Sweden ~ 1520

     It was not until 1906 that the flag of Sweden was officially adopted, although the basic design had a long history. About 1520 it was adopted by the Swedish nationalists who rebelled against the Danes under the leadership of Gustavus Vasa. The colors are the colors of the national coat of arms consisting of three golden crowns on a blue field.

     The State flag, perhaps more properly, the military flag or naval ensign, has three points, and is 24% wider than the rectangular flag used by civilian State institutions.

     On the stamp it flies from the masts of the Wasa, a 64 gun warship built for the Swedish navy by the Dutch shipwrights, Hendrick Hybertszoon and Henrik Jakobson, in 1627. If she had not capsized and sunk in the harbor of Stockholm on her maiden voyage, August 10, 1627, she would have been the most powerful ship of her time. Her guns were salvaged in the 17th century, but the wreck itself was not raised until April 24, 1961. The ship is being rebuilt and rerigged.
     As is proper the flag's free end flies toward the front of the ship because the wind is from the rear.
     In 1994 Sweden issued this stamp with an "artistic" design showing the Swedish and French flags to celebrate Swedish-French cultural relations.

Norway ~ 1821

     Norway and Denmark were united at the end of the 14th century, and the unified country used the Danish red flag with the white cross. In 1814 Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden. In 1821 the Norwegian flag was designed and used in her coastal waters. In 1898, a few years before she gained full independence from Sweden in 1905, Norway was able to use the flag as her national flag. The flag is the Dannebrog with the addition of the blue cross.
     The Norwegian stamp shows a field of flags in celebration of 20 years of freedom after the end of World War II. Close inspection shows a flag with three points, the State ensign.

     The United States stamp shows the Norwegian flag as a part of the "Overrun Countries" issue of 1943.