Denmark, World War II, "1 Øre" Emergency Stamp Money

During World War II, Denmark faced severe shortages of copper coinage, prompting the creation of this emergency “stamp money.” Each piece doubled as an advertisement for a local business and featured a 1 Øre postage stamp on the reverse to assign its monetary value. To enhance durability, the entire note was wrapped in cellophane.

Denmark initially declared itself a neutral party in World War II, but it was invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany by 1940. Denmark initially chose to take an approach of cooperation and remained under German oversight until 1943, but resistance efforts became more pronounced as the war went on. This level of cooperation helped Denmark avoid harsher occupation policies. Other occupied countries witnessed propaganda efforts including the reprinting of stamps, but Danish stamps were allowed to remain unchanged.

In 1941 and 1942, Denmark experienced bitter winters that felled copper telephone lines. Resources were already scarce after being predominantly cut off from the rest of the world during occupation. The Danish state initiated a collection of copper coinage and replaced them with aluminum coins. A shortage of change occurred as the population began hoarding valuable copper, and specialized “stamp money” was produced to use as emergency currency during the occupation.

Each stamp comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.