Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
No country name; a crowned lion with an axe, the Norwegian arms.
- 1FRIMÆRKE (stamp)
- 2Norway’s lion
- Inscription
- FRIMÆRKE · 4 SKILLING
- Meaning
- FRIMÆRKE means “stamp”: Norway’s first stamp did not name the country.
- Issued by
- Kingdom of Norway
- Today
- Norway
- Year
- 1855. Issued January 1855.
One fact
Norway’s first stamp, a 4-skilling value, showed the coat of arms and was printed without the word Norge.
Source and public-domain rule
Creators died more than 70 years ago. Published 1855 without a named designer: as an anonymous work its term ran 70 years from publication (Norway § 12, EU Art. 1(3)). Copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, counted from 1 January of the year after death. Every named designer and engraver of the stamp died before 1 January 1956; any contributor who was never named counts as anonymous, whose term is 70 years from publication, and the stamp was published before 1956. Legal sources: Directive 2006/116/EC, Art. 1(1) life + 70 years; Art. 1(3) anonymous works 70 years from publication; Art. 7(1) comparison of terms for works from outside the EU; Art. 8 terms run from 1 January, Switzerland, Norway.
Scan: Frimerke1855.jpg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 1261905292), licence templates {{PD-Art}} (a public-domain reason different from ours; both are recorded). Downloaded 2026-10-19, sha256 172c51180bba…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-19 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a human rights review is pending. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
