Viking Ship - Blue and Black

The 5-cent stamp has for its central design a Viking ship from a photoengraving. At the top of the stamp, in white Gothic letters, appear the words "Norse-American" and below this, on a curved ribbon, is the word "Centennial" in dark letters. At the left of the stamp is a shield of Norway with the year "1825" above, and at the right of the stamp is a shield of the United States with the year "1925" above. Below the central design, in three straight lines, are the words "United States postage, five cents", and in both lower corners within circles with dark backgrounds, is the white numeral "5." The central design is printed in black with the border design printed in blue.

These stamps were issued to commemorate the one-hundredth anniversary of the arrival in New York, on October 9, 1825, of the sloop Restaurationen with the first group of immigrants to the United States from Norway. The first issue of the Norse-American commemorative stamps was placed on sale May 18, 1925, at the following post offices: St. Paul, Minneapolis, Benson, and Northfield, Minn.; Algona and Decorah, Iowa; and Washington, D.C.