This is an illustrated general glossary of terms and abbreviations relating to philately and with particular relevance to Great Britain and British Commonwealth stamp collecting. For further information, click on the blue links in the text. For larger versions of images, please click on them to open in a new tab.
A–B–C–D–E–F–G–H–I–J–K–L–M–N–O–P–Q–R–S–T–U–V–W–XYZ
A
AAFPO: Australian Air Force Post Office(s)
AAT: Australian Antarctic Territory; Australian sector of Antarctica. Stamps issued are also valid for use in Australia. www.antarctica.gov.au
Abnormals: The nickname for some stamps produced by Thomas De La Rue & Co for Great Britain; 1862-1880. De La Rue sent the first six sheets of stamps produced from each new printing plate to the board of Inland Revenue. The Board kept one sheet as the official copy and the remaining five sheets were either destroyed or perforated and put into circulation.
ABPS: Association of British Philatelic Societies www.abps.org.uk
Accessories: Basic equipment to aid collecting in addition to stamp albums, stamp hinges, Watermark Detector, etc.
Accountancy Mark: A handstamp applied to international letters prior to 1875 showing the charge to be collected from the addressee.
Additional Halfpenny Tax: A charge made by the British Post Office before 1840 on letters transmitted in Scotland if conveyed at any point of their journey by vehicles having more than two wheels and for certain tolls.
Accumulation: Large collection of stamps that has not been arranged in any particular order.
ACSC: Australia Commonwealth Specialist Catalogue, published by Brusden White www.brusden-white.com.au
Adhesive: The gum on the back of a stamp. Some stamps have been issued with no adhesive. Stamp adhesive may be water-activated (by licking, or application of water via a damp sponge etc) or self-adhesive.
Aerogram: A postage-paid light weight letter sheet with gummed flaps that is written on and then folded to form an envelope. No enclosures are permitted. Also known as aérogramme, air letter or airletter. The use of the term aerogramme was officially endorsed at the 1952 Universal Postal Union in Brussels.
Aerophilately: A specialised area of collecting concentrating on stamps or covers transported by air.
Air labels: Air labels, or etiquettes, are used by Universal Postal Union members to denote airmail carriage. They are usually blue, inscribed “”Par Avion” (“By Airmail” in French). The text usually includes the same wording in the language of the country of origin.
Airmail: Mail that has travelled part way to its destination by air. The first regular airmail service began in 1870, when mail was carried by balloon from German occupied Paris, over enemy lines. Many countries have issued postage stamps and various postal stationery specifically designated for airmail use. The first airmail stamp was issued by Italy in 1917.
Airmail Stamps: Postage stamps expressly providing for prepayment of postage on airborne mail.
Albino: An uninked impression made by a printing plate, usually of an overprint.
Album: A book, binder of folder for the storing and display of stamps and/or covers.
Alphabet: Great Britain’s first line engraved issues had letters printed in the bottom corners. These, over time, came from four sets of hand punches having distinctive type faces, known as Alphabets I, II, III, IV
Alphabet letters: Letters on issues of Great Britain. Letters in the lower two corners of British Stamps from 1840 and from 1858 repeated but in reverse order in the upper corners, giving letters in all four corners. This was as a precaution against forgery and re-use.
Ambulant: Postmark denoting a Travelling Post Office.
Aniline: Ink with a coal-tar base. Water soluble and fugitive ink with a dye base that runs when wet and fluoresces under a UV lamp.. Aniline inks were used to print some stamps, to prevent the reuse of stamps by soaking them in water to remove them from an envelope.
Anzac commemoration: Overprint for Australian-New Zealand Army Corps.
ANZ UK FPO: Australia & New Zealand United Kingdom Forces Post Office.
Approval proof: Proof of a finished master engraving may be noted by inspectors giving approval to proceed in the printing process.
Approvals: A selection of stamps or covers sent to a collector for examination; which must be purchased or returned to the sender within a specified period of time.
Archival Paper: Paper manufactured to provide resistance to natural aging. Typically, this grade of paper is used in stamp albums.
Arrival postmark: An inked impression placed on mail by receiving office to show name of office and arrival date, usually applied on back of correspondence. Also known as a “backstamp”
Arrow: On many sheets of stamps, V-shaped arrow-like markings appear in the selvedge, generally serving as guides for perforating or cutting sheets of stamps, or used to help in correctly registering the frame and vignette of bi-colored stamps. Some collectors save stamps or blocks displaying these marks. Also known as “Arrow marker”
ASC: Australian Stamp Catalogue, published by Seven Seas Stamps. www.sevenseas.com.au
Auction: A sale of stamps, covers and other philatelic items where prospective buyers place bids in an attempt to obtain the desired items. The highest bidder for each lot makes the purchase. Bids can be made by individuals present at the auction or participating live by telephone or via the internet. Alternatively, postal bids may be placed in advance.
Authentication: Expert opinion that a stamp or other philatelic item is genuine.
Authentication mark: A marking, such as initials, placed on the reverse of a stamp examined and certified to be genuine by an expert.
Automatic Letter Facing Machine: A machine invented by the GPO in 1957 for use in letter sorting offices. The machine arranges letters so that the stamps on them are all in the same position.
B
Backprint: Printing on the reverse of a stamp. Some stamps have numbers, symbols, advertising or information about the stamp subject printed on the reverse of the stamp.
Backstamp: A postmark applied to mail by the receiving post office or by a post office handling the piece while it is in transit. Backstamps are usually on the back of a cover, but they can be on the front.
B. A. P. O.: British Army Post Office.
Bantams: The nickname of the South African definitive series of 1942-43. Wartime economy measures prompted the manufacture of stamps of small size to conserve paper.
Bar cancel: A cancellation consisting of bars in various configurations.
Barred oval: A cancel or killer in which the bars increase and then decrease in width to form an oval pattern.
B.C.A.: British Central Africa; former British territory in Africa.
B. C. O. F. JAPAN 1946: overprint on Australian stamps – The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the joint Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 21 February 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952. At its peak, the BCOF comprised about 40,000 personnel.
BDE HQPO: Australian Brigade Headquarters Post Office.
Beaufort House Essays: Designs submitted by Charles Whiting of Beaufort House in the British Treasury competition of 1839.
B. E. A.: British East Africa. Also known as East Africa Protectorate and occupied an area roughly the same as present-day Kenya.
B. E. F.: The British Expeditionary Force was the part of the British Army in Europe from 1939 to 1940, early in the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted 10% of the Allied force.
BEFM: British Expeditionary Force Mediterranean.
BFM: British Fleet Mail.
BFMO: British Fleet Mail Office.
B.F.P.O.: British Forces Post Office.
BFPS: British Forces Postal Service.
Bicolour: Printed in two colors.
Bilingual: Inscribed in two languages. Most Canadian stamps include both English and French text. South African stamps from 1926-49 were printed alternately with English and Afrikaans inscriptions in the same sheet.
Bilingual pairs: A pair of unseparated stamps on which the inscription is in one language on one of the stamps, and in another language on the other stamp; common with stamps of South Africa.
B. I. O. T. : The British Indian Ocean Territory is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 individual islands – many very small – amounting to a total land area of 60 square kilometres (23 sq mi).
Bisect: A stamp cut or perforated into two parts, each half representing half the face value of the original stamp. Officially authorized bisects have often been used during temporary shortages of commonly used denominations. Bisects are usually collected on full cover with the stamp tied by a cancel. At times, some countries have permitted trisects or quadrisects.
Bishop mark: The earliest postmark, introduced by Henry Bishop in England circa 1661. A Bishop mark was used to indicate the month and day that a letter was received by a post office. It encouraged prompt delivery by letter carriers.
Blind perforation: Perforations that are only lightly impressed by the perforating pins, leaving the paper intact, but cut or with a faint impression.
Block: A unit of four or more unseparated stamps, including at least two stamps both vertically and horizontally. Most commonly a block refers to a block of four, though blocks often contain more stamps.
Blued paper: Pre 1884 British stamps printed by De Le Rue on paper showing a faint blue color, caused by reaction between the paper and prussiate of potash in the ink.
B. M. A.: British Military Administration.
Bogus: A fictitious stamplike label created for sale to collectors. In general, bogus issues look like postage stamps but are not. A bogus stamp is not a forgery because it is not based on any genuine stamp. They are generally issued to deceive collectors. Among these are the “issues” for South Moluccas when Henry Stolow printed the Maluku Selatan stamps, and for the uninhabited Scottish island of Staffa.
BOIC: British Occupation of Italian Colonies.
Booklet: A postage stamp booklet is a booklet made up of one or more small blocks or panes of postage stamps in a cardboard cover. Booklets are often made from sheets especially printed for this purpose, with a narrow selvedge at one side of the booklet pane for binding, either glued, stitched or stapled.
Bourse: A meeting of stamp collectors and/or dealers, where stamps and covers are sold or exchanged. A bourse usually has no competitive exhibits of stamps or covers.
B P A: British Philatelic Association.
BPF: British Philatelic Federation, Great Britain.
BPO: British Post Office.
Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Ltd.: British stamp printing firm.
Britannia Types: Early British Colonial design engraved by Perkins Bacon e.g. for British West Indies
British Antarctic Territory: BAT is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories.
Brunswick Star: Postmark used in Edinburgh between 1863 and 1873, so called because it was similar to the star of the Ducal Order of Brunswick.
Bullseye cancel: A bullseye cancel refers to a postmark applied centrally on the stamp so that the location and date of mailing are shown on the stamp. Also known as “Bull’s Eye”, “socked-on-the-nose”, “SON” or “SOTN”
Buyer’s premium: Auction term for percentage premium added to the final price of a lot, and retained by the auctioneer as part of the commission for selling the lot; also known as buyer’s fee.
BWI: British West Indies.
C
Cachet: In French, cachet means a stamp or a seal. A mark applied to a cover in addition to the postmark.
Camel Postman: The so-called “Camel” or “Desert Postman” stamps’ design is based on an original sketch by Colonel E S Stanton C M G who produced it at the request of Sir Herbert Kitchener.This design continued to be used by Sudan for its definitive stamps until 1948.
Cancelled-to-order: Stamps are “cancelled to order,” usually in full sheets, by many governments. A stamp with a cancel and with full gum is likely a CTO stamp, as CTOs do not see actual postal use. CTO stamps are sold to stamp dealers or collectors at large discounts from face value.
Cancel: A marking intended to show a stamp has been used and is no longer valid as postage. Modern cancels usually include the name of the original mailing location or a nearby sorting facility and the date of mailing. Most cancellations also include a section of lines, bars, text or a design that prints upon the postage stamp to invalidate it. This part of a cancel is called the killer.
Cape Triangles: Common name for the triangular Cape of Good Hope stamps of 1853-64, the first stamps printed in triangular format. The distinctive shape helped illiterate postal clerks distinguish letters originating in the colony from those from other colonies.
CAPEX: CAnadian Philatelic EXhibition, beginning in 1951 and continuing in 1978, 1987 and 1996.
Cardiff Penny: imperforate sheet of British penny red, Plate No.116, mistakenly issued to Cardiff Post Office, Jan. 1870.
CARIFTA: Caribbean Free Trade Association
Cartouche: Small oval or circle containing a portrait or heraldic device.
Catalogue: A comprehensive book or similar compilation with descriptive information to help identify stamps. Many catalogs include values for the listed items.
Catalogue Number: number assigned by a catalog publisher to each individual stamp.
Catalogue value: The value of a stamp as listed in a given catalogue for the most common condition in which the stamp is collected. Some catalogues list stamps at a retail value, though actual dealer prices may vary substantially for reasons of condition, demand or other market factors.
CC: Crown Colonies; A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the British overseas territories.
CDS: Circular Date Stamp.
Censored mail: A cover bearing a handstamp or label indicating that the envelope has been opened and the contents inspected by a censor.
Census Marking: A diamond shaped mark applied by machine to all mail posted in Britain during the annual mail census.
Centering: The relative position of the design of a stamp in relation to its margins. Assuming that a stamp is undamaged, centering is generally a very important factor in determining grade and value.
Certificate of Expertisation: A written opinion on the genuiness of a philatelic item from an Expert Committee
Certified mail: A service of most postal administrations that provides proof of mailing and delivery without indemnity for loss or damage.
C.F.P.O.(S): Canadian Forces Post Office(s).
Chalk Paper: A chalk-surfaced paper for printing stamps, which has a coating of chalk or clay on the surface, introduced in 1902 by De La Rue to prevent reuse of stamps after washing off cancel. Immersion of such stamps in water will cause the design to lift off. Touching chalk paper with silver will leave a discernible, pencil-like mark and is a means of distinguishing chalk paper. Also known as Chalky paper.
Chalon Head: Nickname for early British Colonial stamps showing a full face portrait of Queen Victoria taken from A.E Chalon‘s painting of her in coronation robes.
Chameleon Paper: Security paper with a pigmentation that changes with attempts to remove the cancellation.
Changeling: A stamp whose color has been changed – intentionally or unintentionally – by contact with water, a chemical or exposure to light.
Charity seals: Stamplike labels that are distributed by a charity. They have no postal validity, although they are often affixed to envelopes.
Charity stamp: see Semipostal.
Check Letters: See Alphabet Letters
Christmas Charity Post: Stamps Stamps issued by Scout, Youth and Church groups in Britain since 1981, since when it is permitted for charities to deliver Christmas & New Year Cards between 25 November and 1 January.
Cinderella: A stamplike label that is not a postage stamp. Cinderellas include seals and bogus issues, as well as revenue stamps, local post issues and other similar items.
Circuit Book: A book with stamps or covers offered for sale to collectors, usually by stamp groups/clubs.
Classic: An early issue, often with a connotation of rarity, although classic stamps are not necessarily rare.
Cleaning (stamps): Soiled or stained stamps are sometimes legitimately cleaned by soaking in water or chemicals. The cleaning is usually done to improve the appearance of a stamp. A cleaned stamp can also mean one from which a postal cancellation, fiscal marking or a blemish has been removed, making a used stamp appear unused.
Cliche: The individual unit consisting of the design of a single stamp, combined with others to make up the complete printing plate. Individual designs on modern one-piece printing plates are referred to as subjects.
Coated Paper: Any paper with a mineral composition deposited on its surface after manufacture.
Coil: Stamps processed in a long single row or column and prepared for sale in rolls, often for dispensing from stamp-vending and affixing machines. Some coils have a straight edge on two parallel sides and perforations on the remaining two parallel sides.
Colonial Printing: Stamps printed in a British colony from impressions originally made in London from the original plates.
Colour Changeling: See Changeling
Colour Error: A stamp printed in a color intended for a different stamp, printed in the wrong color, or color omitted.
Colour Trial: Proofs taken of a stamp in a wide range of colours.
Comb Perforation: Perforation in which the perforating pins are arranged in a comb pattern, a long horizontal row with short vertical columns and punch holes on three sides at one time, then the machine moves up the sheet to perforate the next row. See also “Line perforation”
Commatology: Specialized collecting of postmarks. This term was invented before World War II to describe postmark collecting. It is rarely used. Usually, collectors refer to postmark collecting or marcophily.
Commemorative: A stamp issue printed in a limited quantity and available for purchase for a limited time. The design may note an anniversary associated with an individual, an historic event, or a national landmark.
Commemorative Cancel: Postmark either handstruck or applied by machine intended to commemorate an event or anniversary.
Commercial Use: A stamp, cover or other item of postal stationery that has been used through the normal course of service. First Day Covers and CTO stamps etc are considered philatelic use and are not commercial usage.
Compartment Lines: Irregular lines outside the printed area of stamps occurring in letterpress plates where extraneous metal (flashing) has not been removed in the manufacturing and therefore picks up ink during printing.
Completionist: A collector who’s aim is to complete a particular area, whether geographical (eg all issues from a certain country), topical (eg all bird issues), etc.
Compound perforations: Perforations that consist of two or more gauges per stamp. These usually consist of one gauge horizontally and a different one vertically. The horizontal gauge is written first and the vertical last
Condition: The overall appearance and soundness of a stamp or cover. Positive condition factors include fresh full color, full original gum on unused stamps, and so on. Damage such as creases, tears, thinned paper, short perforation teeth, toning and so on negatively affect condition. Typical condition descriptions are Superb, Very Fine, Fine, Good, Average, or Poor. “Superb” means that stamp is perfect.
Condominium: A country jointly ruled by two powers (e.g. New Hebrides).
Counterfeit: Any stamp, or item of postal stationery created for deception or imitation, intended to be accepted by others as genuine. A counterfeit stamp is designed to deceive postal authorities.
Convention States: Indian States formerly in convention with the Indian Empire. (q.v Feudetory States)
Corner Block: Four or more stamps from the corner of a sheet with selvedge of perpendicular sides attached.
Country Issues: Term used by Royal Mail to describe the distinctive definitives issued in different parts of the UK (q.v Regional Stamps).
Cover: An envelope or piece of postal stationery, usually one that has been mailed. Folded letters that were addressed and mailed without an envelope and the wrappers from mailed parcels are also covers.
Crash cover: A cover that has been salvaged from the crash of an airplane, train, ship or other vehicle. Such covers often carry a postal marking explaining damage or delay in delivery.
Crease: A noticeable weakening of the paper of a stamp or cover, caused by its being folded or bent at some point. Creases substantially lower a stamp’s value.
Crown Agents: originally a British official government body to act as “agents for the colonies” on Jan. 1, 1980, changed to providing arrange of philatelic services to various postal administrations throughout the world.
CSDA: Canadian Stamp Dealers Association www.csdaonline.com
Cut cancellation: A cancellation that intentionally slices into the stamp paper. Often a wedge-shaped is cut away or circular section is punched out. On many issues, such cancellations indicate use of postage stamps as revenue or telegraph stamps rather than as postage.
Cut Out: An impression of a stamp printed directly on to postal stationery which has been cut out.
Cut square: Any stamp from sheets, cut in a square or rectangular shape and not cut to the shape of the stamp design. Collectors generally prefer to collect stamps from sheets cut square.
An alternative use of the term is a neatly trimmed rectangular or square section from a stamped envelope that includes the postage stamp with ample margin. Collectors generally prefer to collect stationery as entire pieces.
Cut-to-shape: A non-rectangular stamp or postal stationery imprint cut to the shape of the design, rather than cut square. Cut-to-shape stamps and stationery generally have lower value than those cut square.
Cylinder: A curved printing plate used on a modern rotary press. The plate has no seams.
Cylinder Number: Printer’s mark in the margin of a sheet of stamps to identify the printing cylinder from which it came.
Cancellation: A marking intended to show a stamp has been used and is no longer valid as postage. Modern cancels usually include the name of the original mailing location or a nearby sorting facility and the date of mailing. Most cancellations also include a section of lines, bars, text or a design that prints upon the postage stamp to invalidate it. This part of a cancel is called the killer.
CTO: See Canceled-to-order.
D
Dandy roll: wire roller which bears down on the paper pulp as it comes from the vats and gives the finished paper its watermark.
Decimal denomination: a stamp whose value is based on one basic unit of currency and one or more sub-units, such that the number of sub-units in one basic unit is a power of 10, most commonly 100. (e.g., £1.50) vs £/shilling/pence.
Dead country: A former stamp-issuing entity that has ceased issuing its own stamps. Also, the old name of an active stamp-issuing entity that has changed its name, so that the old name will no longer be used on stamps.
Dead Letter: Letter which cannot be delivered to the addressee because it bears an incorrect or inadequate address.
Dead Letter Office: Where dead letters (q.v) are held by the Post Office.
Defaced Plates: A stamp printing plate, whose surface has been deliberately scored to ensure that it is not used again.
Definitive: A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is part of the regular issue of a country’s stamps, available for sale by the post office for an extended period of time and designed to serve the everyday postal needs of the country.
De La Rue: (DLR) One of the world’s leading firms of security printers.
Deltiology: Picture postcard collecting.
Denomination: The face value of a stamp, usually indicated by numerals printed as part of the design.
Departmental Stamps: Stamps provided for use of government departments on official mail.
Diadem: The circlet of gold and jewels forming Queen Victoria‘s headdress on many of the earlier stamps of her reign and that of Queen Elizabeth II.
Die: The original engraving of a stamp design, usually recess-engraved in reverse on a small flat piece of soft steel. In traditional intaglio printing, a transfer roll is made from a die and printing plates are made from impressions of the transfer roll. When more than one die is used in the production of an issue, distinctive varieties are often identifiable.
Die cut: A form of separation usually employed on self-adhesive stamps. During processing, an edged tool (die) completely penetrates the stamp paper on all sides of the printed stamp, making the removal of the individual stamps from the liner possible. Die cuts may be straight, shaped in wavy lines to simulate perforation teeth, or take other forms.
Die Proof: Upon completion of a die, trial printings are taken. They are the final checks before the plate is made.
Directory markings: “Postal indication of failed delivery attempt, stating the reason for failure. Examples are “No Such Number,” “Address Unknown” and “Moved.”
Disturbed gum: original gum on an unused stamp which has been damaged, usually by application of a hinge or contamination with water.
Dockwra Mark: Triangular handstruck mark denoting the prepayment of postage, devised by William Dockwra for use in his London Penny Post of 1680/82.
Doctor Blade: Long thin flexible strip of steel with a finely ground edge used in photogravure and other intaglio printing processes. The doctor blade removes excess ink from the non printing surface.
Doctor Blade Flaw: Caused by Doctor Blade picking up a foreign body which scratches a fine line on the cylinder. Until worked out this can cause a semi constant flaw.
Domestic Mail: Mail posted and delivered within the same country
Domestic Stamp: A postage stamp whose validity is confined to domestic mail q.v
Double Letter: Duplication of the corner or check letters on early GB line engraved stamps.
Double Perforation: A stamp that has passed through the perforation machine twice.
Downey Head: British halfpenny and penny stamps of 1911/13 reproducing a three-quarter profile photograph by W and D Downey of King George V.
Dry Print: A stamp having a weak appearance due to paper being too dry for the intaglio process.
Drying book: after a stamp is soaked from an envelope, the stamp must be dried and pressed flat; the stamp drying book, made of blotting paper, is used for this purpose.
Dumb Cancel: Absence of identifying inscription found in various forms on cancellations.
Dummy stamp: Officially produced imitation stamp used to train employees or to test automatic stamp-dispensing machines. Dummy stamps are usually blank or carry special inscriptions, blocks or other distinguishing ornamentation. They are not valid for postage, nor are they intended to reach the hands of stamp collectors. Some do by favour of postal employees.
Duplex cancel: A two-part postal marking consisting of a canceler and a postmark. The canceler voids the stamp so it cannot be reused. The postmark notes the date and place of mailing.
Duplicate: An additional copy of a stamp that one already has in a collection. Beginners often consider stamps to be duplicates that really are not, because they overlook perforation, watermark or color varieties.
Duty Plate: The printing plate used to print the value or name and value on stamps.(q.v Frame, Vignette, Head Plate, Key Plate)
E
E.A.F.: East Africa Forces; overprint on stamps of Great Britain, Italian Somaliland, 1943-48.
Earliest known use: The cover or piece that documents the earliest date on which a stamp or postal stationery item is known to be used. New discoveries can change an established EKU. The EKU for a classic issue may be after the official issue date. Because of accidental early sales, the EKU for modern stamps is often several days before the official first day.
Early impression: a stamp that has been printed from a plate which has just begun to run on the press; distinguished from later printings taken from the same plate that will not be as sharp as the “early impressions.”
Economy label: used throughout British Empire during war period, to be applied to covers that were refolded and reused.
Emblems: Name given to watermarked heraldic devices appearing in corners of early stamps of GB.
Embossing: The process of giving relief to paper by pressing it with a die. Embossed designs are often found on the printed stamps of postal stationery (usually envelopes and wrappers). Selected stamps of certain countries have been embossed.
Enamelled Paper: Highly glazed paper coated with a mixture of zinc white and glue producing a glossy, brittle surface. This paper is similar to chalky paper but appears slightly grayish. When held up to a light, rather than a uniform appearance, enameled paper is distinctly mottled.
Engraved stamps: stamps printed from plates into which a design is cut or chemically etched; the plate is applied under heavy pressure to the paper being printed, leaving the ink raised above the surface of the paper.
Engraver: the person who engraves a die.
Entire: An intact piece of postal stationery, in contrast to a cutout of the imprinted stamp. This term is sometimes used in reference to an intact cover or folded letter.
Enschede, Joh.: printer of stamps for postal administrations, located in Haarlem, the Netherlands, founded 1703, produced its first postage stamps in 1862.
Error: A major mistake in the production of a stamp or postal stationery item. Production errors include imperforate or imperforate-between varieties, missing or incorrect colors, and inversion or doubling of part of the design or overprint. Major errors are usually far scarcer than normal varieties of the same stamp and are highly valued by collectors.
Essay: The artwork of a proposed design for a stamp. Some essays are rendered photographically. Others are drawn in pencil or ink or are painted. Most essays are rejected. One becomes the essay for the accepted design.
Etiquette: A gummed label manufactured for application to an envelope to designate a specific mail service. Airmail etiquettes are most common.
Europa: The “United Europe” theme celebrated annually on stamps of western European nations since 1956. The original Europa stamps were issued by the nations in the European coal and steel association. Today, European nations that are members of the postal and telecommunications association (CEPT) issue Europa stamps.
Expert Committee: Groups of specialist philatelists whose function is to express an opinion on the authenticity of stamps or other philatelic item.
Expertization: The examination of a stamp or cover by an acknowledged expert to determine if it is genuine. As standard procedure, an expert or expertizing body issues a signed certificate, often with an attached photograph, attesting to the item’s status.
Exploded: A stamp booklet that has been separated into its various components, usually for purposes of display. Panes are removed intact: individual stamps are not separated from the pane.
F
Face: The front of a stamp; the side bearing the design.
Face value: The value of a stamp as inscribed on its face. For letter-denominated or non-denominated stamps, the understood postal value of the stamp.
Facsimile: A reproduction of a genuine stamp or cover. Such items are usually marked as such and are not made with any intent to deceive collectors or postal officials.
Fake: A stamp, cover or cancel that has been altered or concocted to appeal to a collector. In a broad sense, fakes include repairs, reperforations and regummed stamps, as well as painted-in cancels, bogus cancels or counterfeit markings. Sometimes entire covers are faked.
Fast colors: Inks resistant to fading.
Field Post Office: A military postal service operating in the field, either on land or at sea. Frequently abbreviated FPO.
Find: A new discovery, usually of something that was not known to exist. It can be a single item or a hoard of stamps or covers.
First-day cover: A cover bearing a stamp tied by a cancellation showing the date of the official first day of issue of that stamp.
Fiscal: A revenue stamp or similar label denoting the payment of tax. Fiscals are ordinarily affixed to documents and canceled by pen, canceler or mutilation. Because of their similarity to postage stamps, fiscals have occasionally been used either legally or illegally to prepay postage. See also Postal fiscal, Revenues.
Flat plate: A flat metal plate used in a printing press, as opposed to a curved or cylindrical plate.
Flaw: A defect in a plate that reproduces as an identifiable variety in the stamp design.
Forgery: A completely fraudulent reproduction of a postage stamp. There are two general types of forgeries: those intended to defraud the postal authorities (see also Counterfeit), and those intended to defraud the collectors (see also Bogus).
Frama: A general name used for an automatic stamp, derived from the name of the Swiss firm, Frama AG, an early producer of such issues. Automatic stamps are produced individually by a machine on demand in a denomination selected by the customer. There normally is no date on the stamp, as there is on a meter stamp. Also called ATM, from the German word Automatenmarken.
Frame: The outer portion of a stamp design, often consisting of a line or a group of panels.
Frank: An indication on a cover that postage is prepaid, partially prepaid or that the letter is to be carried free of postage. Franks may be written, hand-stamped, imprinted or affixed. Free franking is usually limited to soldiers’ mail or selected government correspondence. Postage stamp and postage meter stamps are modern methods of franking a letter.
Freak: An abnormal, usually nonre-petitive occurrence in the production of stamps that results in a variation from the normal stamp, but falls short of producing an error. Most paper folds, overinking and perforation shifts are freaks. Those abnormalities occurring repetitively are called varieties and may result in major errors.
Front: The front of a cover with most or all of the back and side panels torn away or removed. Fronts, while desirable if they bear unusual or uncommon postal markings, are less desirable than an intact cover.
Fugitive inks: Printing inks used in stamp production that easily fade or break up in water or chemicals. To counter attempts at forgery or the removal of cancellations, many governments have used fugitive inks to print stamps.
FPO: Field Post Office. A military postal service operating in the field, either on land or at sea.
FDC: First-day cover. A cover bearing a stamp tied by a cancellation showing the date of the official first day of issue of that stamp.
Franking: An indication on a cover that postage is prepaid, partially prepaid or that the letter is to be carried free of postage. Franks may be written, hand-stamped, imprinted or affixed. Free franking is usually limited to soldiers’ mail or selected government correspondence. Postage stamp and postage meter stamps are modern methods of franking a letter.
G
Ghost tagging: The appearance of a faint image impression in addition to the normal inked impression. This is caused by misregistration of the phosphor tagging in relation to the ink. Sometimes, a plate number impression will have an entirely different number from the ink plate, giving the impression of an error: one dark (normal) number and one light (ghost) number.
Glassine: A thin, semitransparent paper that is moderately resistant to the passage of air and moisture. Envelopes made of glassine are commonly used for temporary stamp storage. Glassine is also used in the manufacture of stamp hinges.
Granite paper: A paper with small colored fibers added when the paper is made. This paper is used as a deterrent against forgery.
Gravure: A printing process utilizing an intaglio printing plate created by photographic and chemical means, rather than by hand engraving. See also Intaglio.
Gum: The mucilage applied to the backs of adhesive postage stamps, revenue stamps or envelope flaps. Gum is an area of concern for stamp collectors. It may crack and harm the paper of the stamp itself. It may stain or adhere to other stamps or album pages under certain climatic conditions. Many collectors are willing to pay extra for 19th- and some 20th-century stamps with intact, undisturbed original gum.
Gutter: The selvage separating panes on a sheet of stamps. The gutter is usually discarded during processing. The gutter may be unprinted, or bear plate numbers, accounting or control numbers, advertising or other words or markings.
H
Handstamp: Cancellation or overprint applied by hand to a cover or to a stamp.
Hinge: Stamp hinges are small, rectangular-shaped pieces of glassine paper, usually gummed on one side. Folded with the gummed side out, the hinge is used to mount stamps. Most modern hinges are peelable. Once dry, they may be easily removed from the stamp, leaving little trace of having been applied.
I
ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization www.icao.int
ICY: International Cooperation Year
I.E.F.: Indian Expeditionary Force
Imperforate: Refers to stamps without perforations or rouletting between the individual stamps in a pane. The earliest stamps were imperforate by design, but after about 1860 most stamps were perforated. Modern imperforates are usually errors or are produced specifically for sale to stamp collectors.
Impression: Any stamped or embossed printing.
Imprimatur: “Latin for “”let it be printed.” The first sheets of stamps from an approved plate, normally checked and retained in a file prior to a final directive to begin stamp production from a plate.”
India paper: A thin, tough opaque printing paper of high quality used primarily for striking die proofs.
Indicium: The stamp impression of a postage meter or the imprint on postal stationery (as opposed to an adhesive stamp), indicating prepayment and postal validity. Plural: indicia.
Inscription: The letters, words and numbers that are part of a postage stamp design.
Intaglio: “Italian for “”in recess.” A form of printing in which the inked image is produced by that portion of the plate sunk below the surface. Line engraving and gravure are forms of intaglio printing.”
International Reply Coupon: A redeemable certificate issued by member nations of the Universal Postal Union to provide for return postage from recipients in other countries. IRCs are exchangeable for postage at a post office.
Invert: The term generally used to describe any error where one portion of the design is inverted in relation to the other portion(s). An overprint applied upside down is also an invert.
ITU: International Telecommunication Union www.itu.int
J
Jubilee Lines:
K
Keytype: A basic stamp design utilized for the issues of two or more postal entities, usually differing in the country name and inscription of value. Many of the earlier colonial issues of Britain, France, Spain, Germany and Portugal are keytypes.
Kiloware: A stamp mixture consisting of miscellaneous postally used stamps on envelope corner paper from various sources. Kiloware is sometimes sold by the kilogram (about 2.2 pounds).
L
Label: Any stamplike adhesive that is not a postage stamp or revenue stamp.
Laid paper: One of the two basic types of paper used in stamp printing. Laid paper is distinguished from wove paper by the presence of thin, parallel lines visible when the paper is held to light. The lines are usually a few millimeters apart. See also Batonne.
Letterpress: Printing done directly from the inked, raised surface of the printing plate.
Line engraving: Printing done from an intaglio plate produced from a hand-engraved die and transfer roll rather than by photographic or chemical means. See also Gravure.
Liner: Coated paper used as a backing for mint self-adhesive stamps. The liner allows the release of the stamp, which may then be applied with pressure to envelope paper.
Lithography: Printing from a flat surface with a design area that is ink-receptive. The area that is not to print is ink-repellant. The process is based on the principle that an oil-based design surface will attract oily ink.
Locals: Stamps valid within a limited area or within a limited postal system. Local post mail requires the addition of nationally or internationally valid stamps for further service. Locals have been produced both privately and officially.
M
Machin: The name given to a well-known series of British definitive stamps first issued in 1967. The design of the stamp depicts a plaster portrait of Queen Elizabeth II created by artist Arnold Machin.
Marcophily: Postmark collecting.
Margin: 1) The selvage surrounding the stamps in a sheet, often carrying inscriptions of various kinds. 2) The unprinted border area around the stamp design. The collectible grades of stamps are determined by the position of the design in relation to the edge of the stamp as perforated or, in the case of imperforate stamps, as cut from the sheet.
Mat: A hard rubber plate used to apply overprints on postage stamps.
Maximaphily: Maximum card collecting.
maximum card: A picture postcard, a cancel, and a stamp presenting maximum concordance. The stamp is usually affixed to the picture side of the card and is tied by the cancel. Collectors of maximum cards seek to find or create cards with stamp, cancel and picture in maximum agreement, or concordance. The statutes of the International Federation of Philately (FIP) give specific explanatory notes for the postage stamp, the picture postcard, the cancel, concordance of subject, concordance of place and concordance of time. (See Exhibiting chapter.)
Meter: The mechanical or digital device that creates a valid denominated postage imprint known as a meter stamp. Postage is prepaid to the regulating postal authority. Meters were authorized by the UPU in 1920. They are used today by volume mailers to cut the cost of franking mail.
Microprinting: Extremely small letters or numbers added to the designs of selected United States stamps as a security feature. In most cases, 8-power magnification or greater is needed to read microprinting.
Miniature sheet: A smaller-than-normal pane of stamps issued only in that form or in addition to full panes. A miniature sheet is usually without marginal markings or text saying that the sheet was issued in conjunction with or to commemorate some event. See also Souvenir sheet.
Mint: A stamp in the same state as issued by a post office: unused, undamaged and with full original gum (if issued with gum). Over time, handling, light and atmospheric conditions may affect the mint state of stamps.
Mixed perforation: See Compound perforation.
Mixed postage: The franking on a cover bearing the stamps of two or more stamp-issuing entities, properly used.
Mixture: A large group of stamps, understood to contain duplication. A mixture is said to be unpicked or picked. A picked mixture may have had stamps removed by a collector or dealer.
Mount: Acetate holders, clear on the front and with some sort of adhesive on the back. Collectors use mounts to affix stamps or covers to album or exhibit pages.
Multicolor: More than two colors.
Multiple: An unseparated unit of stamps including at least two stamps, but fewer than the number included in a full pane.
N
Never hinged: A stamp without hinge marks. A never-hinged (NH) stamp usually has original gum, but this is not always the case.
New issue service: A dealer service that automatically supplies subscribers with new issues of a given country, area or topic. The issues provided are determined by a prearranged standing order that defines the quantity and types of issues.
Newspaper stamps: Stamps issued specifically for the prepayment of mailing rates for newspapers, periodicals and printed matter.
Nondenominated: A stamp with no numerical inscription designating the face value. The value of some nondenominated stamps are marked by a designated letter. Others may have a service inscription that indicates the rate the stamp fulfills.
NH: Never Hinged. A stamp without hinge marks. A never-hinged (NH) stamp usually has original gum, but this is not always the case.
O
Obliteration: 1) A cancellation intended solely to deface a stamp-also called a killer. 2) An overprint intended to deface a portion of the design of a stamp, such as the face of a deposed ruler.
Obsolete: A stamp no longer available from post offices, although possibly still postally valid.
Occupation issue: An issue released for use in territory occupied by a foreign power.
Offices abroad: At various times, many nations have maintained post offices in other countries, usually because of the unreliability of the local postal system. In China and the Turkish Empire, especially, many foreign nations maintained their own postal systems as part of their extraterritorial powers. Usually, special stationery and stamps were used by these offices. Most consisted of overprints on the regular issues of the nations maintaining the offices.
Official: Stamp or stationery issued solely for the use of government departments and officials. In many countries such items may be available to collectors in unused condition from the postal authority.
Offset: 1) A printing process that transfers an inked image from a plate to a roller. The roller then applies the ink to paper. 2) The transfer of part of a stamp design or an overprint from one sheet to the back of another, before the ink has dried (also called set off). Such impressions are in reverse (see Mirror image). They are different from stamps printed on both sides.
OHMS: Abbreviation for On His (or Her) Majesty’s Service. Used in perfins, overprints or franks to indicate Official use in the British Commonwealth.
Omnibus issue: An issue released by several postal entities to celebrate a common theme. Omnibus issues may or may not share a keytype design.
On paper: Stamps (usually postally used) that are affixed to portions of original envelope or wrapper. Often used to describe stamps prior to soaking.
On piece: A stamp on a portion of the original envelope or wrapper showing all or most of the cancel. Stamps on piece are usually saved that way.
Original gum: The adhesive coating on a mint or unused stamp or envelope flap applied by a postal authority or security printer, usually before the item was issued. Upon request of stamp collectors, postal authorities have at times offered to add gum to items first issued ungummed. See also Regummed.
Overprint: Any printing over the original completed design of a stamp. An overprint that changes the value of a stamp is also called a surcharge.
Oxidation: Darkening of the ink on certain stamps caused by contact with air or light. Some inks used to print stamps, especially oranges, may in time turn brown or black.
OG: The adhesive coating on a mint or unused stamp or envelope flap applied by a postal authority or security printer, usually before the item was issued. Upon request of stamp collectors, postal authorities have at times offered to add gum to items first issued ungummed. See also Regummed.
P
Packet: 1) A presorted selection of all-different stamps, a common and economical way to begin a general collection; 2) a ship operating on a regular schedule and contracted by a government or post office to carry mail.
Packet letter: A letter carried by a ship operating on a regular schedule and carrying mail by contract with a government or a post office.
Pair: Two unseparated stamps.
Pane: “The unit into which a full press sheet is divided before sale at post offices. What a post office customer may refer to as a “”sheet of stamps”” is more properly called a pane. Most United States full sheets are divided into four or more regular panes or many more booklet panes before they are shipped to post offices.”
Paquebot: Cancellation indicating an item was mailed aboard a ship.
Par Avion: “A French phrase meaning “”By Air,” it appears on airmail etiquettes of most countries, along with a similar phrase in the predominant language of the country of origin.”
Parcel post stamps: Special stamps created for payment of parcel post fees.
Part-perforate: A stamp with all perforations missing on one or more sides, but with at least one side perforated.
Pen canceled: Stamps canceled with an ink pen or marker pen rather than a handstamp or machine cancel. Many early stamps were routinely canceled by pen. A pen cancel may also indicate that a stamp was used as a fiscal. Modern stamps may be pen canceled if a sorting clerk or delivery carrier notices a stamp has been missed by a canceling machine.
Penny Black: The black 1-penny British stamp issued May 6, 1840, bearing the portrait of Queen Victoria. It is the world’s first adhesive stamp issued for the prepayment of postage.
Perfins: Stamps perforated through the face with identifying initials, designs or holes in coded positions. Perfins are normally used by a business or government office to discourage pilferage or misuse of stamps by employees. Perfins may be either privately or officially produced.
Perforation: The punching out of holes between stamps to make separation easy. 1) Comb perforation-three sides of a stamp are perforated at once, with the process repeated in rows. 2) Harrow perforation-the entire sheet or unit of stamps is perforated in one operation. 3) Line perforation-holes are punched one row at a time. Line perforations are distinguished by the uneven crossing of perforation lines and irregular corners. Comb and harrow perforations usually show alignment of holes at the corners. Some forms of perforation may be difficult to distinguish.
Perforation gauge: A scale printed or designed on metal, transparent or opaque plastic, cardboard or other material to measure the number of perforation holes or teeth within the space of 2 centimeters.
Phantom philately: The collection of bogus stamps. The name is derived from Frederick Melville’s book Phantom Philately, one of the pioneer works on bogus issues.
Philatelic cover: An envelope, postal card or other item franked and mailed by a stamp collector to create a collectible object. It may or may not have carried a personal or business message. A nonphilatelic cover is usually one that has carried business or personal correspondence and has had its stamps applied by a noncollector. Some stamps are known only on collector-created covers. It is impossible to say whether some covers are philatelically inspired or not. See also Used and Postally used.
Philately: The collection and study of postage stamps, postal stationery and postal history.
Phosphor: A chemical substance used in the production of selected stamps to activate machines that automatically cancel mail. The machines react to the phosphor under ultraviolet light. In 1959, Great Britain began to print phosphor lines on some of its stamps. See also Tagging.
Photogravure: A modern stamp-printing process that is a form of intaglio printing. Plates are made photographically and chemically, rather than by hand engraving a die and transferring it to a plate. The ink in this process rests in the design depressions. The surface of the printing plate is wiped clean. The paper is forced into the depressions and picks up the ink, in a manner much like the line-engraved printing process.
Pictorial: Stamp bearing a picture of some sort, other than a portrait or coat of arms.
Plate: The basic printing unit on a press used to produce stamps. Early stamps were printed from flat plates. Curved or cylindrical plates are used for most modern stamps. See also Cylinder and Sleeve.
Plate block: A block of stamps from the corner or side of a pane including the selvage bearing the number(s) of the plate(s) used to print the sheet from which the pane was separated. Some stamp production methods, like booklet production, normally cut off plate numbers. In the United States, plate number blocks are collected normally as blocks of four to 20 stamps, depending on the press used to print the stamps. When each stamp in a pane is a different design, the entire pane is collected as the plate block.
Plate number: Numerals or an alphanumeric combination that identifies the printing plate used to print postage stamp images. In the United States, plate numbers on sheet stamps often appear in corner margin paper or side margin paper. Plate numbers on coil stamps were commonly trimmed off until about 1980; since then the number appears on stamps at specific intervals. Booklet plate numbers are often found on selvage attached to the pane.
Plating: The reconstruction of a stamp pane by collecting blocks and individual stamps representing various positions. This is possible for many older issues, but most modern issues are too uniform to make the identification of individual positions possible.
Postage due: Stamps or markings indicating that insufficient postage has been affixed to the mailing piece. Postage dues are usually affixed at the office of delivery. The additional postage is collected from the addressee.
Postal fiscal: Revenue or fiscal stamps used postally.
Postal history: The study of postal markings, rates and routes, or anything to do with the history of the posts.
Postal stationery: Stationery bearing imprinted stamps, as opposed to adhesive stamps. Postal stationery includes postal cards, lettercards, stamped envelopes, wrappers, aerograms, telegraph cards, postal savings forms and similar government-produced items. The cost to the mailer is often the price of postage plus an additional charge for the stationery item.
Postally used: “A stamp or cover that has seen legitimate postal use, as opposed to one that has been canceled-to-order or favor-canceled. The term “”postally used”” suggests that an item exists because it was used to carry a personal or business communication, without the sender thinking of creating an item to be collected.”
Postcard: A small card, usually with a picture on one side and a space for a written message on the other. Postcards have no imprinted stamp, so the mailer must also purchase postage to mail the postcard. See also Postal card.
Postmark: Any official postal marking. The term is usually used specifically in reference to cancellations bearing the name of a post office of origin and a mailing date.
Prestige booklet: A stamp booklet with oversized panes, descriptive information and stamp issues commemorating a special topic. Prestige booklets often include panes with no stamps that instead bear labels or additional information, along with panes bearing stamps.
Printer’s waste: Misprinted, misperforated or misgummed stamps often created during the normal process of stamp production. Printer’s waste is supposed to be destroyed, but such material enters the philatelic market through carelessness and theft.
Printing: The process of imprinting designs on paper from an inked surface.
Processing: Steps that finish a printed stamp sheet. Processing includes perforation, trimming, dividing the sheet into individual panes, and packaging for distribution.
Proofs: Trial impressions from a die or printing plate before actual stamp production. Proofs are made to examine a die or plate for defects or to compare the results of using different inks.
Provisional: A postage stamp issued for temporary use to meet postal demands until new or regular stocks of stamps can be obtained.
Plate number block: A block of stamps from the corner or side of a pane including the selvage bearing the number(s) of the plate(s) used to print the sheet from which the pane was separated. Some stamp production methods, like booklet production, normally cut off plate numbers. In the United States, plate number blocks are collected normally as blocks of four to 20 stamps, depending on the press used to print the stamps. When each stamp in a pane is a different design, the entire pane is collected as the plate block.
Press sheet: A complete unit of stamps as printed. Stamps are usually printed in large sheets and are separated into two or more panes before shipment to post offices.
Q
Quadripartition: A block or strip of four stamps that together complete a single entire design. See United States Scott 1448-51, the 1972 Cape Hatteras National Seashore issue.
R
Receiving mark: A postmark or other postal marking applied by the receiving, rather than the originating, post office. See also Backstamp.
Redrawn: A stamp design that has been slightly altered yet maintains the basic design as originally issued.
Re-engraved: A stamp with an altered design as the result of a change made to a transfer roll or printing plate prior to a later printing, thereby distinguishing it from the original die.
Regional: Stamp sold or valid in a specific area of a stamp-issuing entity. Great Britain has issued stamps for the regions of Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Regionals are usually sold only in a given region but are often valid for postage throughout a country.
Registered mail: First-class mail with a numbered receipt, including a valuation of the registered item, for full or limited compensation if the mail is lost. Some countries have issued registered mail stamps. Registered mail is signed for by each postal employee who handles it.
Registration labels: Adhesive labels indicating the registry number and, often, the city of origin for registered articles sent through the mail.
Regummed: A stamp bearing adhesive from an unauthorized source.
Reissue: An official reprinting of a stamp from an obsolete or discontinued issue. Reissues are valid for postage. See also Reprint.
Remainders: Stocks of stamps remaining unsold at the time that an issue is declared obsolete by a post office. Some countries have sold remainders to the stamp trade at substantial discounts from face value. The countries normally mark the stamps with a distinctive cancel. Uncanceled remainders usually cannot be distinguished from stamps sold over the counter before the issue was invalidated.
Repaired stamp: A damaged stamp that has been repaired in some way to reinforce it or to make it resemble an undamaged stamp.
Replica: A reproduction of a stamp or cover. In the 19th century, replica stamps were sold as stamp album space fillers. Replica stamps are often printed in one color in a sheet containing a number of different designs. Replicas can sometimes deceive either a postal clerk or collectors.
Reprint: A stamp printed from the original plate, after the issue has ceased to be postally valid. Official reprints are sometimes made for presentation purposes or official collections. They are often distinguishable in some way from the originals: different colors, perforations, paper or gum. Private reprints, on the other hand, are usually produced strictly for sale to collectors and often closely resemble the original stamps. Private reprints normally sell for less than original copies. Reprints are not valid for postage. See also Reissue.
Retouch: The repairing of a damaged plate or die, often producing a minor, but detectable, difference in the design of the printed stamps.
Revenues: “Stamps representing the prepayment or payment of various taxes. Revenues are affixed to official documents and to merchandise. Some stamps, including many issues of the British Commonwealth, are inscribed “”Postage and Revenue” and were available for either use. Such issues are usually worth less fiscally canceled than postally used. In some cases, revenues have been used provisionally as postage stamps. See also Fiscal.”
Rotary plate: A curved or cylindrical printing plate used on a press that rotates the plate to make continuous impressions. Flat plates make single impressions.
Rouletting: The piercing of the paper between stamps to make their separation more convenient. No paper is actually removed from the sheet, as it is in perforating. Rouletting has been made by dash, sawtooth or wavy line.
Rust: A brown mold resembling the rust in iron. Rust affects stamp paper and gum in tropical regions.
S
SASE: A self-addressed, stamped envelope. An unused envelope bearing the address of the sender and sufficient return postage. Enclosed with correspondence to make answering easy.
Secret mark: A minute alteration to a stamp design added to distinguish later printings from earlier printings by a different firm. Secret marks may positively distinguish genuine stamps from counterfeits.
Self-adhesive: Stamp gum that adheres to envelope paper by the application of pressure alone. Most self-adhesive stamps are sold on a coated paper release liner. See also Liner, Linerless, Water-activated.
Selvedge: The marginal paper on a sheet or pane of stamps. Selvedge may be unprinted or may contain printer’s markings or other information.
Semipostal: “A stamp sold at a price greater than postal value, with the additional charge dedicated for a special purpose. Usually recognized by the presence of two (often different) values, separated by a “”+” sign, on a single stamp.”
Series: A group of stamps with a similar design or theme, issued over a period of time. A series may be planned or may evolve.
Set: Stamps sharing common design elements, often issued at one time and usually collected as a group.
Se-tenant: “French for “”joined together.” Two or more unseparated stamps of different designs, colors, denominations or types.”
Shade: The minor variation commonly found in any basic color. Shades may be accorded catalog status when they are very distinctive.
Sheet: A complete unit of stamps as printed. Stamps are usually printed in large sheets and are separated into two or more panes before shipment to post offices.
Ship letter: Mail carried by private ship.
Short set: An incomplete set of stamps, usually lacking either the high value or one or more key values.
Sleeper: Stamp or other collectible item that seems to be underpriced and may have good investment potential.
Sleeve: 1) A seamless cylindrical printing plate used in rotary intaglio printing. 2) A flat transparent holder, often specifically for protecting and storing a cover.
Soaking: Removal of stamps from envelope paper. Most stamps may be safely soaked in water. Fugitive inks, however, will run in water, and chalky-surfaced papers will lose their designs entirely, so some knowledge of stamps is a necessity. Colored envelope paper should be soaked separately.
Souvenir sheet: A small sheet of stamps, including one value or a set of stamps. A souvenir sheet usually has a wide margin and an inscription describing an event being commemorated. Stamps on a souvenir sheet may be perforated or imperforate.
Space filler: A stamp in poor condition used to fill the designated space in a stamp album until a better copy can be found.
Special delivery: A service providing expedited delivery of mail. Called Express by some nations.
Special printing: Reissue of a stamp of current or recent design, often with distinctive color, paper or perforations.
Specialist: A stamp collector who intensively studies and collects the stamps and postal history of a given country, area, or time period, or who has otherwise limited his collecting field.
Special stamps: Regular postage stamp issues that fall outside the traditional definitions of commemorative and definitive stamps. In the United States, holiday issues such as Contemporary Christmas, Traditional Christmas, Hanukkah and the like are considered special stamps. They are printed in substantially greater quantities than commemorative stamps, and sometimes return to press for additional printings. Love stamps are also considered special stamps.
Specimen: “Stamp or stationery item distributed to Universal Postal Union members for identification purposes and to the philatelic press and trade for publicity purposes. Specimens are overprinted or punched with the word “”SPECIMEN” or its equivalent, or are overprinted or punched in a way to make them different from the issued stamps. Specimens of scarce stamps tend to be less valuable than the actual stamps. Specimens of relatively common stamps are more valuable.”
Speculative issue: A stamp or issue released primarily for sale to collectors, rather than to meet any legitimate postal need.
Stamp: An officially issued postage label, often adhesive, attesting that payment has been rendered for mail delivery. Initially used as a verb, meaning to imprint or impress; as in, to stamp a design.
Stampless cover: A folded sheet or envelope carried as mail without a postage stamp. This term usually refers to covers predating the requirement that stamps be affixed to all letters (in the United States, 1856).
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Stock book: A specially manufactured blank book containing rows of pockets on each page to hold stamps.
Straight edge: Flat-plate or rotary-plate stamps from the margins of panes where the sheets were cut apart. Straight-edge stamps have no perforations on one or two adjacent sides. Sometimes straight-edge stamps show a guideline.
Strip: Three or more unseparated stamps in a row, vertically or horizontally.
Surcharge: An overprint that changes or restates the denomination of a stamp or postal stationery item.
Surface-colored paper: Paper colored on the surface only, with a white or uncolored back.
T
T: “Abbreviation for the French “”Taxe.” Handstamped on a stamp, the T indicates the stamp’s use as a postage due. Handstamped on a cover, it indicates that postage due has been charged. Several countries have used regular stamps with a perforated initial T as postage dues.”
Teeth: The protruding points along the outer edge of a perforated postage stamp when it has been removed from the pane.
Telegraph stamp: Label used for the prepayment of telegraph fees. Telegraph stamps resemble postage stamps.
Tete-beche: “French for “”head to tail.” Two or more unsevered stamps, one of which is inverted in relation to the other.”
Thematic: A collection of stamps or covers relating to a specific topic. The topic is expanded by careful inquiry and is presented as a logical story. See also Topical.
Tied: A stamp is said to be tied to a cover when the cancel extends over both the stamp and the envelope paper. Stamps can also be tied by the aging of the mucilage or glue that holds them to the paper.
Tongs: Tweezerlike tool with rounded, polished tips, used to handle stamps. Tongs prevent stamps from being soiled by dirt, oil or perspiration.
Topical: 1) Stamp or cover showing a given subject. Examples are flowers, art, birds, elephants or the Statue of Liberty. 2) The collection of stamps by the topic depicted on them, rather than by country of origin. See also Thematic.
Transit mark: A postal marking applied by a post office between the originating and receiving post offices. It can be on the front or back of a cover, card or wrapper.
Triptych: A se-tenant strip of three related stamps forming one overall design.
Type: A basic design of a stamp or a set. Catalogs use type numbers or letters to save space. Catalogs show a typical design of one type rather than every stamp with that design or a similar design.
U
Underprint: A fine printing underlying the design of a stamp, most often used to deter counterfeiting.
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization www.unesco.org
Ungummed: A stamp without gum. Ungummed stamps are either stamps issued without gum or an uncanceled gummed stamp that has had its gum soaked off. Many countries in tropical climates have issued stamps without gum.
Unhinged: A stamp without hinge marks, but not necessarily with original gum.
Universal Postal Union: An international organization formed in Bern, Switzerland, in 1874, to regulate and standardize postal usage and to facilitate the movement of mail between member nations. Today, most nations belong to the UPU. (See UPU section of this almanac.)
Unused: An uncanceled stamp that has not been used but has a hinge mark or some other characteristic or defect that keeps it from being considered a mint stamp. Uncanceled stamps without gum may have been used and missed being canceled, or they may have lost their gum by accident.
used: A stamp or stationery item that has been canceled by a postal authority to prevent its reuse on mail. In general, a used stamp is any stamp with a cancel or a precanceled stamp without gum. See also Postally Used and Philatelic Cover.
UPU: Universal Postal Union. An international organization formed in Bern, Switzerland, in 1874, to regulate and standardize postal usage and to facilitate the movement of mail between member nations. Today, most nations belong to the UPU. www.upu.int
V
Variety: A variation from the standard form of a stamp. Varieties include different watermarks, inverts, imperforates, missing colors, wrong colors and major color shifts. See also Freak, Error.
Vignette: The central part of a stamp design, usually surrounded by a border. In some cases the vignette shades off gradually into the surrounding area.
W
Want list: A list of needed stamps or covers, identified by catalog number or some other description, submitted by a collector to a dealer, usually including requirements on condition and price.
Water-activated adhesive: Stamp gum designed to adhere to envelope paper only if the gum is moistened. All gummed stamps before 1963 used water-activated adhesive.
Watermark: A deliberate thinning of paper during its manufacture to produce a semitranslucent pattern. Watermarks appear frequently in paper used in stamp printing or envelope manufacture. See also Batonne.
Web: A continuous roll of paper used in stamp printing.
WHO: World Health Organization www.who.int
Wing margin: Early British stamps from the side of a pane with selvage attached. British sheets printed before 1880 were perforated down the center of the gutter, producing oversized margins on one side of stamps adjacent to the gutter. Such copies are distinctive and scarcer than normal copies.
Wove paper: A paper showing few differences in texture and thickness when held to light. In the production of wove paper, the pulp is pressed against a very fine netting, producing a virtually uniform texture. Wove paper is the most commonly used paper in stamp production.
Wrapper: A flat sheet or strip open at both ends that can be folded and sealed around a newspaper or periodical. Wrappers can have an imprinted stamp or have a stamp attached.
XYZ
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