Iceland, 1873 (2 skilling)
A large numeral under a crown in an oval, under a round postmark.
Illustration of a historical stamp for learning, shown at screen size. Not valid for postage.
How to read it
ISLAND around the numeral: Iceland, not the English word island.
- 1ISLAND: Iceland
- 22
- 3PØSTFRIM. … SK.: skilling
- Inscription
- ISLAND · 2 · PØSTFRIM. 2 SK.
- Meaning
- ISLAND is Iceland in Icelandic and Danish; PØSTFRIM. is short for postage stamp.
- Issued by
- Iceland (under the Danish crown)
- Today
- Iceland
- Year
- 1873. First issued 1873 (sources differ on whether this value came in 1873 or a year later).
- Made by
- Philip Christian Batz (also spelled Phillip C. Batz) (base stamp designer and engraver; aur-value numeral design attributed to the same maker, died 1890)
One fact
Iceland’s first stamps of 1873 counted in skilling; they show a crowned numeral designed and engraved by Philip Christian Batz.
Source and public-domain rule
Creators died more than 70 years ago. Every named creator died more than 70 years ago: Philip Christian Batz (also spelled Phillip C. Batz) (died 1890). 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: U0001 litid.jpg on Wikimedia Commons (revision 1239788423), licence templates {{Icelandic stamp}}. Downloaded 2026-10-22, sha256 2635d2e76cfb…; cropped and cleaned for this site. Facts checked 2026-10-22 against source 1 and source 2. Research record, not legal advice; a second check of these rights by a person is planned, and a stamp that turns out not to be free to use will be removed. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
