معجم الهواية - Glossary A-Z
2011-02-24
A
Accessories: Various products and tools commonly used by the stamp
collector, including hinges, mounts, stamp tongs, perforation gauges, stock
books and magnifiers. Stamp albums, catalogs and philatelic literature can also
be regarded as accessories.
Adhesive: 1) The gum on the back of a stamp or label. Some stamps
have been issued with no adhesive. Stamp adhesive may be water-activated or
pressure-sensitive (self-adhesive). 2) A word generally referring to a stamp
that may be affixed to an article to prepay postal fees, in contrast to a
design printed directly on an article, as with postal stationery. An adhesive
can also refer to a registration label or other label added to a cover..
Aerogram: A postage-paid airletter sheet with gummed flaps that is
written on and then folded to form an envelope. Aerograms are normally carried
at less than the airmail letter rate. No enclosures are permitted.
Aerophilately: A specialized area of collecting concentrating on
stamps or covers transported by air.
Agency: 1) An extraterritorial post office maintained at various
times by a government within the territory of another government. Examples are
the post offices maintained by many European powers in the Turkish
Empire until 1923. 2) An organization authorized
Airmail: The carriage of mail by air. The first regular airmail
service began in 1870, when mail was carried from Paris-then besieged by German forces-over
enemy lines by balloon. Many countries have issued postage stamps, stamped
envelopes, postal cards and aerograms specially designated for airmail use. The
first airmail stamp was issued by Italy in 1917 (Italy Scott C1).
Albino: An uninked impression made by a printing plate. Such errors
are scarce on stamps. They are found more frequently on postal stationery.
Album: A binder and pages designed for the mounting and display of
stamps or covers. Many early albums were permanently bound books. Albums come
in many sizes, styles and themes. See the Album section in this almanac.
Album weed: In general, a forged stamp. It also refers to unusual
items that resemble postage stamps but were not intended to pay postage, like
publicity labels and bogus issues. Album Weeds is the title of a reference book
series on forged stamps, written by the Rev. R. Brisco Ear‚e.
Aniline: Ink with a coal-tar base. Aniline inks are very sensitive
and may dissolve in water or other liquids or chemicals. To prevent the erasure
of cancellations and reuse of stamps, aniline inks were used to print some
stamps.
Approvals: Priced selections of stamps or covers sent to collectors
by mail. The collector purchases the items he chooses, returning the rest to
the approval dealer with payment for the purchased items.
Arrow: On many sheets of stamps, V-shaped arrowlike markings appear
in the selvage, generally serving as guides for cutting the sheets into
predetermined units. Some collectors save stamps or blocks displaying these
marks.
As is: "A term written in auction descriptions, or spoken or
written during a retail transaction. It indicates that an item or lot is sold
without guarantee or return privilege. Stamps are usually sold ""as
is'' when they are damaged or are possibly not genuine."
Auction: A sale of stamps, covers and other philatelic items where
prospective purchasers place bids in an attempt to obtain the desired items.
The highest bidder for each lot (described item or items) makes the purchase.
Auctions are generally divided into mail sales, where bids are accepted by
mail, and public sales, where mail bids are combined with live bidding from
individuals present at the auction or participating by telephone.
Authentication mark: A marking, such as initials, placed on the
reverse of a stamp examined and certified to be genuine by an expert. Such
markings do not detract from the value of the stamps when they represent the
endorsement of recognized authorities.
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.
Bicolor: 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.
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. Unauthorized bisects appear on mail from some countries in some
periods. 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: Intended perforations that are only lightly
impressed by the perforating pins, leaving the paper intact, but cut or with a
faint impression. Some stamps that appear to be imperforate really are not if
they have blind perfs. Stamps with blind perfs are minor varieties carrying
little, if any, price premium over normally perforated copies.
Block: A unit of four or more unsevered stamps, including at least
two stamps both vertically and horizontally. Most commonly a block refers to a
block of four, or a block of stamps two high and two wide, though blocks often
contain more stamps and may be irregularly configured (such as, a block of
seven consisting of one row of three stamps and one row of four stamps).
Bogus: A fictitious stamplike label created for sale to collectors.
Bogus issues include labels for nonexistent countries, nonexistent values
appended to regularly issued sets and issues for nations or similar entities
without postal systems.
Booklet: A unit of one or more small panes or blocks (known as
booklet panes) glued, stitched or stapled together between thin card covers to
form a convenient unit for mailers to purchase and carry. The first officially
issued booklet was produced by Luxembourg
in 1895. For some modern booklets of self-adhesive stamps the liner (backing
paper) serves as the booklet cover.
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. Almost all public stamp exhibitions include a dealer
bourse, though many bourses are held without a corresponding exhibition.
Burelage: A design of fine, intricate lines printed on the face of
security paper, either to discourage counterfeiting or to prevent the cleaning
and reuse of a stamp. The burelage on some stamps is part of the stamp design.
C
Cachet: In French, cachet means a stamp or a seal. On a cover, the
cachet is an added design or text, often corresponding to the design of the
postage stamp, the mailed journey of the cover, or some type of special event.
Cachets appear on modern first-day covers, first-flight covers and
special-event covers.
Canceled-to-order: "Stamps are ""canceled to order,''
usually in full sheets, by many governments. The cancels may be printed on the
stamps at the same time that the stamp design is printed. 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 at large discounts from face value. Most
catalogs say whether they price CTO stamps or genuinely used stamps."
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..
Catalog: A comprehensive book or similar compilation with descriptive
information to help identify stamps. Many catalogs include values for the
listed items. An auction catalog is published by the auction firm in advance of
a planned sale to notify potential customers of the specific items that will be
offered.
Catalog value: The value of a stamp as listed in a given catalog for
the most common condition in which the stamp is collected. Some catalogs list
stamps at a retail value, though actual dealer prices may vary substantially
for reasons of condition, demand or other market factors. Most catalogs have a
set minimum value for the most common stamps.
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.
Chalky paper: A chalk-surfaced paper for printing stamps. Any attempt
to remove the cancel on a used chalky-paper stamp will also remove the design.
Immersion of such stamps in water will cause the design to lift off. Touching
chalky paper with silver will leave a discernible, pencil-like mark and is a
means of distinguishing chalky paper.
Changeling: A stamp whose color has been changed-intentionally or
unintentionally-by contact with a chemical or exposure to light..
Classic: An early issue, often with a connotation of rarity, although
classic stamps are not necessarily rare. A particularly scarce recent item may
be referred to as a modern classic.
Cleaning (stamps): Soiled or stained stamps are sometimes cleaned
with chemicals or by erasing. The cleaning is usually done to improve the
appearance of a stamp. A cleaned stamp can also mean one from which a
cancellation has been removed, making a used stamp appear unused.
Cliché: 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.
Coil: Stamps processed in a long single row and prepared for sale in
rolls, often for dispensing from stamp-vending and affixing machines. Some
coils, including most U.S.
coils, have a straight edge on two parallel sides and perforations on the
remaining two parallel sides. Some coils are backprinted with sequence or
counting numbers.
Collateral material: Any supportive or explanatory material relating
to a given stamp or philatelic topic. The material may be either directly
postal in nature (post office news releases, rate schedules, souvenir cards,
promotional items) or nonpostal (maps, photos of scenes appearing on stamps).
Combination cover: Cover bearing the stamps of more than one country
when separate postal charges are paid for the transport of a cover by each
country. Also stamps of the same country canceled at two different times on the
same cover as a souvenir.
Commemorative: A stamp 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. See also
Definitive.
Compound perforations: Different gauge perforations on different
sides of a single stamp. The sides with the different gauge measurements are
usually perpendicular.
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.
Controlled mail: A system in which the mailer selects philatelically
desirable issues for outgoing mail, arranges for a specific manner of
cancellation and secures the stamps' return by the addressee. In some cases
such controlled mail operations may provide rare examples of specific rate
fulfillment, or other similar postal use..
Corner card: An imprinted return address, generally in the upper-left
corner of an envelope, from a commercial, institutional or private source, similar
to business card or letterhead imprints.
Counterfeit: Any stamp, cancellation or cover created for deception
or imitation, intended to be accepted by others as genuine. A counterfeit stamp
is designed to deceive postal authorities.
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. Creases particularly affect cover values when they extend
through the attached stamp or a postal marking. Stamp creases are visible in
watermark fluid.
Cut cancellation: A cancellation that intentionally slices into the
stamp paper. Often a wedge-shaped section is cut away. On many issues, such
cancellations indicate use of postage stamps as fiscals (revenues) or telegraph
stamps rather than as postage. Cut cancellations were used experimentally on
early United States
postage stamps to prevent reuse.
Cylinder: A curved printing plate used on a modern rotary press. The
plate has no seams. For United
States stamps, cylinders are used to print
gravure stamps. See also Sleeve.
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: "Canceled-to-order. Stamps are ""canceled to
order,'' usually in full sheets, by many governments. The cancels may be
printed on the stamps at the same time that the stamp design is printed. 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 at large discounts from
face value. Most catalogs say whether they price CTO stamps or genuinely used stamps."
D
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.
definitive: Stamp issued in a large indefinite quantity and for an
indefinite period, usually several years or more. The United States
Presidential issue of 1938 and the 1995 32› Flag Over Porch stamps are
examples. Definitive stamp designs usually do not honor a specific time-dated
event.
Deltiology: Picture postcard collecting.
Denomination: The face value of a stamp, usually indicated by
numerals printed as part of the design. Some modern U.S. stamps produced for rate
changes are denominated with a letter. A numerical value is assigned when the
letter stamps are issued. An example of this is the H-rate Hat stamp of 1998,
which represented the first-class rate of 33›.
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.
Directory markings: "Postal indication of failed delivery
attempt, stating the reason for failure. Examples are ""No Such
Number,'' ""Address Unknown'' and ""Moved.''"
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.
E
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.
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.
Encased postage stamp: A stamp inserted into a small coin-size case
with a transparent front or back. Such stamps were circulated as legal coins
during periods when coins were scarce.
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.
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.
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.
EKU: 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.
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 nondenominated stamps, the understood postal value of the
stamp.
Facsimile: A reproduction of a genuine stamp or cover. Such items are
usually made with no intent to deceive collectors or postal officials. Catalog
illustrations may also be considered facsimiles.
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.
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.
Forerunner: "A stamp or postal stationery item used in a given
location prior to the issuing of regular stamps for that location. Turkish
stamps before 1918 canceled in Palestine
are forerunners of Israeli issues. So are the various European nations' issues
for use in Palestine,
and the subsequent issues of the Palestine Mandate. The term
""forerunner"" is also used to describe a stamp issued
before another stamp or set, if the earlier issue may have influenced the
design or purpose of the later issue."
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)..
Frame: The outer portion of a stamp design, often consisting of a
line or a group of panels.
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.
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.
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
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.
Inverts: 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.
IRC: 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.
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.
Line pair: A pair of coil stamps with a printed line between them.
Stamps produced on a flatbed press have a line from the guideline between
panes. Stamps produced on a rotary press have a joint line from the space where
ink collects between the sections of curved rotary plates.
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
.
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.
Mirror image: An offset negative or reverse impression...
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.
Multicolor: More than two colors.
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.
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.
Off-center: A stamp design that is not centered in relation to the
edges of the stamp. Generally, off-center stamps are less desirable than stamps
more nearly centered in relation to the edges. Stamps that are extremely
off-center may be added to collections as production freaks..
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..
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.
.
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..
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."
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.".
Part-perforate: A stamp with all perforations missing on one or more
sides, but with at least one side perforated.
Paste-up: The ends of rolls of coiled stamps joined together with
glue or tape.
Pelure paper: A strong, thin paper occasionally used in stamp
printing. Pelure paper is translucent and resembles a slightly dark, thin
onion-skin paper.
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.
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.
Permit: Franking by the imprint of a number and additional
information that identifies a mailer's prepaid postage account, thereby
eliminating the need to affix and cancel stamps on large mailings. The mailer
must obtain a document (permit) that authorizes his use of this procedure.
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.
PNC: 1) A plate number coil stamp; that is, a stamp from a coil that
is inscribed with a plate number. The abbreviations PNC3 and PNC5 identify
strips of three or five coil stamps with the PNC located in the center position
of the strip. 2) A philatelic-numismatic combination: a cover bearing a stamp
and containing a coin, medal or token. The coin and stamp are usually related
in such cases; often the cover is canceled on the first day of use of the coin.
Pneumatic post: Letter distribution through pressurized air tubes.
Pneumatic posts existed in many large cities in Europe,
and special stamps and stationery were often produced for the service.
Postage dues: 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 card: A government-produced postcard bearing a stamp imprint
in the upper-right corner representing prepayment of postage.
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.
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.
Precancel: "Stamp with a special overprint cancellation allowing
it to bypass normal canceling. In some cases the precancel also designates a
specific mail-handling service, such as ""Presorted First-Class.""
Other precancels may include the city and state of the issuing post office.
Precanceled stamps are used by volume mailers who hold a permit to use them. U.S. precancels fall into two categories: 1)
Locals have the mark or text applied by a town or city post office; 2) Bureaus
have the mark or text applied by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and
Printing. See also Service inscribed."
Prestamp covers: Folded letters or their outer enclosures used before
the introduction of adhesive postage stamps or postal stationery.
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..
R.
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.
.
Regummed: A stamp bearing adhesive from an unauthorized source..
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.
.
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.
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.
.
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.
Short set: An incomplete set of stamps, usually lacking either the
high value or one or more key values.
