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I have brought these prices up to date and added currency selection. I have made some additions and given them 'RH' (Revised Hiscocks) numbers to preserve the original Hiscocks numbers. CheckList Setup |
| Shortcuts to different sections of Scandinavia | |||||
| Greenland | Iceland | Norway | Sweden | Finland | Telegram Seals |
Steve Hiscocks wrote:
Following the publication of his World Telegraph Stamp Catalogue in 1900 Walter Morley was taken to task for having excluded 'those of Denmark'.
He defended himself in his 'Philatelic Journal' with the argument that the early local post/telegraph/telephone stamps issued in various Danish towns
were mainly intended for postage and did not qualify as telegraph stamps being equivalent to the 'Correos y Telegrafos' of Spain. Examination of
Christensen and Ringströms' excellent book "The Private Local Posts of Denmark" (Trelleborg Phil. Soc., Trelleborg, Sweden, 1974) and advice
from experts in the UK, Denmark and Sweden all support this view and I do not therefore list these stamps. Collectors wishing to cast their nets wider
will find the information they used in the above book which lists the Kjøbenhavns By- og Hus telegraf, Kjøbenhavns telefon Kiosker, Aarhus
Telefon-og Bypost, Horsens Telefon- og Bypost, and Randers Bypost og Pakke-Expedition stamps in great detail. In one case in 1888 a Randers
Bypost stamp was overprinted "Telefon Mrk" (i.e. Telephone Stamp) and although little is known of its status, it was presumably intended for specific
telephone use and is therefore described below.
One other class of stamps should be mentioned because they look as though they should be telegraph stamps. These are the railway stamps the
design of which includes the winged wheel and radiating thunder bolts so often used for railway and telegraph stamps respectively in the late
nineteenth century. I have seen types worded 'SKAGENSBANEN' and 'HORSENS TØRRING JERNBANE', both of the same design, but no doubt
there were others. I am assured by experts that, in spite of their typical 'railway telegraph' design they were not used for this purpose and are probably
package stamps.
Since I have now started listing Correos y Telegrafos stamps, and since John Barefoot has kindly allowed me to use images from his catalogue,
I will list what I can of these interesting stamps. Some images are still in monochrome, and some are missing.
I would welcome scans that can improve this page.
A number of towns had their own netwirks, and of course Copenhagen had a network of telephone kiosks which was fairly diversified in operation.
They sold tickets for the theatre, provided a phone service and also used the phone as a medium to send telegrams.
The telegrams had seals, some of which were overprinted for use as stamps.
The stamps issued by them were likely to have been used to pay for various services.
| Shortcuts to different Kiosks of Denmark | |||||
| Aalborg Kiosk | Aarhus Kiosk | Frederiksberg, København | København | Randers ByPost | Telegrams |
Early 20th Century About 20 post boxes / kiosks.
Perf. 11½.
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| RHAAL1 in monochrome courtesy of John Barefoot. |
| RH # | Hisc. | Type | Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHAAL1 | - | 1 | 5øre green | 500.00 | 500.00 |
Operated from 1900 to 1948.
1900 - Perf. 11½.
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| RHAAB1 - courtesy of John Barefoot. | RHAAB2 - courtesy of John Barefoot. | RHAAB8 - courtesy of John Barefoot. |
| RH # | Hisc. | Type | Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHAAB1 | - | 1 | 2øre purple-brown (1928) | 50.00 | 150.00 |
| RHAAB2 | - | 1 | 5øre violet (1900) | 35.00 | 75.00 |
| RHAAB2a | - | imperf. | 300.00 | - | |
| RHAAB2b | - | imperf. on one side | 75.00 | - | |
| RHAAB3 | - | 1 | 5øre green (1910) | 50.00 | - |
| RHAAB3a | - | on buff paper. | 65.00 | - | |
| RHAAB4 | - | 1 | 10øre green (1900) | 35.00 | 75.00 |
| RHAAB5 | - | 1 | 10øre violet (1910) | 100.00 | - |
| RHAAB6 | - | 1 | 25øre yellow (1900) | 75.00 | 350.00 |
| RHAAB6a | - | imperf. | 150.00 | - | |
| RHAAB6b | - | perf 10½ (1910) | 100.00 | - | |
| RHAAB6c | - | orange perf 10½ | 100.00 | - | |
| RHAAB7 | - | 1 | 50øre blue perf 10½ (1910) | 100.00 | - |
| RHAAB8 | - | 1 | 1Kr red (1910) | 100.00 | - |
Operated from 1916 to 1972.
1916 - Perf. 11½.
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| RHKFT2 - (monochrome) courtesy of John Barefoot. | RHKFT4 - (monochrome) courtesy of John Barefoot. | RHKFT5 - (monochrome) courtesy of John Barefoot. | RHKFT7 - (monochrome) courtesy of John Barefoot. |
| RH # | Hisc. | Type | Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHKFT1 | - | 1 | 5øre red | 150.00 | - |
| RHKFT2 | - | 1 | 10øre blue | 200.00 | - |
| RHKFT3 | - | 1 | 5 on 5øre red within circle in violet | 200.00 | - |
| RHKFT4 | - | 1 | 20øre red (blurred impression, Perf.11) | 200.00 | - |
| RHKFT5 | - | 1 | 25 on 20øre red (with bars, in violet) | 100.00 | - |
| RHKFT5a | - | vertical overprint | - | - | |
| RHKFT5b | - | vertical overprint | - | - | |
| RHKFT5c | - | vertical overprint | - | - | |
| RHKFT6 | - | 1 | 35 on 20øre red (with bars, in violet) | 100.00 | - |
| RHKFT6a | - | vertical overprint | - | - |
Type 2, circa 1960, typset in sheets of 4 x 4. Perf. 11½
| RH # | Hisc. | Type | Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHKFT7 | - | 2 | 75øre black | 35.00 | - |
| RHKFT8 | - | 100 on 75øre black (m/s, about 1970) | 50.00 | - |
Operated from 1896 to about 1945.
1896 - Perf. 11½.
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| RHKTK1 - one of mine. | RHKTK2 - courtesy of John Barefoot. | RHKTK3 - courtesy of John Barefoot. | RHKTK5a - one of mine. |
| RH # | Hisc. | Type | Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHKTK1 | - | 1 | 5øre blue | 15.00 | 5.00 |
| RHKTK2 | - | 1 | 10øre red | 20.00 | 5.00 |
| RHKTK2a | - | Bisect tied to piece | - | 300.00 | |
| RHKTK3 | - | 1 | 25øre orange | 35.00 | 10.00 |
| RHKTK3a | - | yellow | 50.00 | 10.00 | |
| RHKTK4 | - | 1 | 20 on 10øre red (1910) | 150.00 | 150.00 |
| RHKTK5 | - | 1 | 20 on 25øre orange (1910+) | 100.00 | 75.00 |
| RHKTK5a | - | yellow | 250.00 | 250.00 |
c1910 - Type 2
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| RHKTK6b - courtesy of John Barefoot. | A, small window - (John Barefoot) | B, large window - (John Barefoot) | RHKTK7 - courtesy of John Barefoot. |
| RH # | Hisc. | Type | Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHKTK6 | - | 2 | 20øre red - Type A | 150.00 | 35.00 |
| RHKTK6a | - | Type B | 35.00 | 75.00 | |
| RHKTK7 | - | 2 | 25 on 20øre red - Type B | 100.00 | 50.00 |
c1920's/1930's - overprints on telegram seals.
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| RHKTK8a - courtesy of John Barefoot. | Type 4 from a telegram of 1921 | RHKTK9 - courtesy of John Barefoot. |
RHKTK9 above was tweaked (3 1/3 % larger) to match the size of a known seal. RHKTK8 was made 50% larger to match the size of the overprint and bring the size into alignment with similar known seals.
| RH # | Hisc. | Type | Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHKTK8 | - | 3 | 25øre dark blue, overprint in black | 100.00 | 100.00 |
| RHKTK8a | - | overprint in violet | 100.00 | 100.00 | |
| RHKTK9 | - | 4 | 25øre blue, overprint in violet | 35.00 | - |
from 1932 - new design.
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| RHKTK11 - (monochrome), John Barefoot. | RHKTK12 | RHKTK13 - thicker writing | RHKTK14 - (colourized), John Barefoot. | RHKTK15 - courtesy of John Barefoot. |
The RHKTK11 illustration shows that the first two types had the lines "TELEFON" and "KIOSKER" closer together than later ones. Also the 'R' had a longer tail.
I have colourized the RHKTK14 illustration, but the shade may not be correct. The lettering is thin like the early types rather than that on RHKTK13.
| RH # | Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHKTK10 | 20 Øre dull blue (1932) | 50.00 | 15.00 |
| RHKTK11 | 25 Øre red-brown (1932) | 65.00 | 100.00 |
| RHKTK12 | 25 Øre light blue (1935) | 35.00 | 25.00 |
| RHKTK12a | 25 Øre navy blue (c1938) | 50.00 | 35.00 |
| RHKTK13 | 1944? 35 on 25 Øre navy blue (red) | 50.00 | 50.00 |
| RHKTK14 | 1945? 35 Øre blue | 10.00 | 10.00 |
| RHKTK15 | 1950? 50 Øre red | 10.00 | 10.00 |
Operated from 1888, but the telephone was only a small part of their operation. .
1888 Provisional. Local postage stamps of September 1887 overprinted in black.
Lithographed on white wove paper. No watermark. Perf. 12.
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| Type 1 - RHRan1 | Type 1 - RHRan2 | Type 1 - RHRan2a courtesy of Rolf Lamprecht |
| RH # | Hisc. | Type | Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHRan1 | - | 1 | 4 Strømmen(minutes) on 8 Øre yellow | 5.00 | 5.00 |
| RHRan1a | - | 1 | imperf. | 10.00 | - |
| RHRan1b | - | 1 | double overprint | - | 150.00 |
| RHRan1c | - | 1 | extra vertical line of perforation | 100.00 | - |
| RHRan1d | - | 1 | pair, one without overprint | - | 100.00 |
| RHRan2 | H1 | 1 | 'Telefon Mrk on 10 Øre violet | 5.00 | 5.00 |
| RHRan2a | H1a | 1 | imperf. | 10.00 | 20.00 |
| RHRan2b | H1b | 1 | in pair with missing overprint | - | 100.00 |
Hiscocks book only covers stamps that were intended only for telegraphic or telephone usage.
I have not confined myself so narrowly for the British stamps. I do not intend to for other stamps either, but my information is limited.
4 additional ones courtesy of Gabriel Coutinho de Gusmão.
Hiscocks says that these were 'mainly intended for postage', though available for telegraphic use.
I have seen the 10 Øre in orange on a pale blue-green background also.
I have seen these with numbers 1(yellow), 2(green), 3(blue), 5(violet) and 10(red).
I will add others as I get examples.
The numbers on these are different to those above.
Here are a couple of used examples. The one on the left was cancelled with an obliterator having a cloth over it indicating high usage.
The design is different from the ones above, lacking an inner ellipse around the centre.
Apparently a lot of these were called telephone stamps to get around the government monopoly on postal services.
They could be used to pay for both, but were generally used for local mail delivery.
| Shortcuts to different sections of Denmark | ||||
| Kiosks | State Railways Telegrams | Kiosk Telephone-Telegrams | Private Telegrams | Private Railway Telegrams |
No form number.
Used 15 March 1906
Form 30a.
Chicago to Copenhagen. Much easier to read. Used 2 November 1915.
Form 30.
This has an advert on the back for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company.
This appears to be from Nowshera, Pakistan, sent via Eastern. It was used 1 March 1922.
Form 4.
This appears to be from Riga, Latvia, sent via Great Northern (see below). This was used 4 October 1930.
The Address of "FORENDE KBHAVN" is probably a reference to Forenede dampskibs-selskab (United Steamship Company) of Kobenhavn, see below.
This appears to be from New York, sent via Radio Danmark. It includes some code as well as plain text.
At the bottom-left it has "Afskrevet" which translates as "Depreciated", though I suspect "Discounted" might be more accurate. This was used 21 October 1936.
This is from Tecumseh, Michigan, U.S.A. via Western Union to København and was used 22 December 1948.
This is a luxury version, it looks modern, but is actually older than the one above, and was probably sent in an envelope.
"Lyk. 0" at bottom-left. This is dated 15/4/1939. Courtesy of Les Bottomley.
This is actually the Kings Railways. Dated 16 October 1874 for a telegram from Berlin.
The imprint at bottom-left has "Form Nr. 206 I.".
Now State, but still with the Crown.
State Railways Telegram used 4 November 1906 (or perhaps 1904 ?).
Whilst the status of these is rather uncertain, they do appear to have provided a needed service for quite a while.
Kjøbenhavns Telefon-Kiosker A/S (created 1896)
Kjøbenhavns Telefon-Kiosker used 31 December 1908.
Kjøbenhavns Telefon-Kiosker used 19 July 1921.
It should be noted that C.F. Tietgen was instrumental in creating both the Great Northern Telegraph Co., and the DFDS (United Steamship Company) below.
The Great Northern Telegraph Company.
Though a Danish company, it is perhaps best known for its operations elsewhere, in particular in Hong Kong / China due to its use of telegraph stamps.
The Great Northern had won a Russian contract to connect submarine cables from Vladivostok to Nagasaki, Shanghai and Hong Kong, which was completed at the beginning of 1872.
Maps showing the extent of operations of the Great Northern, courtesy of Les Bottomley.
Here are some of their telegrams used in Britain.
It is normal for the receiving station to have its name pre-filled, in this case Newcastle, but not the sending station, in this case Gothenburg (Göteborg).
The reason is that in 1880 a cable was laid between Newbiggin by the Sea, just to the north of Newcastle, and Marstrand, Sweden, already connected to Denmark, and on the end of a chain of islands to the north-west of Göteborg.
In 1887 the Great Northern moved its UK offices to 3, St. Helen's Place, London E.C.
A telegram of 16 March 1908 from Moscow to London written in German,
courtesy of Bill Glover at Atlantic-Cable.com
By 1924 the UK office address had changed to to 5, St. Helen's Place, London E.C.3., though probably not a physical move.
Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab A.S. (The United Steamship Company)
Used 16 November 1936? It would be interesting to know what the "KH" in "FORENEDE KH" stood for.
Hads-Ning Herreders Railway Telegram used 4 October 1914.
Radio Telegraph from Godthaab Radio, used 9 February 1948.
Radio Telegraph from Aarhus, used 7 August 1954.
Telegraftjenesten (The Telegraph Service)
Telegram from Aarhus to Julianehåb, used 15 May 1959.
Here is an example of a seal from 1927
Landssiminn is the state-owned telecommunications company in Iceland.
This is the telegram it's on, at the top-right is the form number :
There are imprints across the middle, 30,000 printed by Gutenberg in December 1926.
This half sized image shows a sample of them.
Steve Hiscocks made a start on cataloguing seals of the world in a book he published in 2007.
It was his hope to update it later, but unfortunately that was not to be.
His original book can be viewed at
Telegraph Seals: A World Catalogue. There are links from the pages to my updates.
Alternatively you can view the latest page for Denmark.
So far I have only seen telegrams and telegram seals, though John Barefoot lists this curious item shown below for Norway.
Circa 1920. Perf. 11½
Tickets could be ordered by telephone and the appropriate stamp was affixed to the tickets to ensure that the booking fee was collected.
This image is courtesy of John Barefoot. I have colourized it approximately, but the shade is probably wrong.
| RH # | Hisc. | Type | Description | Mint | Used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHNor1 | - | 1 | 10 Øre blue | - | 10.00 |
| RHNor1 | - | 1 | 25 Øre dark blue | - | 15.00 |
Telegram to Bergen dated 28 June 1895. Norway used the Swedish Coat of Arms until 1905.
The top-right box has "Tjenstlige Bemœrkninger" (Official Remarks), which explains later abbreviations.
The imprint at bottom-right indicates it was printed by I. M. Stenersens in 1894.
A later Form Nr. 23b.
Telegram from Aalesund, Norway to Halden on the border with Sweden, dated 12 May 1934.
The imprint at bottom-left indicates it as Form 23b printed in 1932.
Telegram from Budapest to Oslo, dated 15 September 1950.
The imprint at bottom-left indicates it as Form 23a, with 12,000,000 printed in 1950.
Telegraph envelope, dated September 1925.
The imprint at bottom-left indicates it as Form 205a.
Telegraph envelope, dated 5 December 1932.
The imprint at bottom-left indicates it as Form 208. Image courtesy of SteveDrewett.com
There are quite a few different seals that were used on telegrams in Norway
Norway Statstelegraf seal and Norway Rigstelegraf seal.
So far I have only seen telegrams and telegram seals, though John Barefoot lists a curious item for Norway.
The early ones used "KONGL." as an abbreviation. The year is in the box marked "å" for "år" and the date is in "Datum". This is 29/8/1896.
No Form number.
Telegram from Fredrikshald (written Fridrikshald, now Halden in Norway) to Mora, dated 29 August 1896.
This is very similar to the last except the bottom-left no longer has "Tel af.".
Telegram from Stockholm to ? dated 1 January 1898.
This has changed the Coat of Arms at the top and the wording at the bottom-left, adding the form number 205 and year 1903.
Telegram from Göteborg to ?, dated 24 December 1904.
This has changed the Crown and a lot of details of the wording, including now "KUNGL." The form number and year though are unchanged !
The seal still has KONGL.
Telegram from Berlin to ?, dated 23 December 1905.
This has changed the Crown slightly. The seal is now "KUNGL." The form number is no longer italic, the year is larger, but still 1903.
Telegram used 19 July 1908.
The bottom-right now has added "Sv. Boktr. -A. -B. 29/10 07. 3.500.000.", which I take to mean a printing of 3,500,000 on 29 October 1907.
This is a new style. The form number is still 205 but with the year 1910.
Telegram used 8 April 1915.
The bottom-right now says "Centraltr., Sthlm. 15/7 13. 2,000,000.", which I take to mean a printing of 2,000,000 on 15 July 1913 at Stockholm.
1910 Stockholm imprint.
This is a new style. The form number is still 205 but with the year 1910.
Telegram used 6 November 1919.
The bottom-right now says "IDUNS TRYCKERI - A. - B. , STHLM. 4/10. 16. 5,000,000.", which I take to mean a printing of 5,000,000 on 4 October 1916 at Stockholm.
1910 Stockholm imprint, but printed 1916 and used 1919.
This has a simplified front, but with some information moved to the back.
The year of use is uncertain, 1917 perhaps.
The form number (on the back) is now 199 and the year is 1913.
The bottom-right now says "IDUNS TRYCKERI - A. - B., STHLM. 5/11. 15. 3,000,000.", which I take to mean a printing of 3,000,000 on 5 November 1915 at Stockholm.
Telegram dated 13 April 1917 ?
The information that was on the back, has been moved to the front. The year of use is no longer apparent anywhere ! Not even a seal.
Envelopes were used at times though, see below.
The form number is still 199 with the year now 1917.
The bottom-right now says "Iduns Tryckeri-A.-B., Sthlm. 13/12 22. 3,000,000.", which I take to mean a printing of 3,000,000 on 13 December 1922 at Stockholm.
Telegram used 25 July 19??
Another big change, with the use of tapes and now a clear datestamp on the front, and advertising on the back.
The form number is now 200 with the year as 1927.
The bottom-right now says "Hæggströms 27/1 27. 2.000.000.", which I take to mean a printing of 2,000,000 on 27 January 1927.
Under that it has "Vänd!" meaning "Turn over!"
Telegram clearly dated 1 February 1928
Similar to the last, with the use of tapes and a clear datestamp on the front, unused space for advertising on the back.
The form number is still 200 with the year as 1927.
The bottom-right now says "Lithografiska A.-B., Norrk 17/5 35. 3,500,000.", which I take to mean a printing by lithography of 3,500,000 on 17 May 1935 at Norrköping.
No "Vänd!"
Telegram clearly dated 8 April 1936
Similar to the last, but without the tapes, clear datestamp and top side-sections. Still unused space for advertising on the back.
The form number is back to 199 with the year as 1939.
The bottom-right now says "Lithografiska A.-B., Norrk 8/4 43. 1,000,000.", which I take to mean a printing by lithography of 1.000,000 on 8 April 1943 at Norrköping.
Telegram appears to be dated 30 September 1944
Similar to the last, but the clear datestamp is back and there are form changes.
The form number is now 185, but with the year still as 1939.
The bottom-right now says "Lithografiska A.-B., Norrk 27/1 45. 1,000,000.", which I take to mean a printing by lithography of 1,000,000 on 27 January 1945 at Norrköping.
Telegram clearly dated 27 December 1945.
Another big change. Tapes are back, and with a rectangular arrival Malmö handstamp of 1 February 1949. The back is blank.
The form number is now Bl. 200, with the year as 1947.
The bottom-right now says "Lithografiska AB Norrköping 5. 48. 8,000,000.", which I take to mean a printing by lithography of 8,000,000 in May 1948 at Norrköping.
Telegram clearly dated 1 February 1949. - As an aside, I was born in April 1949 in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. Chipping Norton means the same as Norrköping.
Similar to the last, with a rectangular arrival handstamp of 10 May 1955.
The form number is still Bl. 200, with the year now as 1952.
The bottom-right now says "Lithografiska AB Norrköping 12/5. 52. 8,000,000.", which I take to mean a printing by lithography of 8,000,000 on 12 May 1952 at Norrköping.
Telegram clearly dated 10 May 1955.
This has pencilled on the back 9.11.1944 and has a seal of a type I have seen used from 1947-49.
The front bottom-left says "Tjänsteförsändelse från / Telegrafverket" meaning "Service shipment from / Telegraph works".
This has a form number 72 on the bottom-left with number written as "n:r", in a style used on 1903 telegrams.
The back says "SVERIGES ENSKILDA / JERNVÄGAR." meaning "SWEDEN'S PRIVATE / RAILWAYS."
There are quite a few different telegram seals that were used on telegrams.
So far I have only seen telegrams and telegram seals.
Telegram (Sähkösanoma) from Amsterdam to Helsingfors, now called Helsinki, dated 8 July 1925.
The bottom-left has the form number "Kaav. 1."
The back has an advert for the Nordenfjeldske steamship company.
Telegram from Kymmenebruk (?) to Helsingfors (Helsinki), dated 24 April 1934 ?
The top-left has the form number "N:o 401"
Telegram from s'Gravenhage (the Hague) to Helsinki via Sverige Radio, dated 10 February 1949
The top-left has the form number "No 401. a. 2/3 A 4." and below that "5000/100. 10. 48.", 5000 pads of 100 perhaps printed October 1948 ?
Telegram from Åbo, Finland to Nykarleby, dated 28 June 1971. The top-left has the form number "N:o 401a"
This is stamped in purple at the top "Inkomst - och förmogenhets skattenämnden / I Nykarleby Stad" meaning "Income and wealth tax name / In Nykarleby City".
Steve Hiscocks made a start on cataloguing seals of the world in a book he published in 2007.
It was his hope to update it later, but unfortunately that was not to be.
His original book can be viewed at
Telegraph Seals: A World Catalogue. There are links from the pages to my updates.
Alternatively you can view the latest page for Scandinavian countries linked below :-
If anyone can provide scans to help with this, I am happy to give appropriate credit.
Last updated 9th. September 2025
©Copyright Steve Panting 2012/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25 except where stated.
Permission is hereby granted to copy material for which the copyright is owned by myself, on condition that any data is not altered and this website is given credit.
