2018-08-06 Mon

The Parcel Post Stamps were first stamps of Greenland which were privately produced. They are called as "local" or "carrier" stamps in modern philatelic terminology.

During the early 20th Century, travel to and from Greenland was extremely difficult, and voyages to the colony were usually only made during the summer months. The Royal Greenland Trading Company, in Denmark, held the monopoly for the transport and delivery of all letter mail and packages to Greenland. Due to an increase in the shipment of the post, the company decided to implement a fee to compensate them for the costs of the transportation of parcels to Greenland.

However, the company was not allowed to issue its own postage stamps. Hence, parcel postage stamps for the transport of packages were issued. Most of these stamps were actually used on packages being sent from Denmark to Greenland. These "parcel post" stamps, used within Greenland and having Greenland town cancellations, are very scarce.

A set of nine major-denomination-type Greenland stamps were produced between 1905 and 1937 with the denominations ranging from 1Ore to 3Kroner. The stamps depict Polar bear in the coat of arms topped with a crown in the centre with a design resembling a icebergs at the top and waves at the bottom.

These privately produced parcel post stamps were not inscribed with a country name. They only bore the Arms of Greenland and the Danish words "PAKKE-PORTO" or "Parcel Postage" at the top and the value at the bottom.

The "parcel post" Greenland stamps were discontinued in 1938, being replaced by the use of government-issued Danish and Greenlandic postage stamps.

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