Denmark‘s first postage stamps were issued in 1851, and the northern European country has issued a large number of interesting a collectible philatelic items to the present day.
The earliest Danish stamps did not show the name of the Kingdom of Denmark. The first few stamps were inscribed with some abbreviated variation of FRIMÆRKE KONGELIGT POST, which can be translated as “Royal Mail”. Several colors and denominations were issued with inscriptions of this type. Danish currency at the time was 1 rigsdaler = 96 skilling.
In 1870, the first stamps inscribed DANMARK (the short Danish version of Kongeriget Danmark, “Kingdom of Denmark”, used on all stamps to this day) were issued; five years later, Denmark updated its currency to the system 1 krone = 100 øre.
More: Denmark coins: History and collecting guide
Designs on most Danish postage stamps were fairly conventional and in single colors until the 1970s, a little unusual considering the advances in printing technology taken advantage of in the 1960s by most other stamp issuers. Even at this time, single-color stamps were the rule, not the exception, until the mid-1980s, when multicolored postage stamps finally became the norm. Denmark has retained a fondness for simplicity and tradition on its stamps, however; to this day, many Denmark postage stamps have an “old-time” feel and sense of long, proud history.
Besides postage stamps, Denmark has used several other types of very collectible stamps. These include air post stamps, newspaper stamps, semi-postals, postage due stamps, and others. Also check the subcategories for special collector’s pieces from Denmark like maxicards, souvenir sheets, and unhinged MNH copies of stamps. Our listings are updated daily.
