The Universal Postal Union's colour proof from 1879. 

It was introduced by request from the Universal Postal Union to its member countries for uniformity of colours of stamps for the most common postage rates in order to facilitate postage control: Blue for the lowest letter rate, red for postcards, and green for the lowest printed matter rate.
   

Prior to the edition of the Coats-of-Arms type experiments were made with a design very much like the Icelandic type of stamp from 1873 (which was also printed in Denmark). Philip Christian Batz was the originator and from 1901 the type was used as stamp on the pre-fanked envelopes of the postal service.  

Accounts

As well before as after the introduction of stamps - in Denmark from 1st April 1851 - it has been possible to send letters to and from other countries. The postage rates were, however, in many cases high, and although it was rather easy for a sender or a recipient to pay for the services - in cash or by means of stamps which were eventually allowed between the countries - it was often a complicated matter for the postal service subsequently to settle the accounts.

For many years the countries therefore operated with special bilateral or multilateral agreements, postal conventions, with other countries regarding conditions and prices of exchange of mail. Through bookkeeping, counting, and weighing the amounts of mail were carefully kept in order so that accounts could be settled in such a way that no country felt that they were given less than their due share. In many cases transit charges also had to be calculated and paid when it was necessary to cross a third country in order to deliver the mail. 

Nilaus Fristrup's original drawing of the Coats-of-Arms type has been provided with impression of the finished engraving with the corner ornaments which the postal service decided on. 

International Standard Rates

For many years at international gatherings of the postal services a solution of the not particularly expedient conditions was discussed. Eventually it had been agreed to introduce a kind of "international standard rate", a uniform and low rate for all letters according to English model - a system which also Denmark joined with the introduction of the stamp in 1851. There was also general agreement that the transit rate was straining and prevented an increase of the amounts of mail.

On 9th October 1874 in Bern, Switzerland, Denmark and 21 other countries agreed to introduce uniform rates for the most common items of mail and abolish the transit charge. This meant that the formation of the Universal Postal Union, UPU, was now a fact. The rates were fixed at constant, low amounts for dispatch of mail to abroad. In Denmark these were converted into 20 ore for a letter, 10 ore for a postcard, and 5 ore for a printed matter. 

 

At that time stamps of the so-called two-coloured type were used in Denmark, however, none of them with the three internationally necessary values. Consequently they had to be produced. A two-coloured (grey and red) 20 ore stamp was issued in September 1875 and a two-coloured (red and blue) 5 ore stamp in December 1878. A two-coloured 10 ore stamp was not necessary as in those days it was allowed to use only the postal service's own postcards and the postal service had already on 1st July 1875 issued an embossed card with a 10 ore stamp in green colour.

Blue, Red, and Green

At the 2nd congress of the UPU in 1878 the member countries agreed to introduce uniform colours of the stamps of the above-mentioned postal rates. Letters were to be provided with blue stamps, postcards with red, and printed matters with green. In this way the post office personnel in the recipient countries could easily control the correctness of the stamping instead of having to convert the many different currencies in which
stamps from all over the world were issued. 

The Coats-of-Arms type with small corner figures, 1882 edition.


 

The year after the UPU had colour samples printed and distributed to the postal administrations of the member countries together with the new universal postal convention which was the basis of the union's activities. The conventions could not be printed and distributed until the governments of the individual member countries had ratified the conditions so they always seemed to come "staggering up".

As the Danish postal service was already using two-coloured stamps, partly in the now agreed colours; 4 ore blue (and grey), 8 ore red (and grey), and 25 ore green (and grey) the management of the postal service realized that it would be necessary to issue a completely different type of stamp for mainly international use.

The assignment of drawing the new type was given to artist Nilaus Fristrup (1836-1909) who delivered a workshop drawing with three different ornaments in the corners. One of the ornaments was chosen and engraver L. Lauter diminished the drawing to stamp size by means of a pantograph. 

After that galvano printing blocks were produced for formes of entire sheets of 100 stamps of each of the values 20 ore and 5 ore, then the printing took place, and the stamps of the new type were ready for distribution to the postal offices in June 1882.

The central part of the stamp motif was the crowned coat-of-arms with the three lions and nine hearts from the Danish national coat-of-arms. The stamps of this edition are there-fore known as the "Coat-of-Arms" type.

Small and Big Corner Figures

For some unknown reason dissatisfaction with Lauter's engraving supervened and at some point in 1883 the postal service asked Philip Christian Batz, an engraver of German origin, (1820-1895) to elaborate a new engraving for the 20 ore stamp. After this engraving mother stamps were produced for the value of 5 ore and together with the value of
10 ore both were emitted in 1884-1885. Later,
in 1901-1902, the postal service also emitted the
values of 1 ore (yellow), 15 ore (purple), and 24 ore
(brown) in the coat-of-arms type.

Engraver Batz's assignment was to make the old and the new stamp pictures identical, but he did not quite succeed. Stamp collectors soon discovered a difference in size of the value ciphers in the four corners, and as Lauter's version is with the smallest ciphers, it is said to have „small corner figures" contrary to Batz's „big corner figures".

To ordinary human beings it may be difficult to see the difference between the two versions so there are also other characteristics to stick to. They are described in stamp catalogues. 

Danish-West Indian stamp from 1903 of the Coats-of-Arms type. 

The Tropical Edition

Also for use in the Danish West Indies, which joined the Universal Postal Union in 1877, the request for uniform colours was met and stamps of the coat-of-arms type were introduced. It happened rather late, however, because the first two values, 1 cent green and 5 cents blue were only issued in 1900, and in 1903 the last two values of the type appeared i.e. 2 cents red and 8 cents brown.

When another country name and other indications of value were needed, the West Indian edition of the coat-of-arms type had to be redrawn. The work was done by Johan Christian Danielsen (1840-1914), who also took care of the engraving of the necessary postmarks.

Looking back it can be established that the coat-of-arms type had no less than two artists and three engravers as originators.

The Exhibition can be seen in the Stamp Cabinet until 31st May 2008.