NORWAY

NORWAY / NORGE - NOREG.

International Geophysical Year.
Map of Svalbard Archipelago.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 01.07.1957.
Face value: 35 Norwegian øre.
Printed by Emil Moestue trykkeri, Oslo.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 9,875,000 copies.
Size: 24 x 40 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 426.
- Michel No. 412.
- Norgeskatalogen No. 449.
- Scott No. 356.
- StampWorld No. 428.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 468.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 377.

On December 1, 1959, the twelve countries that had carried out scientific activities in and around Antarctica during the 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year signed the Antarctic Treaty in Washington. The Treaty entered into force on June 23, 1961, and has been accepted by many other nations. The Treaty recognizes, among other things, the interest of all humankind that Antarctica continue to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord. The signatory countries were: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Svalbard, also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. Approximately 60% of the archipelago is covered with glaciers, and the islands feature many mountains and fjords. On February 9, 1920, following the Paris Peace Conference, the Svalbard Treaty was signed, granting full sovereignty to Norway. However, all signatory countries were granted non-discriminatory rights to fishing, hunting, and mineral resources. The treaty took effect on August 14, 1925. After the WWII, the Soviet Union established mining facilities in the archipelago, and at times the population of Russian origin accounted for two-thirds of the total population, then estimated at about 4,000 inhabitants; currently the population has been reduced (in 2016 it was 2,667 inhabitants), and is made up of Norwegian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, German, Swedish, Danish and Thai citizens.

CANADA

CANADA.

Famous Canadian.
Joseph-Elzéar Bernier (1852-1934), Arctic explorer.
Stamp issued on 16.09.1977.
Face value: 12 Canadian cent of dollar.
Design: Will Davies (1924-2016).
Engraving: Robert Couture.
Printing: Recess.
Printed by British American Bank Note Co., Montreal.
Print: 12,000,000 copies.
Size: 40 x 24 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 667.
- Scott No. 738.
- StampWorld No. 667.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 892.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 640.

Joseph-Elzéar Bernier (L'Islet, Quebec, January 1, 1852 - Lévis, Quebec, December 26, 1934) was a Canadian ship captain and explorer. On July 1, 1909, he have laid a plaque on Melville Island proclaiming Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic Islands. Between 1906 and 1925 he made 12 Arctic expeditions and spent 8 winters there. The United Kingdom ceded the Arctic to Canada in 1880. The stamp shows the ship “Arctic”, with which in 1906 he made his first trip to the Arctic lands.

NORWAY

NORWAY.

Pro National Tourist Association.
The North Cape.
First stamp in a set of 3, issued on 01.04.1943.
Vace value: 15 + 25 Norwegian øre.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 520,000 copies.
Size: 30 x 24 mm.

Catalogs
- AFA No. 290.
- Michel No. 284.
- Nordeskatalogen No. 311.
- Scott No. B28.
- StampWorld No. 292.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 349.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 246.

The North Cape (Norwegian: Nordkapp; Northern Sami: Davvenjárga) is a promontory located on the island of Magerøya, in northern Norway, in the community of Nordkapp. Its cliff, 307 m (1,007 ft) high, is often considered the northernmost point in Europe. However, neighboring Cape Knivskjellodden lies about 1,450 m (4,760 ft) further north and is the northernmost point on the continent. A road to the North Cape was first built in 1956. The North Cape was named by the English navigator Steven Borough, captain of the Edward Bonaventure, which sailed past in 1553 in search of the Northeast Passage.

This postage stamp wa issued during the German occupation of Norway (1940-1945). Shortly after, in December 1943, the battle of the North Cape took place between German and British naval forces.

CANADA

CANADA.

250th anniversary of Samuel Hearne's expedition to the Coppermine River.
Map of Coppermine River.
Stamp issued on 07.05.1971.
Face value: 6 cents of Canadian dollar.
Printing: Photogravure and Recess.
Print: 14,300,000 copies.
Size: 36 x 21 copies.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 480.
- Scott No. 540.
- StampWorld No. 480.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 682.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 460.

Samuel Hearne (1745 - 1792) was an English explorer, fur trader, writer, and naturalist. From 1769 to 1772 he explored the northwest of present-day Canada, looking especially for the copper mines described by the natives of the region. After some unsuccessful attempts, on July 14, 1771 his expedition, with a group of Chipewyan Indians led by the great chief Matonabbee, reached the Coppermine River. A few days later he became the first European to reach the shore of the Arctic Ocean by land. The same expedition also succeeded in its main objective by discovering copper in the Coppermine River basin. In 1774 Hearne was sent to Saskatchewan to establish Fort Cumberland, the second inland trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1776 He became governor of the Prince of Wales fort, and still lived through various adventures before his death. He wrote A Journey from Prince of Wales's Fort in Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean, which was published posthumously in 1795.

NORWAY

NORWAY / NORGE - NOREG.

International Geophysical Year, 1957-1958.
Jan Mayen Island.
First stamp in a set of 3, issued on 01.07.1957.
Face value: 25 Norwegian øre.
Printing: Photogravure.
Print: 4,020,0000 copies.
Size: 40 x 24 mm.     

Catalogs
- AFA No. 425.
- Michel No. 411.
- Norgeskatalogen No. 448.
- Scott No. 355.
- StampWorld No. 427.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 467.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 376.

On December 1, 1959, the twelve countries that had carried out scientific activities in and around Antarctica during the 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year signed the Antarctic Treaty in Washington. The Treaty entered into force on June 23, 1961, and has been accepted by many other nations. The Treaty recognizes, among other things, the interest of all humankind that Antarctica continue to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord. The signatory countries were: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Jan Mayen is a Norwegian volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean, with no permanent population. It is 55 km (34 mi) long (southwest-northeast) and 373 km² (144 sq mi) in area, partly covered by glaciers around the Beerenberg volcano, 2,277 m (7,470 ft ) high. It has two parts: larger northeast Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, linked by a 2.5 km (1.6 mi) wide isthmus. It lies 600 km (370 mi) northeast of Iceland, 495 km (305 mi) east of central Greenland and 1,000 km (620 mi) west of the North Cape, Norway. The only inhabitants on the island are personnel working for the Norwegian Armed Forces and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. From 1615 to 1638, Jan Mayen was used as a Dutch whaling base. During the International Polar Year 1882-1883, the Austro-Hungarian North-Pole Expedition stayed for a year at Jan Mayen and carried out an extensive mapping of the area, being their maps of such quality that were used until the 1950s. A regulation dating from 2010 makes the island a nature reserve l under Norwegian jurisdiction.

CANADA

CANADA.

Centenary of Arctic Islands acquisition.
Map of Canada with localization of the Arctic Islands.
Stamp issued on 23.01.1980.
Face value: 17 cents of Canadian dollar.
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 25,300,000 copies.
Size: 36 x 30 mm.

Catalogues
- Michel No. 758.
- Scott No. 847.
- StampWorld No. 758.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 970.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 726.

The Canadian Arctic Archipelago is located in the extreme north of America, in the Arctic Ocean, and is made up of 36,563 islands, populated by some 10,000 indigenous Inuit. It cover an area of approximately 1,424,500 km² (550,000 sq mi) and are part of the Northeast, Nunavut and Yukon Territories of Canada. Claimed by Great Britain since 1570, from the explorations carried out by Martin Frobisher, they came under Canadian sovereignty in 1880. The main islands of the archipelago are: Baffin, 507,451 km² (195,928 sq mi), with a population of more than 9,500 inhabitants; Victoria, of 217,291 km² (83,897 sq mi) and about 1,700 inhabitants; Ellesmere, of 196,236 km² (75,767 sq mi) and just 150 inhabitants; and Banks, of 70,028 km² (27,038 sq mi) and a hundred inhabitants. Canada claims all the waterways of the Northwest Passage as Canadian Inland Waters, but the United States and most other maritime countries consider them international waters.

SOVIET UNION

SOVIET UNION / СОЮЗ СОВЕТСКИХ СОЦИАЛИСТИЧЕСКИХ РЕСПУБЛИК.

Save the nature in the Arctic!
Arctic landscape with reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and map of the Arctic lands.
Second stamp in a set of 3, issued on 18.01.1989.
Face value: 10 Soviet kopek.
Design: Yury Artsimenev (1937-2019).
Printing: Offset lithography.
Print: 4,500,000 copies.
Size: 30 x 42 (x2) mm.

Catalogues
- AFA No. 5863.
- Michel No. 5922.
- Scott No. 5748.
- StampWorld No. 5721.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 5968.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 5601.
- Zagorski No. 5974.

The Arctic is a geographic and geopolitical concept that usually includes the lands and seas north of the Arctic Circle and the ice cap centered on the North Pole. It comprises regions of eight countries: the Russian Federation, Finland. Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Canada and Alaska (in the United States), and several seas belonging to the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean (the main ones are: Chukchi Sea, East Siberian Sea, Laptev Sea, Kara Sea, Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea, Greenland Sea, Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay and Beaufort Sea). All eight Arctic nations are members of the Arctic Council, as well as organizations representing six indigenous populations. The Council operates on a consensus basis, primarily dealing with environmental treaties, and does not address boundary or resource disputes. The Arctic has been and is the subject of various territorial claims, which have led to some international conflicts.

-
Thanks to Fadda Giuseppe for his contribution.

GREENLAND

GREENLAND / KALAALLIT NUNAAT.

Map of the Greenland island and portrait of the Queen Margrethe II of Denmark.
Stamp issued on 30.01.1989.
Face value: 4.40 Danish krone.
Design and engraving: Czesław Słania (1921-2005).
Print: 402,700 copies.

Catalogues
- StampWorld No. 190.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 178.

Greenland has been inhabited, although not continuously, since the middle of the third millennium BC by Amerindian peoples. In 986 its southern coast was colonized by populations of Nordic origin from Iceland, and in 1261 the Greenlanders accepted Norwegian sovereignty over the island. The Norse occupation lasted until the early 15th century, declining possibly due to the Little Ice Age. At the beginning of the 18th century Hans Egede reestablished contact with Greenland, which became dependent on Denmark in 1814, after the dissolution of the Kingdom of Denmark and Norway. In 1979, Denmark granted it autonomy, and in 2008, it transferred most of the powers from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. This handover became effective the following year and left Denmark with foreign affairs, security and financial policy powers.