Postage stamps and postal history of Greenland

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

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
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
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.

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.



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.

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

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.