| Glossary |
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| The following glossary contains definitions for most philatelic expressions. |
Part 1: A to C |
| Accessories: Various products and tools commonly used by the stamp collector, including hinges, mounts, stamp tongs, perforation gauges, stock books and magnifiers. Stamp albums, catalogues and philatelic literature can also be regarded as accessories. |
| Admirals: A nickname for three British Commonwealth definitive series: Canada 1912-1925 (Scott Nos. 104-34); New Zealand 1926 (Scott Nos. 182-84); Rhodesia 1913-19 (Scott Nos. 119-38). The stamps depict King George V in naval uniform. |
| Aerogramme: The official Universal Postal Union designation for an air letter sheet. These sheets, with gummed flaps, are written on and folded into themselves to form their own envelope and are carried at less than the letter airmail rate. No enclosures are permitted. |
| Aerophilately: A specialized area of stamp collecting concentrating on stamps or covers carried 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 to publicize or sell new issues of stamps on behalf of a stamp-issuing entity. |
| Air Label: Also known as "etiquette", an air label is a standard-sized blue label used by Universal Postal Union member nations to denote airmail carriage. Air labels are inscribed "Par Avion'' (French for "By Airplane''). The text usually includes the same message in the language of the native country. Adhesive air labels are also issued by private organizations for specific, unofficial flights. |
| 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 aerogrammes specially designated for airmail use. The first airmail stamp was issued by Italy in 1917 (Scott No. C1). |
| Albino: An un-inked impression made by a printing plate. Such errors are scarce on stamps. They are more often found on postal stationery. |
| Album: Binders, usually with pages, for the mounting and display of stamps and covers. Albums come in many sizes, styles and themes. |
| 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 on forged stamps, written by Rev. R. Brisco Earee. |
| Ambulante: This word means "moving" in Spanish and other Latin languages. It appears in cancellations and indicates that the item was processed by a mobile post office. |
| 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. |
| APO: Army Post Office. An official United States post office for use by U.S. military units abroad. An army post office or military post office is set up to distribute mail to and from military personnel. Locations are indicated by numbers only to prevent revealing personnel locations. The locations become generally known after a war is over. |
| Approvals: Priced selections of stamps sent to collectors by mail. The collector purchases the items he chooses, returning the balance with payment for those kept. |
| 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. Online auctions, which take place on the Internet (eBay for example), are also very popular. |
| 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. |
| Back-Of-Book: Stamps that are normally listed in the back of the catalogue after the regular stamp issues. This might include air mail, special delivery, semi-official, official, postage due, local issues, stamped envelopes, post cards, hunting permit stamps, essays, and revenue stamps. |
| Backprint: Printing on the reverse of a stamp. Some countries have printed advertising or messages on the backs of stamps. |
| 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. |
| Bank Mixture: A high-quality mixture of stamps. It generally represents clippings from the mail of banks or other businesses with extensive overseas correspondence, and thus includes a relatively high proportion of foreign stamps of high face value. See also Mission Mixture. |
| Bantams: The nickname of the South African definitive series of 1942-43 (Scott 90-97). Wartime economy measures required stamps of small size to conserve paper. |
| Batonne: A wove or laid paper with watermark like lines deliberately added in the papermaking process and intended as a guide for handwriting. |
| Bilingual: Refers to stamps inscribed in two languages. Most Canadian stamps include both English and French text. South African stamps are sometimes in both English and Afrikaans. |
| 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 frequently 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: Perforations that have been 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: An un-separated grouping of four stamps forming a rectangle or square, 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. |
| Bluenose: The nickname for Canada Scott 158, the 50¢ issue of 1929, picturing the schooner Bluenose. |
| Bogus: A fictitious stamp-like 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. |
| Bond Paper: A security paper of high quality, used to a limited extent in early stamp printing. Originally, bond was made from rags. The modern paper used for first-day covers is usually a bond quality paper. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Bull's-Eyes: (1) The nickname for the first issue of Brazil, 1843 (Scott 1-3). The similar but smaller issues are called goat's eyes. (2) A bull's-eye cancel refers to a "socked-on-the-nose" cancel, one that is centered directly on the stamp so that the stamp shows the location and date of mailing. |
| 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. |
| Burele: Adjective form for burelage, meaning having a fine network of lines. Some stamps of Queens land have a burele band on the back. Also called moire. |
| Cachet: A design found on an envelope describing an event. Cachets appear on modern first-day covers, first-flight covers and special-event covers. |
| Cancel: Also known as 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. |
| Canceled To Order (CTO): Stamps are "canceled to order," usually in full sheets, by many governments. Often, the cancels are printed on the stamps at the same time that the stamp design is printed. CTO stamps are sold to stamp dealers at large discounts from face value. CTO stamps have never seen actual postal use. Most catalogues say whether they price CTO stamps or genuinely used ones. A stamp with a cancel and with full gum is likely a CTO stamp. |
| Cancellation: Also known as 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. |
| Cantonal Stamps: Issues of the Swiss cantons used before the release of national stamps. The cantonal issues of Basel (1845), Geneva (1843-50) and Zurich (1843-50) are among the classics of philately. |
| 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. |
| Catalogue: Comprehensive compilation of postage stamps and revenue stamps, providing descriptions and, usually, values for the items, often including stamps priced on cover. |
| Catalogue Value: The value of a stamp as listed in a given catalogue for the most common condition in which the stamp is usually collected. Some catalogues list stamps at a retail value. European catalogues call their retail catalogues "netto" catalogues. In general, a stamp's catalogue value should be regarded as a target price for the stamp. Some stamps are a bargain at double their catalogue value. Others may be overpriced at one quarter of their catalogue value. |
| Censored Mail: A cover bearing a hand stamp or label indicating that the envelope has been opened and read by a censor. |
| 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 condition and value. |
| Certified Mail: A service of most postal administrations that provides proof of mailing and delivery without indemnity for loss or damage. |
| 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. |
| Charity Seals: Stamp like labels that are distributed by a charity. They have no postal validity, although they are often affixed to envelopes. United States Christmas seals are one example. |
| Charity Stamp: Also know as semi-postal. 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. |
| Cinderella: A stamp like label that is not a postage stamp. Cinderella's include seals and bogus issues, as well as revenue stamps, local post issues and other similar items. |
| 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 back printed with sequence or counting numbers. |
| 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 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. |
| Condition: The overall appearance and soundness of a stamp or cover. Positive condition factors include fresh full colour, 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. |
| Copyright Block: Block of four or more United States stamps with the copyright notice marginal marking of the United States Postal Service. The copyright marking was introduced in 1978 and replaced the Mail Early marking. |
| Corner Card: A 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. |
| Cut Square: A neatly trimmed rectangular or square section from a stamped envelope that includes the imprinted postage stamp with ample margin. Collectors generally prefer to collect stationery as entire pieces rather than as cut squares. Some older stationery is available only in cut squares. |
| Cut-to-Shape: A nonrectangular 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. One of the world's most valuable stamps, the unique 1856 British Guiana "Penny Magenta" (Scott 13), is a cut-to-shape stamp. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Defect: Term used to define an alteration made to the original state of a stamp. ( Cut, thin, crease, hole, missing perforation, etc.) |
| Definitive: Stamp issued in a large indefinite quantity and for an indefinite period, usually several years or more. Definitive stamp designs usually do not honour 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 Canadian stamps produced for rate changes are denominated with a letter. A numerical value is assigned when the letter stamps are issued. |
| Die: The original engraving of a stamp. A transfer roller is made from a die, and printing plates are made from the transfer roller. 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.'' |
| Double Printed: A stamp color that is printed twice by error. The double print is visible by the out of registration of the colors. The same is applicable for a double surcharge. |
| Duck Stamp: Popular name for the Canadian Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation stamp, issued for use on hunting licenses. |
| 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 favor of postal employees. |
| Duplex Cancel: A two-part postal marking consisting of a canceller and a postmark. The canceller 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. |
Continue to Part 2: D to O
Continue to Part 3: P to Z
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