Stamp Collecting Terms is Collectors use abbreviations to communicate

Stamp Collecting Terms

Denomination - The denomination of the stamp indicates the prepayment value of the stamp to the postal clerk.

Margin - The margin is the unprinted area outside the border of the stamp design. Collector's value stamps which are accurately centered with equal margins.

Perforations - Most stamps have a series of "teeth" or "holes" along the edge which allow the stamps to be separated easily. Sometimes you might find a series of slits between the stamps rather than punched holes. These are known as roulette. Stamps from long ago had to be cut with scissors; there are still some series of stamps without roulettes or perforations between them.

Postmark - Stamps are "canceled" when they pass through the post office so they cannot be used again. The postmark usually is a form of wavy lines of ink and the name of the city where the cancellation took place. Canceled stamps no longer have face value and cost less for a collector than mint or unused stamps.

Vignette - This is the picture portion of the stamp. The vignette is usually enclosed within a frame. Sometimes the picture covers the entire stamp. Often the name of the country of origin appears on the vignette.

Watermarks - As you gain more experience with your hobby you will refer to the back side of the stamp for more information. Stamps may look alike, but that does not mean that they are exactly the same. The back side of the stamp tells you what kind of paper the stamp was printed on, whether the stamp was watermarked, and if it is an unused stamp you can see the gum.

General Issues - These are stamps which can be used for regular mail or any other postal service.

Airmail - Airmail stamps usually have wings or an airplane or some other symbol of flying. These special stamps are identified for airport service speed.

Special Delivery - Special delivery stamps show the payment of a fee for the special service of having the letter taken from the post office straight to the destination by a postal messenger.

Postage Due - These stamps are used when letters or parcels are used without enough postage, or are returned to the sender because of a faulty address or some other reason which they cannot be delivered. They show the postman how much money he must collect before delivering the piece of mail.

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Collectors use abbreviations to communicate

If you listen closely to the conversation at a meeting of your local stamp club, you may think the members are all speaking in code.

For many subjects, stamp collectors have developed a shorthand vocabulary to make discussion easier. The letters "CTO" are easier to say or write than the phrase "canceled-to-order stamp." Collectors don't use these initials to exclude others or to hide meanings. Using initials for technical terms simply makes it easier to communicate with other collectors.

The problem is that newer collectors may feel left out when they hear an abbreviation they don't understand. When initials are used as abbreviations in Linn's Stamp News articles, the reader can find the meaning by looking for the matching phrase earlier in the story.

For example, if you encounter the initials USPS in an article, you'll see that the earliest reference in the story spells out the name, "United States Postal Service."

There are many different initials used in articles, advertisements and collector conversations that abbreviate familiar stamp-collecting terms.

The following guide may help you find your way through this philatelic alphabet soup.

APO -- Army post office (also Air Force post office). Because U.S. military personnel frequently transfer from one location to another, the U.S. armed forces handle much of their own mail forwarding and delivery. APO addresses direct the mail to the proper military branch. The initials also appear in postmarks. See also FPO.

APS -- American Philatelic Society. The largest stamp-collecting club in the United States has 55,000 members, including many in other countries around the world.

Information about the benefits of APS membership may be obtained by sending a stamped, addressed envelope to the American Philatelic Society, Membership Information, Box 8000, State College, PA 16803.

BEP -- Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The oldest and most well-known of U.S. stamp printers was once also the only active U.S. stamp printer. The BEP (also called "the Bureau" by many collectors) began printing postage stamps in 1894. In prior years it also printed U.S. revenue stamps.

The Bureau celebrated 100 years of postage stamp production in 1994 with the issuance of the $8 souvenir sheet, Scott 2875, shown in Figure 1. The Bureau building in Washington, D.C., is illustrated at the top of the sheet.

A few stamps in the 1960s were printed by private firms, but it wasn't until the 1980s that private contractors began printing U.S. stamps in earnest.

The initials used to identify these stamp printing contractors are listed in Linn's 1999 U.S. Stamp Program.

CDS -- circular date stamp. The CDS is the round part of a postmark containing information telling where and when an item was mailed or processed for mailing, usually a full date and city.

Figure 2 shows examples of three circular date stamps: two handcancel markings at top, and one machine marking at bottom.

Collectors often use the information in the CDS to learn more about postal history.

CTO -- canceled-to-order. Postmarked postage stamps that were never used to carry mail are known as CTOs. Often such stamps can be identified by their full gum and a neat corner cancel.

To generate more revenue, some countries have postmarked mint stamps or printed them with postmarks and sold them at discounted prices to stamp dealers and packet-makers.

Some collectors of used stamps do not care for CTOs and prefer a stamp that actually went through the mail.

Figure 3 shows a 1982 CTO from Vietnam, Scott 1228.

EFO -- error, freak, oddity. The letters EFO are frequently used to describe a stamp variety that is different from the normal issue. The three terms each have a specific meaning.

Errors are major mistakes in stamp production that result in completely missing colors, inverted design elements, no perforations and so on.

Freaks and oddities are less severe varieties that often are collected but might not appear in standard postage stamp catalogs.

EKU -- earliest known use. When the first day of issue for a stamp is not known, collectors often record its earliest known use: the earliest date that the stamp is known on a postmarked cover (a mailed envelope or similar item) or a piece of a cover.

Though the issue dates for modern U.S. issues are well-publicized, stamps are often sold early at post offices, usually because of a clerk's mistake. The definition of an EKU of a modern issue is also the earliest use of the stamp as verified by the presence of a standard postal marking.

FDC -- first-day cover. When the issue date of a stamp is known, any envelope or other mailed item franked with that stamp and showing the issue date in the postmark is known as a first-day cover.

The term frequently is used to refer to a modern souvenir cover from the United States that includes the phrase "first day of issue" within the postmark, or a similar item from another country.

An FDC of the 1986 Stamp Collecting issue is shown in Figure 4.

FIP -- Federation Internationale de Philatelie. The English name of this Swiss-based organization is the International Federation of Philately.

FIP officials determine exhibiting rules for international stamp shows and promote philately (the stamp hobby) throughout the world.

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Philately: Phinding Your Way

Stamps are a lousy investment! Having said that, I’ll also tell you that philately (stamp collecting) is the most popular hobby in the world. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) estimates that there are about 20 million stamp collectors in the U.S. I dispute that figure as being a bit too aggressive. The USPS considers anyone who buys a stamp at the post office, and doesn’t use it on his or her mail, to be a stamp collector. This article isn’t about the keeper of the occasional stamp. It also isn’t about the handful of worldwide stamps that are worth a million dollars. This article is about some of the basics of the hobby, what makes a stamp valuable, what areas may be undervalued, and what areas are likely to appreciate in the foreseeable future.

The first postage stamp was issued in Great Britain on May 6, 1840. (See fig. 1) The first U.S. postage stamps, 5- and 10- cent denominations, were issued July 1, 1847. (See figs. 2 & 3) Many stamp collecting terms come from the French, as does philately, philatelist, & philatelic.

First let’s define some terms so we can talk "the talk." A cover is an envelope with a stamp on it. Stampless covers are those used before the use of postage stamps was required. A First Day Cover is a cover with a stamp on it that was cancelled on the day it was issued. A Plate Block is a block of stamps that includes the plate number printed in the selvedge. The selvedge is that unprinted paper around the sheet or pane of stamps, outside of the design and perforations. An overprint is printing done on the stamp after its original manufacture. A surcharge is an overprinted value used to change the originally-printed value. A mint stamp is as it was issued at the post office. A used stamp has been cancelled or otherwise altered from its mint state. A hinge is a small gummed piece of glassine material about ½” x ¾” used to mount stamps in an album. A hinged stamp is one showing evidence of having had a hinge applied. Postal history is the study of postal rates and markings on used covers.

While most stamps are issued in sheet format, they are also issued in booklets and coils. Most stamps are issued for the prepayment of postage; however, they are also issued for special purposes and for the payment of certain taxes (revenue stamps). Generally speaking, mint, never hinged stamps are worth more than the stamp in used condition. Used stamps on cover are generally worth more than used stamps off cover. Some used stamps on cover are worth more than mint, never hinged stamps.

The two most important factors used in determining philatelic value are scarcity and condition--the same as with any other collectible. Scarcity generally boils down to numbers. If a particular stamp was printed in very low quantities, it tends to be more valuable. If an error occurred during the printing of the stamp, and it got by the inspectors and into public hands, the value increases. Some common errors occur when part of the design is inverted with respect to the rest of the design or when there are missing or incorrect colors, perforations or watermarks. One of the most famous U.S. stamp errors is the 24-cent airmail stamp of 1918 with center design inverted; the famous inverted airplane stamp. There was only one pane of 100 of these stamps discovered and today each of the mint stamps has a catalogue value of $170,000; $200,000 if mint never hinged.

After scarcity, condition is the single most significant factor affecting value. The color must be post office fresh. The design must be very well centered within the perforations. There can be no creases, even on the perforations. Mint stamps must have full original gum and have no hinge marks. Covers must be clean, not dog eared, have no extraneous pen or pencil markings, and have clear crisp cancellations. Any variation from these ideals lowers the value of the item.

As with most collectibles, older is better. In general, stamps issued before 1900 are the most valuable. Stamps issued between 1900 and 1940 have somewhat less value and stamps issued after 1940 have very little value.

There are, of course, exceptions to this “rule.” U.S. plate block collecting was very popular between 1940 and 1980. In the 1940s plate blocks consisted of four stamps, most with a face value of 3-cents. Thus it cost 12-cents to save a plate block. Then, two things happened to disturb this scene. The post office started issuing stamps with multiple plate numbers and the postage rates were increasing. Some plate block sizes increased to twenty stamps. Twenty 15-cent stamps cost $3.

In the same time frame, older plate block collectors started dying and/or selling their plate block collections, flooding the market with supply. With no increase in demand, the price (value) went down. Even today, most plate blocks are evaluated on the basis of face value, and fair market value is about 85% of the face value. Many of these plate blocks are being used today as postage. There could come a time in the next few years when the supply will again be less than the demand and prices will rise.

Not too long ago, most stamps issued in the 20th century were looked down upon by serious philatelists. This was especially true of stamps issued after 1930, so-called “modern” stamps. “Serious” collectors only collected and exhibited the “classics.” Some consider the “classic” period to span 1840 to 1940. When I first started collecting stamps in 1949, the first U.S. postage stamp was 102 years old. But today, “modern” stamps are gaining respect. Exhibits of stamps issued in the 1930s are winning major medals at national and international stamp exhibits.

Many serious collectors are buying up stamps and covers from the 1930s and 1940s from countries or topics of their choice while the material is still very inexpensive. Another area gaining popularity is the World War II era. Students concentrating on this era are trying hard to learn as much as they can about the postal history of the war theaters while those most knowledgeable about the time and events are still with us.

As in most collectible fields, philately is not immune from fakers and counterfeiters. If a stamp was printed in both sheet and coil format, beware. If the coil stamp is more valuable than the sheet stamp, fakers will cut the perforations from two sides of the stamp so that it looks like a coil stamp. If a stamp was printed perforate and imperforate, fakers will cut the perforations from all four sides of a perforated stamp if it will enhance the value. Overprints and surcharges on stamps are easily counterfeited. When buying expensive stamps it is a good idea to have them expertized by a recognized authority, such as the American Philatelic Society in State College, PA. The cost of expertization is small when compared to the danger of buying an item that is not genuine.

A few words about “catalogue” value. Most catalogues, such as the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, are retail price guides. Most dealers sell stamps at a discount from the catalogue price. One must be careful when valuing a stamp collection. Catalogue value is not fair market value. Continue to learn more about Stamp Collecting, please visit Chubb Collectors.