Common Philatelic Terms

The postings over the last few weeks focused on the vocabulary used for stamp varieties, nicknames, errors and other famous stamps. This post is more of a glossary of popular terms every promising philatelist should know. Below is our list:

Term	Explanation
Albino	A stamp with die colors completely missing
Bank Mixture	Stamps usually on paper sourced from a financial institution.
Bourse	A stamp show or marketplace where stamps are bought & sold.
Boxed Postmark	A rectangular postmark as opposed to the normal circular ones.
Bridge	A small band of paper between perforations in sheets of stamps.
Bull’s Eye	Stamps with cancel with date right in the middle of the design.
Catalogue Value	The retail value of postage stamps as mentioned in one of the major stamp catalogues
Centering	Position of the design of the stamp in relation to the paper it is printed on
Circular Date Stamp (CDS) Postmark	A circular cancel that shows date & place of mailing.
Compound Perforation	Stamps with different perforations on the sides
Crash cover	A letter salvaged from a wreck that has been delivered with a postal mark explaining the damage
Die	The metal on which stamp designs are made (engraved or etched) for production
Die Cut	Machine cut applied between self-adhesive stamps that keeps the backing paper intact
Double Impression	Two impressions of the stamp design on a stamp
Duplex Cancels	A stamp with two cancels – one indicating location & date and the other a mark that obliterates the design.
Face Value or Denomination	The amount of money paid when purchasing a stamp from the postal service
Fancy Cancel	A cancel that has a pictorial design of its own.
First-flight Cover	A cover that was carried on a first flight opening a new airmail route – a cachet describing the event is usually part of the cover design
Gutter	The space between two adjacent stamps in a sheet
Handstamped	Cancelled by hand using a rubber stamp or similar device
Imperforate between	Two stamps attached together with perforations on all sides but either the vertical or horizontal middle perforations missing
Imprint	Any information printed on the selvage of a stamp sheet.
Laid paper	A type of paper used to manufacture stamps characterized by parallel lines (horizontal or vertical) visible when held against light
Lightly Hinged (LH)	Hinged so that the hinge mark is barely noticeable.
Variety	Same stamp but with differences in color, perforation, watermark, etc
Microprinting	Printing made of tiny lettering on some postage stamps used as a security device, part of the design, and/or identification
Mint	Stamps that were not used for postage
Mint, never hinged (MNH)	An unhinged uncanceled stamp
Mission Mixture	Stamps usually on paper sourced from a charitable mission.
Mute	Stamps with no identification markings. Also applies to cancels as in “mute cancels” when the cancellation doesn’t have any information
Numeral Cancelations	Cancelations that use numbers to identify mailing office
Offices Abroad	Stamps of one country used in another country characterized by overprints
On cover	Stamps collected on the original envelope.
Oxidized	A stamp that has changed color due to oxidation.
Pen cancelation	A cancelation applied by pen
Pictorial Cancel	A cancelation with a distinct design
Plate	A sheet of metal on which stamp design is engraved for printing
Plate Number	A number shared by all sheets of stamps run through a given plate.
Quadrille	A type of stamp album page that have ruled squares that help with arranging stamps in the page.
Regummed	Stamps with gum applied after issue usually to defraud collectors.
Rouletting	Slits between certain types of stamp sheets that facilitate separation.
Safety Paper	Special paper used by postal authorities to make stamps that make it difficult to forge
Selvage	The portion of a stamp sheet that is not part of a stamp.
Service Inscription	A stamp design in which the type of service is indicated as part of the design.
Shade	Minor color freaks.
Sheet	A set of stamps joined together produced from a single plate
Silk	A special type of paper used by postal authorities for stamp production in which silk threads are included as part of the paper making mixture used as a security measure to prevent forgery.
Slabbing	The procedure of encasing stamps in tamper-protected casing, usually after grading/authentication.
Socked on the nose	A cancel that obliterates the design in a stamp.
Stain	Paper discoloration in a stamp.
Straight Edge	A stamp with no perforations on one or more sides (but not all)
Tag	phosphor coating on stamps that aid with automatic mail handling
Tēte-bēche	A pair of stamps connected together, but with one upside down
Thematics	Collecting by a theme
Tied to cover	A cancelation that ties a stamp to a cover. Relevant when a particular collectible cover is valuable with the original canceled stamp on it.
Ungummed	Stamps that were issued with no gum by the postal authority
Unhinged	Stamps that were never hinged
Used	Stamps that were used for postage
Universal Postal Union (UPU)	International postal body that standardize postal usage across countries.
Wove paper	A smooth paper used in stamp production

Though this word list is not all encompassing by any measure, they do rank high in popularity. As always, if you are aware of a term that you believe should be in this list, please comment or let us know by using the “Contact Us” link and we will be sure to incorporate it.


Last Updated: 09/2015.