Norway 1855 4 skilling blue, Coat of Arms

Norway · 1855 · 4 skilling

This is Norway's first postage stamp, issued in 1855. The design features the crowned Coat of Arms of Norway, a lion rampant holding an axe, within a circular frame. The stamp is imperforate and was printed in a distinctive blue color.

Issued during the union between Sweden and Norway under King Oscar I, this stamp marked Norway's entry into the postal reform movement that swept Europe following Great Britain's Penny Black.