Spitsbergen

Spitsbergen is an archipelago (English: bunch of islands) north of Norway at the edge of the Arctic Ocean. It is part of Norway. Svalbard is the large island of the group.

Private post/local issues
Beginning in 1896, special stamps were available aboard cruise ships to commemorate visits. Different lines used different stamps at different times.  File:Spitsbergen 1896 local.jpg|1896 20 øre value with ADVENT BAY cancel (actually a precancel here). File:Spitsbergen horiz attack.jpg|c.1903 10ø value. File:Spitsbergen blue bear.jpg File:Spitsbergen long horiz.jpg 
 * In that year, two values were issued inscribed SPIDSBERGEN with the proper view of a polar bear attacking a clueless hunter that let him get too close. Naturally, like modern movie monsters, polar bears all stand up and roar before attacking.
 * circa 1903, a similar design but in horizontal format and inscribed SPITSBERGEN were released, apparently by the HAPAG line.

Modern bogus issues
Beginning in 1995, Russian stamps were overprinted for Spitsbergen, although someone remembered to add ARKTIKUGOL to some, the Russian mining company operating on Svalbard. Probably convincing others that Russia somehow owned the island, very recent issues have appeared, inscribed ШПИЦБЕРГЕН / SVALBARD. We're waiting for the return of more angry polar bears.  File:Russian Spitsbergen map.jpg File:Spitsbergen freighter attack.png 

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