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Glossary of Philatelic terms and abbreviations.
When scouring through philatelic publications and stamp lists, you may come across the odd abbreviation or term that means little or nothing to you. I believe this list covers most of them, but if you meet up with one which isn't here, please let me know so that I can include it!
| Adhesive | A gummed stamp | Albino | Omission of colour from a stamp giving a colourless impression of the design | Aniline | A stamp printed with a fugitive ink or dye | ||
| Backstamp | An 'arrival' postmark applied to the back of a letter | Bâtonné | Paper watermarked with straight parallel lines | Bisect | A stamp cut in two halves, each for separate use | ||
| Blind perf. | A missing perforation | Block | A group of 4 or more unseparated stamps | Blued (paper) | Paper with a pale blue colouration | ||
| Bogus | An unauthorized label purporting to be a stamp | Burélage | A stamp's security background: a network of lines or dots in the design | ||||
| Cachet | A commemorative inscription or special endorsement on a cover | Cancel(lation) | Any authorized defacing mark on a stamp | Centred | Indicating equality of margins in stamp design | ||
| Chalk-surfaced | Paper coated with chalky solution | Changeling | A stamp where the original colour has changed | Charity stamp | Stamp bearing a premium for charitable purposes | ||
| Classic | A distinction of quality or rarity in early stamps | Coil stamp | Stamp from a vending machine roll | Comb perf. | From a perforating machine with pins arranged as a comb | ||
| Commemorative | A stamp marking a special anniversary or event | Compound perf. | A stamp having two different perforations | Controls | Letters and/or numbers in the sheet margin | ||
| Cover | A postally used envelope, letter-sheet or wrapper | CTO | Cancelled-to-Order. Stamps postmarked but not used | Cylinder no. | Marks in sheet margin identifying printing cylinder used | ||
| Dandy roll | A wire-mesh roller used to produce a watermark in paper | Definitive | A stamp issued for regular postal use over a period of (usually) years | Die | The original engraved plate of a stamp design | ||
| Doctor blade | A steel blade which wipes excess ink from the printing cylinder | Duty plate | A printing plate producing the country name and denomination | ||||
| Embossing | A form of printing giving a raised (relief) image | Engraving | The art of cutting designs into metal, wood etc. | Entire | A complete cover | ||
| Error | A mistake in a stamp's design or production | Essay | A trial design, differing from the issued stamp | ||||
| Face (value) | The value of the stamp as expressed on the front of it | Fake | A genuine stamp altered to defraud collectors | Fiscal | A revenue or tax stamp - not a postage stamp | ||
| Forgery | A fraudulent copy of a postage stamp or postmark | Foxing | Browning of paper because of age or dampness | Frank | ''Free' (of postage). Also a postmark indicating postage paid | ||
| Fugitive ink | Ink or dye which is not fixed in printing and will 'run' if wetted | ||||||
| Granite paper | A paper embodying very small coloured fibres | Graphite lines | An aid to automatic sorting: dark vertical lines on the backs of some British stamps | Gum | Resinous mucilage on the backs of adhesive stamps | ||
| Gutter | The space between stamps to permit perforations | Gutter margin | A margin dividing a sheet of stamps into (usually) 2 or 4 panes | ||||
| Handstamp | A postmark applied by hand (or the device used) | Harrow perf. | Perforation of the whole sheet in a single process | ||||
| Imperforate | Without perforations | Imperf-between | Adjoining stamps without separating perforations | Imprimatur | The first trial sheets of early stamps produced before a print run was authorised | ||
| Imprint | Name of designer/printer or date printed in sheet or stamp margin | Ivory head | Queen Victoria's head, in reverse, on the back of early stamps printed on blued paper | ||||
| Jubilee line | Coloured line in sheet margin, framing stamps | ||||||
| Key plate | A printing plate in common use together with duty plate | ||||||
| Line-engraving | The process of steel or copper engraving in lines | Line perforation | Perforating method where each line of holes is produced individually - frequently resulting in overlapping of holes at the corners of stamps | Lithography | Surface printing from a flat 'stone' or plate | ||
| Local | A stamp which has limited use and postal validity | ||||||
| Machin | British definitive stamps in use since 1967 designed by Arnold Machin | Miniature sheet | A small souvenir sheet of stamp(s) | Mint | A stamp as issued but not used (see also MM & MNH) | ||
| MM | Mounted mint: a stamp previously hinged in an album but not used | MNH | Mint, never hinged: unmounted mint | Mulready | Pictorial envelope and letter-sheet produced in 1840 | ||
| Newspaper stamps | Stamps issued for payment of postage on newspapers | ||||||
| Obligatory tax | Stamps issued as a means of raising revenue - compulsory use | Obliteration | A heavy, defacing cancellation | Obsolete | No longer available or valid for postal use | ||
| Official | A stamp issued or overprinted for government use | Offset | An impression on a sheet of stamps from another laid on it | Offset lithography | Surface printing by cylinders | ||
| Overprint | Additional printing added to an existing stamp | ||||||
| Pair | Two unseparated stamps | Pane | Section of sheet of stamps with gutter margin or leaf from a stamp booklet | Perfins | Initial letters or symbols perforating the body of a stamp | ||
| Perf(oration)s | Holes punched in stamps for aiding separation. Gauged by number of holes per 2 centimetres | Phosphor | Overprinted with a flourescent coating | Photogravure | A form of recess printing using photo-etching | ||
| Plate number | Numbers in sheet margins identifying the printing plate used | Plating | Reconstruction of a sheet of stamps from original plate | Plug | Insertions on a plate - values, repairs etc. | ||
| Postage due | Used to collect fees on unpaid/underpaid letters | Postmark | A mark applied to a letter etc, by the postal authority, to indicate date/time of posting, transit, arrival or special service | Precancel | A stamp postmarked prior to use in bulk mail preparation | ||
| Proof | A trial impression taken from an original die or plate | Provisional | A stamp issued for temporary use | ||||
| Quadrillé paper | Patterned or watermaked with criss-cross lines | ||||||
| Recess printing | Line engraving. Recesses are formed on the plate | Re-entry | A double impression, visible on the stamp(s) | Remainders | Stocks of stamps remaining after an issue has been withdrawn from sale | ||
| Reprints | Stamp printed after initial issue date | Retouch | A minor correction made to a printing plate or cylinder | Roulette | A form of perforation using a line of 'cuts' instead of holes | ||
| Se-tenant | Stamps which are joined but are different in value or design | Shade | A minor variation in the colour of a stamp | Specimen | A sample stamp, usually overprinted or perforated 'Specimen' | ||
| Stamp money | Mint stamps used as cash or coin during shortages | Surcharge | An overprint which alters a stamp's face value (up or down) | ||||
| Tab | A label or coupon attached to a stamp | Telegraph stamps | Used for prepayment of telegraph charges | Tête-bêche | A pair of stamps where one is upside-down in relation to the other | ||
| Thematic | Relating to the collecting of stamps by particular subject. Birds, Insects etc. | Tied | A stamp on a complete or part cover to show the whole postmark | Typography | Letterpress or surface printing from relief plates | ||
| Unissued | Prepared, but not issued for postal use | Unused | An uncancelled stamp, not necessarily mint | Used | A stamp properly used and postmarked | ||
| Used abroad | A stamp of one country used in another | ||||||
| Variety | A stamp which is abnormal because of an error or flaw | Vignette | The central feature of a stamp design | ||||
| War stamps | Issued and inscribed for use during war. E.g 'War Tax' | Watermark | A device or pattern embodied within the paper | Wilding | A British definitive (1952-68) bearing Queen Elizabeth's portrait by Dorothy Wilding | ||
| Window book | British stamp booklet with hole in cover showing a stamp within | Wing margin | An extra flap of margin within the stamp | Woodblock | Carved on wood - as Cape of Good Hope triangular stamps | ||
| Wove paper | A paper with a fine, even texture | ||||||
| Zemstvo issues | Russian local posts and stamps, 1870-1890 |