and Arms definitives, provisionally revalued stamps, the first monarch to appear on a Swedish stamp, a new portrait definitive stamp series, and the appearance of Sweden's first postage stamp booklets.
The 10 Öre denomination portrait definitive stamp of Sweden shown above (Sc. #39) was issued on January 1, 1885. This stamp is typographed on unwatermarked paper.
The design features a left-facing portrait of King Oscar II. This is the first Swedish definitive postage stamp to feature the portrait of a reigning monarch.
This stamp also exists imperforate.
The ten definitive postage stamp types of 1877-1885 shown above were re-issued between 1886 and 1891. These new stamps are identical to the previous issues, however, each of these new stamps has a colored posthorn printed on the back side, as shown above.
The catalog attributes are as follows:
- 02 Ö. (1891 - Sc. #40) - Orange.
- 03 Ö. (1887 - Sc. #41) - Yellow Brown.
- 04 Ö. (1886 - Sc. #42) - Gray.
- 05 Ö. (1886 - Sc. #43) - Green.
- 06 Ö. (1888 - Sc. #44) - Red Lilac, Violet.
- 10 Ö. (1886 - Sc. #45) - Pink, Rose.
- 20 Ö. (1886 - Sc. #46) - Vermilion.
- 30 Ö. (1886 - Sc. #47) - Pale Brown.
- 50 Ö. (1886 - Sc. #48) - Rose.
- 01 K. (1878 - Sc. #49) - Bister & Dark Blue.
The 2 Ö., 10 Ö., and 1 K. denominations exist in imperforate pairs.
A shortage of 10 Ö. stamps necessitated the provisional overprinting and re-valuation of the two numeral type definitive stamps of Sweden shown above on October 1, 1889.
The catalog attributes are as follows:
- 10 Ö. on 12 Ö. (1889 - Sc. #50) - Blue.
- 10 Ö. on 24 Ö. (1889 - Sc. #52) - Orange.
The fourteen Numeral and Portrait type definitive stamps of Sweden shown above were issued between 1891 and 1911. The stamps are all perforated 13. The four low denominations are typographed, and the remaining denominations are all engraved.
The designs of the four lowest denominations feature a large numeral, and the designs of the other denominations feature the right-facing portrait of King Oscar II. This was the first definitive stamp series to feature the portrait of a Swedish monarch.
The catalog attributes for stamps that are printed on paper with WMK 180 are as follows:
- 01 Ö. (1892 - Sc. #52) - Brown & Ultramarine.
- 02 Ö. (1891 - Sc. #53) - Blue & Yellow Orange.
- 03 Ö. (1892 - Sc. #54) - Brown & Orange.
- 04 Ö. (1892 - Sc. #55) - Carmine & Ultramarine.
- 05 Ö. (1891 - Sc. #56) - Yellow Green, Blue Green.
- 05 Ö. (1904 - Pane of 6 - Sc. #56e) - Yellow Green, Blue Green.
- 08 Ö. (1903 - Sc. #57) - Red Violet.
- 10 Ö. (1891 - Sc. #58) - Carmine.
- 10 Ö. (1904 - Pane of 6 - Sc. #58c) - Carmine.
- 15 Ö. (1891 - Sc. #59) - Red Brown.
- 20 Ö. (1891 - Sc. #60) - Blue.
- 25 Ö. (1896 - Sc. #61) - Red Orange.
- 30 Ö. (1891 - Sc. #62) - Brown.
- 50 Ö. (1891 - Sc. #63) - Slate.
- 50 Ö. (1904 - Sc. #64) - Olive Gray.
- 01 K. (1900 - Sc. #65) - Carmine & Slate.
The catalog attributes for stamps that are printed on unwatermarked paper are as follows:
- 20 Ö. (1911 - Sc. #75) - Blue.
- 25 Ö. (1911 - Sc. #76) - Red Orange.
The 5 Ö. and 10 Ö. denomination stamps of Sweden were first issued in booklet format in 1904. A booklet pane of the 10 Ö. denomination is shown above. Each of the 5 Ö. and 10 Ö. denomination booklets contained five panes of six stamps, and they are, of course, quite scarce today.
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Return to Stamps of Sweden from
Definitives of 1885-1904
King Oscar II of Sweden
Oscar Fredrik (1829-1907) reigned as King Oscar II of Sweden from 1872 to 1907 and of Norway from 1872 to 1905.
He
was a multifaceted individual. Besides being a royal head-of-state, he
was also active in foreign statesmanship, science, writing, music, and
exploration. He was the last Swedish monarch to be coronated or to have
worn a crown.
At the time of the king's death in 1907, the Swedish monarch no longer ruled Norway. His eldest son, Oscar Gustaf Adolf (1858-1950), ascended to the Swedish throne as King Gustaf V.
Paper
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