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Norway: Test Stamps: 1986 Edvard Grieg Europa Design  
Test Stamps (also called Dummy Stamps in the U.S.) are created by stamp printers and post offices to test printing and production processes and other machines. While a few have had extensive philatelic distribution, most were never intended to be known to collectors and are very scarce. New discoveries continue to be made.

All items are available for viewing on approval. I have a constantly changing stock of Norwegian and all Scandinavian essays, proofs, reprints, specimens, and test stamps. Most such items sell before they get to the website or price lists. What are you seeking?
1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa.

Around 2000, I was offered part of a set of two sheets that were in private hands. One sheet was in RED with ENGRAVED IMAGE ONLY. The other was BLUE VIOLET AND RED ENGRAVED IMAGE and with BLUE and YELLOWISH "PROVE" UNDERPRINT. (I cannot recall the alignment/spacing of the foreground vs underprint.) Based on pictures of the complete sheets, it appeared that some of the stamps in these sheets were damaged, further lessening the supply of nice examples. Lastly, my information from the owner was that the largest portions of the sheets would end up in the hands of a museum, thus reducing the "philatelic supply" to only a handful of examples.

Then, around 2006, I was made aware of another sheet, from a different owner who obtained it from an entirely different source. It was in completely different colors: RED (different shade than previous discovery) ENGRAVED IMAGE and BLUE and YELLOW "PROVE" UNDERPRINT. In this sheet, it is obvious that the spacing of the underprints was different from that of the foreground image. The two images align well at the center of the sheet, but at the right AND left sides, the alignment is off by 3 mm, with the foreground images extending outward further than the underprint. As with the earlier discovery, the outermost left and right columns are completely imperforate; the next column inward is partially perforated with only vertical perforations on the inboard side (and a couple horizontal perf holes at top and bottom). The center four stamps show only the underprint and are certainly the rarest positions / designs. Only this one sheet has been observed; it has since been broken up and in November 2008, I obtained the majority of the sheet. The owner is holding a few positions for his collection, but as far as I know, no examples of this color combination have ever before been offered in the marketplace.

The country name, text, and denomination have been cut out. The main Grieg and musical score design is engraved. The underprint (on the stamps that have it) consists of blue and yellow designs and the word "PROVE" (at left). The underprint appears to have been printed by lithography (offset). The center positions 34-35 and 44-45 are "blank", without the engraved image (but showing the underprint on sheets that have an underprint).

Printed in sheets 9 columns by ten rows, the outermost left and right columns are imperforate. The next columns in, on both sides, have vertical perforation only on the inboard side and just two horizontal perforation holes on the inboard sides.
Between 2010 and 2013 I became aware of a different color combination, and finally in 2017 I was able to obtain examples. but I have few details about the sheet layout or other printing or perforation variations within the sheet. I have only seen the following from this source: 1) Grieg portrait only, perforated and imperforate, in Dark Ultramarine; 2) Grieg with entire musical score background, imperforate, in single colors Dark Ultramarine and Dark Brownish Carmine; and 3) as #2 but Grieg in Dark Ultramarine and the background in Carmine Red, perforated and imperforate. In these examples, there is no non-engraved printing or underprinting. There are "white boxes" (where non-engraved text would be printed) at the upper right, down the left side, and in the bottom left extending rightward to the middle of the stamp. While I have only seen a few examples of this color combination, I have no evidence to indicate that it is more or less scarce than other colors combinations.

The test stamp design is of great interest to a large group of topical/thematic collectors, including both music collectors and Europa collectors. This issue is much scarcer than the scarcest of the other Norwegian Grieg test stamps (1950s brown red using 1943 design) and essays (carmine and black).
1986 Edvard Grieg Europa Design  Shopping Cart: Review or Check Out   Top 
Item #
Quality & Description
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US$
239430
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1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997 and I had not recorded this color/type until around 2010. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Grieg portrait with full background of musical score. Printed in single color. SET OF TWO, IMPERFORATE SINGLES, in DARK ULTRAMARINE and in DARK BROWNISH CARMINE. Payments can be arranged.
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575.00

239431
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1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997 and I had not recorded this color/type until around 2010. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Grieg portrait in Dark Ultramarine with full background of musical score in Carmine Red. SET OF TWO, one each IMPERFORATE and PERFORATED SINGLES. Payments can be arranged.
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575.00

239434
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1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997 and I had not recorded this color/type until around 2010. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Grieg portrait in Dark Ultramarine with full background of musical score in Carmine Red. Lower right corner margin 6-block (3x2) with counting number in right margin. Left stamps fully perforated, center stamps partially perforated, right stamps fully imperforate. Payments can be arranged.
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1675.00

242274
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1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997 and I had not recorded this color/type until around 2010. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. The sheet format (based on the limited items and images I have observed) for these test stamps was that, in the row, the outer (left and right) stamp was full imperforate, the next stamp in toward the center was partially perforated, and the innner stamps were fully perforated. Grieg portrait in Dark Ultramarine with full background of musical score in Carmine Red. Right margin 3-strip showing all three perforation formats: Left stamp fully perforated, center stamp partially perforated, right stamp fully imperforate. Payments can be arranged.
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850.00

239432
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1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997 and I had not recorded this color/type until around 2010. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Grieg portrait ONLY, in Dark Ultramarine. The engraved background is present, but is albino (uninked). SET OF TWO, one each IMPERFORATE and PERFORATED SINGLES. Payments can be arranged.
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575.00

242273
View EXACT ACTUAL Image
1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997 and I had not recorded this color/type until around 2010. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. The sheet format (based on the limited items and images I have observed) for these test stamps was that, in the row, the outer (left and right) stamp was full imperforate, the next stamp in toward the center was partially perforated, and the innner stamps were fully perforated. Grieg portrait in Dark Ultramarine with full background of musical score in Carmine Red. Right-side-of-sheet partially perforated (perfed only on left side) single stamp. Partially perforated singles such as this are seldom offered as it meant breaking up the 3-strip showing all three perforation formats.
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300.00

239433
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1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997 and I had not recorded this color/type until around 2010. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Grieg portrait ONLY, in Dark Ultramarine. The engraved background is present, but is albino (uninked). Lower right corner margin 6-block (3x2) with counting number in right margin. Left stamps fully perforated, center stamps partially perforated, right stamps fully imperforate. Payments can be arranged.
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Reference
For reference only. NOT for sale.

232268
View REPRESENTATIVE Image
1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Red Engraved Foreground with Blue and Yellow "PROVE" lithographed Underprint. Fully perforated single with typical centering and the expected mis-alignment of the foreground and underprint of stamps not at horizontal center of sheet. I believe that only 4 such-aligned single stamps have reached the marketplace.
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300.00

232270
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1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Red Engraved Foreground with Blue and Yellow "PROVE" lithographed Underprint. Fully perforated single with extremely good centering for one of these and with almost perfect alignment of the foreground and underprint of stamps (from stamps at horizontal center of sheet). I believe that only 4 such-well-aligned single stamps have reached the marketplace (including one with top margin showing underprint).
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350.00

232271
View EXACT ACTUAL Image
1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Red Engraved Foreground with Blue and Yellow "PROVE" lithographed Underprint. Fully perforated single with extremely good centering for one of these and with almost perfect alignment of the foreground and underprint of stamps (from stamps at horizontal center of sheet) and with top margin spectacularly showing part of the underprint. I believe that only ONE such-well-aligned single stamps with top margin has reached the marketplace!.
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Reference
For reference only. NOT for sale.

1986 Edvard Grieg Europa Design continued ...   Shopping Cart: Review or Check Out   Top 
Item #
Quality & Description
IMAGES: Hover mouse pointer over image to determine if ACTUAL image of item OR a REPRESENTATIVE sample image of item.
Click for more information
US$
232269
View EXACT ACTUAL Image
1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Red Engraved Foreground with Blue and Yellow "PROVE" lithographed Underprint. Fully perforated bottom margin 4-BLOCK (folded vertically; from horizontal center of sheet) with typical centering, but with very good alignment of the foreground and underprint. I believe that only one such block remains intact from this discovery.
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1190.00

232272
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1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Red Engraved Foreground with Blue and Yellow "PROVE" lithographed Underprint. Right Margin 3-STRIP, with stamps fully perforated, partially perforated, and imperforate. Expected mis-alignment of the foreground and underprint of stamps (from stamps at edge of the sheet; this results from how the two plates were made). I believe that only one block containing four such right-margin 3-strips (plus one left margin 3-strip and two left-margin pairs) has reached the marketplace!.
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1200.00

232273
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1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Red Engraved Foreground with Blue and Yellow "PROVE" lithographed Underprint. Right Margin 6-BLOCK (two 3-strips high), with stamps fully perforated, partially perforated, and imperforate. Expected mis-alignment of the foreground and underprint of stamps (from stamps at edge of the sheet; this results from how the two plates were made). I believe that only one block of four right-margin 3-strips, thus only two such blocks possible, (plus one left margin 3-strip and two left-margin pairs) has reached the marketplace!.
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2300.00

232274
View REPRESENTATIVE Image
1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Red Engraved Foreground with Blue and Yellow "PROVE" lithographed Underprint. Left Margin PAIR, with stamps imperforate and partially perforated. Expected mis-alignment of the foreground and underprint of stamps (from stamps at edge of the sheet; this results from how the two plates were made). I believe that only two such four such left-margin pairs (and one left-margin 3-strip) has reached the marketplace!.
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750.00

232275
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1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Red Engraved Foreground with Blue and Yellow "PROVE" lithographed Underprint. Spectacular 8-BLOCK from the center of the sheet, showing two of the PROVE-ONLY STAMPS (i.e. without foreground). [Another two PROVE stamps were originally to the left of these two.] Initially being offered intact and to document the format/appearance. However, it is likely that this 8-block will be broken either into two 4-blocks ($1700) or perhaps into pairs ($900; either vertical or horizontal). PROPOSALS for breaking the block are welcomed. Payments can be arranged.
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Reference
For reference only. NOT for sale.
Has since been divided into two 4-blocks

233073
View EXACT ACTUAL Image
1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Red Engraved Foreground with Blue and Yellow "PROVE" lithographed Underprint. Spectacular 4-BLOCK from the center of the sheet, showing one of the PROVE-ONLY STAMPS (i.e. without foreground). [Another three PROVE stamps were originally to the left and below this one.] Payments can be arranged.
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Reference
For reference only. NOT for sale.

215345
View EXACT ACTUAL Image
1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Extremely scarce SET OF TWO NH VF fully perforated single perforated stamps: Red, Engraved Image Only; and Blue-Violet and Red Engraved image, with PROVE Underprint.
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650.00

Reference
For reference only. NOT for sale.
Always seeking any Scandinavian Test Stamp items.

218472
View EXACT ACTUAL Image
1983 Edvard Grieg Europa Test Stamp design printed in 1986 by Norges Bank Seddeltrykkeri (Norwegian Banknote Printing Company) as a test and demonstration of new printing equipment. The design was apparently not first "discovered" by philatelists until 1997. These are true test stamps, intended for internal purposes and were never officially made available to the public. These test stamps are rare and of interest to collectors of test stamps, composers and music, and Europa. The engraved design is taken from the 1983 EUROPA issue and pictures composer Edvard Grieg; with the country name, text, and denomination cut out. Normally with a "PROVE" underprint, but printed in such a way that the foreground and underprint only line up well at the horizontal center of the sheet. Extremely rare, perhaps unique, SET OF TWO lower left corner margin NH VF 6-BLOCKS, Imperforate on left, partly perforated in center, and fully perforated at right. Red, Engraved Image Only; and Blue-Violet and Red Engraved Image, with PROVE Underprint.
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3900.00

Reference
For reference only. NOT for sale.
Always seeking any Scandinavian Test Stamp items.

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