Stamp Collecting - Nicknames

Our last week’s post focused on common terms applicable to variety/types of stamps available. There are also numerous terms used for specific stamps – usually famous ones because of their rarity or due to an error. Below is our list of the most common among them that should allow any budding philatelist to stand his ground in a “bourse”:

Nick Name	Description	Sample
5 Kings - Greece	1963 Greek stamp depicting the five kings - King George I, King Constantine I, King Alexander, King George II, King Paul.
Admirals - Canada, New Zealand, & Rhodesia	Depicts King George V of Great Britain in naval attire.
Bantams - South Africa	Midget stamps released by South Africa as a cost-control measure during WW II
Basel Dove - Switzerland	First tri-color stamp ever issued. Issue Date: September 30, 1854
Bluenose - Canada	Canadian postage stamp of 1929 depicting the Schooner Bluenose.
Bull’s Eye - Brazil	First three stamps of Brazil. Third stamp of the world by a country after the Penny Black & Penny Blue.
Cape Triangles - Cape of Good Hope	Cape of Good Hope triangular stamps issued between 1853 and 1864. The 1861 one penny vermilion and four penny blue have color errors in some (one penny in blue and four penny in vermilion) making those rare and very valuable. Also called Woodblocks.
Chalon Head – Canada	Issued first by Canada in 1851 followed by many other colonies between 1853 and 1870 portraying Queen Victoria’s portrait by Alfred Edward Chalon. The New Zealand issues are also known as Full Faces.
Cottonreel - 1c Magenta - British Guiana	Only one copy known to exist. Issued in 1856, the stamp features a sailing ship in black on magenta paper
Cowries - Uganda	A typewriter made stamp issued in March 1895 on very thin paper – only a few copies survived but forgeries are plenty
Milbury – United States	Issued by the postmaster of Milbury, MA in 1847. It is a 5c stamp depicting George Washington. The stamps issued prior to the issue of general US stamps are called Postmaster issues.
Missionaries - Hawaii	First postage stamps of the Kingdom of Hawaii issue between 1851 and 1852.
Penny Black - United Kingdom	World’s first postage stamp issued by a country – Issue Date: First May, 1840.
Penny Red – United Kingdom	1841 stamp that was issued till 1879 – imperfs & minor variations exist but the stamps are relatively plentiful.
Penny Blue – United Kingdom	An unissued postage stamp of Britain made December 1840.
Two Pence Blue – United Kingdom	A rarer stamp than the penny black issued May 1840 – 2nd postage stamp issued by a country.
Perot Provisional - Bermuda	First stamps of Bermuda – only 11 copies are known to exist
Red Mercury - Austria	Austrian newspaper stamp issued 1856 and replaced in 1858
Scinde Dawk - India	1852 stamp issued in the province of Sindh
Z Grill – USA	1868 1c stamp depicting Benjamin Franklin with the “Z” grill variety pressed onto the stamp – only two known copies – most valuable US stamp at $3M.

Last Updated: 09/2015.