This is a list of philatelic topics. __NOTOC__

A

Acknowledgement of receipt Acknowledge, acknowledgment, or acknowledgement may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Acknowledgment (creative arts and sciences) In the creative arts and scientific literature, an acknowledgment (British English also acknowledgement

* Adhesive (stamp gum) * Admirals *

Aerogram An aerogram, aerogramme, aérogramme, air letter or airletter is a thin lightweight piece of foldable and gummed paper for writing a letter for transit via airmail, in which the letter and envelope are one and the same. Most postal administration ...

* Aerophilately * Affixing machine *

Airmail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be th ...

* Airmail etiquette *

Airmail stamp An airmail stamp is a postage stamp intended to pay either an airmail fee that is charged in addition to the surface rate, or the full airmail rate, for an item of mail to be transported by air. Airmail stamps should not be confused with airmai ...

Alexandria "Blue Boy" Postmaster's Provisional The Alexandria "Blue Boy" is a rare Postmasters' Provisionals stamp produced in Alexandria, Virginia (then part of the District of Columbia) in 1847. There are seven known examples of Alexandria provisionals, however, the Blue Boy is the only s ...

* Arrow block * Asian philately * Astrophilately * Auction (Philatelic) *

Awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

B

* Balloon mail * Bicycle mail * Bisect * Bogus postal markings * Bogus stamp issue * Booklet * British Guiana 1c magenta * Bulk mail

C

Cachet In philately, a cachet () is a printed or stamped design or inscription, other than a Cancellation (mail), cancellation or pre-printed postage, on an envelope, postcard, or postal card to commemorate a postal or philatelic event. There are both ...

* Camel mail * Cancellation * Cancelled to order * Caribou mail * Carrier's stamp * Censored mail * Center line block * Certified mail * Charity stamp * Charles Henry Coster * Chinese new year stamps * Christmas seal *

Christmas stamp A Christmas stamp is a postage stamp with a Christmas theme, intended for use on seasonal mail such as Christmas cards. Many countries issue such stamps, which are regular postage stamps (in contrast to Christmas seals) and are usually valid ...

* Cigarette tax stamp * Cinderella stamp * Circular delivery mail * Civil War Patriotic Cacheted Covers * Classic stamp * Coil stamp * Coil waste * Color guide * Color trial * Combination cover *

Commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike defi ...

* Concentration camp mail * * Control mark * Counterfeit stamps * Courier mail * Cover * Crash cover * Crown Agents Philatelic and Security Printing Archive * Cut square

D

* Damaged mail * Dead letter mail * Definitive issue * Definitive series * Delayed mail * Design error * Die proof * Diplomatic pouch mail * Dirigible mail * Disinfected mail * Dog mail * Dogsled mail * Dummy stamp

E

* Earliest known use (EKU) * Embossing * Engraver's mark *

Engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

Entire Entire may refer to: * Entire function, a function that is holomorphic on the whole complex plane * Entire (animal), an indication that an animal is not neutered * Entire (botany) This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions o ...

Envelope An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter (message), letter or Greeting card, card. Traditional envelopes are made from sheets of paper cut to one o ...

* Errors and varieties * Errors, freaks, and oddities (EFO) *

Essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

Expert An expert is somebody who has a broad and deep understanding and competence in terms of knowledge, skill and experience through practice and education in a particular field or area of study. Informally, an expert is someone widely recognized ...

* Europa postage stamp * Expertization * Express company *

Express mail Express mail is an expediting, expedited mail delivery service for which the customer pays a premium for faster delivery. Express mail is a service for domestic and international mail, and is in most nations governed by the country's own postal ad ...

F

* Famous stamps * Fancy cancel * Favor cancel * Favor sheet * Fee paid mail *

Field post office A field post office (FPO) is a post office set up during time of war or when a military unit is on manoeuvres. It is a place to which mail intended for military units in the field is sent to be sorted and forwarded. It is set up "in the field", h ...

* First day ceremony * First day cover *

First day of issue A first day of issue cover or first day cover (FDC) is a postage stamp on a cover, postal card or stamped envelope Franking, franked on the first day the issue is authorized for useBennett, Russell and Watson, James; ''Philatelic Terms Illustrate ...

* First flight cover * First issue *

Fiscal cancel In philately a fiscal cancel – symbol – is a Cancellation (mail), cancellation on a stamp that indicates that the stamp has been used for finance, fiscal (taxation) purposes. The stamp may either be a revenue stamp, intended purely f ...

* Fiscal issue * Flat plate press * Floor sweepings * Forerunner * Forged stamps * Forwarding agent * Fractional currency * Franchise stamp * Franking privilege * Free frank * Fumigated mail

G

* Graphite lined stamp * Grill * Guide line * Guide line pair * Gum * Gutter block * Gutter pair

H

* Handstruck stamp * Health stamp * Highway post office * History of philately *

Hotel post Hotel Post was a service offered by remote Switzerland, Swiss hotels for the carriage of mail to the nearest official post office. Origins In the nineteenth century, Switzerland developed an important tourist industry. Some hotels in remote are ...

* Hovercraft mail

I

* Illegal stamps * Illustration law * Imitation stamp * Imperforate * Imprint block * Imprinted stamp * Postage stamp ink *

Inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

* Inscription block * Institutional collection * Insured mail * International mail *

International reply coupon An international reply coupon (IRC) is a coupon that can be exchanged for one or more postage stamps representing the minimum postage for an unregistered priority airmail letter sent to another Universal Postal Union (UPU) member country. IRCs ar ...

* Inverted Jenny * Inverted Swan * Philatelic investment *

Irradiated mail Irradiated mail is mail that has been deliberately exposed to radiation, typically in an effort to disinfect it. The most notable instance of mail irradiation in the US occurred in response to the 2001 anthrax attacks; the level of radiation chosen ...

* Interrupted mail - Italian Philatelic Press Association

J

* James Chalmers * Joint issue * Joint line * Joint line pair

K

* Killer * Kiloware

L

Label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

* Late fee stamp * Letter carrier *

Letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing for producing many copies by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against individual sheets of paper or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable t ...

Letter sheet In Philately, philatelic terminology a letter sheet, often written lettersheet, is a sheet of paper that can be folded, usually sealed (most often with sealing wax in the 18th and 19th centuries), and mailed without the use of an envelope, or i ...

* Line pair *

Linn's Stamp News ''Linn's Stamp News'' is an American weekly magazine for stamp collectors. It is published by Amos Media Co., which also publishes the Scott '' Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue'', the Scott ''Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Co ...

* List of entities that have issued postage stamps * List of most expensive philatelic items * List of notable postage stamps * List of philatelic topics (deliberate self-link) * List of philatelists * List of stamp catalogues * List of stamp collectors * List of stamp dealers * List of United States airmail stamps *

Lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

Local post A local post is a mail service that operates only within a limited geographical area, typically a city or a single transportation route. Historically, some local posts have been operated by governments, while others, known as private local ...

* Luminescent issue

M

* Mail delivery by animal *

Mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical (e.g., the U.S. Postal Service) or electronic (e.g., a phone, a telegram, a fax, or the Internet) mail system to defraud another, and are U.S. fede ...

* Mail robbery * Mailman * Marcophily * Marginal marking * Marine insurance stamp * Maritime mail * Maximaphily * Maximum Card * Metered mail *

Michel catalog The Michel catalog (''MICHEL-Briefmarken-Katalog'') is the largest and best-known stamp catalog in the German language, German-speaking world. First published in 1910, it has become an important reference work for philately, with information n ...

* Military mail * Millennium stamp * Miniature sheet * Minipack * * Mixed franking * Mobile post office *

Money order A money order is a directive to pay a pre-specified amount of money from prepaid funds, making it a more trusted method of payment than a cheque. History Systems similar to modern money orders can be traced back centuries. Paper documents known ...

* Mr. Zip

N

Nassau Street (Manhattan) Nassau Street is in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District, within the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. Its southern end is at the intersection with Broad Street (Manhattan), Broad Street and Wall S ...

* Naval cover * Naval mail * Navigation and Commerce issue * New issue * Newspaper stamp * Newspaper wrapper * Nicholas F. Seebeck

O

* Occupation stamp * Offices abroad * Official mail *

Offset printing Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithography, lithographic process, which ...

Overprint An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a Postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or Ticket (admission), ticket after it has been Printing, printed. Post offices most often use ...

P

* Packet letter * Packet mark * Postage stamp paper * Paquebot * Parcel post * Paste-up pair * Penalty mail *

Pen cancel image:Pen-cancellation.jpg, A pen cancel on a Russian postage stamp In philately, a pen cancel – symbol – is a Cancellation (mail), cancellation of a postage stamp, postage or revenue stamp by the use of a pen, marker or crayon. U ...

* Penny post * Perfin *

Perforation A perforation is a small hole in a thin material or web. There is usually more than one perforation in an organized fashion, where all of the holes collectively are called a ''perforation''. The process of creating perforations is called perfor ...

Perforation gauge In philatelic terminology, perforation gauge has two meanings: * As a term for classification. The "perforation gauge" of a stamp specifies the number of perforation holes that appear in a two-centimeter span along its edge. The finest gauge ever us ...

* Permit mail * Phantom issue * Philatelic agency *

Philatelic cover A philatelic cover is an cover (philately), envelope prepared with a stamp(s) and address and sent through the mail delivery system for the purpose of creating a collectible item. Stamp collectors began to send mail to each other and to themselve ...

Philatelic literature Philatelic literature is written material relating to philately, primarily information about postage stamps and postal history. Background to philatelic literature Philatelic literature is held by stamp collectors and dealers, philatelic soc ...

* Philatelic museums *

Philately Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possibl ...

Philatelic calendar :''"Philatelic calendar" can also refer to a schedule of philatelic events such as stamp club meetings, philatelic exhibitions, or auctions.'' A philatelic calendar is a collection of postmarks from each day, month, and year during the period colle ...

* PHQ Cards * Picture post card * Pigeon mail * Pillar box * Plate block * Plate marking * Plate number coil *

Printing plate Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

Plating Plating is a finishing process in which a metal is deposited on a surface. Plating has been done for hundreds of years; it is also critical for modern technology. Plating is used to decorate objects, for corrosion inhibition, to improve solderab ...

* Plebiscite issue * Pneumatic mail * *

Postage due Postage due is the term used for mail sent with insufficient postage. A postage due stamp is a stamp added to an underpaid piece of mail to indicate the extra postage due. Background While the problem of what to do about letters not paying th ...

* Postage stamp booklet * Postage stamp color * Postage stamp reuse *

Postage stamp separation For postage stamps, separation is the means by which individual stamps are made easily detachable from each other. Methods of separation include: # perforation: cutting rows and columns of small holes # rouletting: small horizontal and vert ...

* Postal card * Postal convention *

Postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and Cover (philately), covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal system ...

* Postal laws and regulations *

Postal marking A postal marking is any kind of annotation applied to a letter by a postal service. The most common types are postmarks and cancellations; almost every letter will have those. Less common types include forwarding addresses, routing annotati ...

* Postal route * Postal savings * Postal slogan *

Postal stationery A piece of postal stationery is a stationery item, such as a stamped envelope, letter sheet, postal card, lettercard, aerogram or Newspaper wrapper, wrapper, with an imprinted stamp or inscription indicating that a specific rate of postage ...

* Postal Stationery Society of Great Britain * Postal tax * Postal treaty * *

Postcard A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. In some places, one can send a postcard f ...

Post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

* Post Office Cards * Post Office circulars * Post road *

Precancel A precanceled stamp, or precancel for short, is a postage stamp that has been legitimately cancelled before being affixed to mail. A number of nations of the world use precancels, typically in the form of an overprint on definitive series stamp ...

* Presentation album * Presentation book * Price list * Postage stamp printing * Postal relation * Prisoner-of-war mail * Private cancellation * Private carrier * Private overprint * * Stamp proof * Provisional stamp

R

Railway post office In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service and used specifically for staff to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO w ...

* * *

Ration stamp Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particul ...

Receiving mark In philately a backstamp is a postmark on the back of a letter showing a post office or station through which the item passed in transit. The office of delivery may also backstamp a cover and this type of mark is known as a receiving mark. It ...

* Red Cross label *

Registered mail Registered mail is a postal service in many countries which allows the sender proof of mailing via a receipt and, upon request, electronic verification that an article was delivered or that a delivery attempt was made. Depending on the country, ...

* Regummed stamp *

Reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...

Reprint A reprint is a re-publication of material that has already been previously published. The term ''reprint'' is used with slightly different meanings in several fields. Academic publishing In academic publishing, offprints, sometimes also known ...

Remainder In mathematics, the remainder is the amount "left over" after performing some computation. In arithmetic, the remainder is the integer "left over" after dividing one integer by another to produce an integer quotient ( integer division). In a ...

* Reperforation * Reply card * Reply coupon * Revenue cancellation *

Revenue stamp A revenue stamp, tax stamp, duty stamp or fiscal stamp is a (usually) adhesive label used to designate collected taxes or fees on documents, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, drugs and medicines, playing cards, hunting licenses, firearm registration, ...

* Rocket mail *

Rotary press A rotary printing press is a printing press in which the images to be printed are curved around a cylinder. Printing can be done on various substrates, including paper, cardboard, and plastic. Substrates can be sheet feed or unwound on a contin ...

* Rouletting *

Rowland Hill Sir Rowland Hill, KCB, FRS (3 December 1795 – 27 August 1879) was an English teacher, inventor and social reformer. He campaigned for a comprehensive reform of the postal system, based on the concept of Uniform Penny Post and his solu ...

S

* Savings issue * Scott catalog * Se-tenant * Semi-official * Semi-postal * Separation * * Siege mail * Siderography * Slogan cancellation * Socked on the nose (SON) * Souvenir card * Souvenir sheet * Space cover * Space mail * Special delivery * Special handling * Specimen stamp * Stamp album *

Stamp catalog A stamp catalog (or stamp catalogue) is a catalog of postage stamp types with descriptions and prices. The stamp catalog is an essential tool of philately and stamp collecting. Stamp catalogs are part of philatelic literature. Similar catal ...

Stamp collecting Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...

* Stamp condition * Stamp design * Stamp exhibition * Stamp finder * Stamp gum * Stamp hinge * Stamp mounting * Stamp separation *

Stanley Gibbons The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and phila ...

* Steamship issue * Streetcar mail * Strike mail * Study circle * * Surcharge

T

* Tax stamp * Telegraph stamp * Test stamp * Tete-beche * Thematic collecting * Tin Can Mail * Topical collecting * Training stamp * Transatlantic mail * Transoceanic mail * Treaty port * Treskilling Yellow * *

Triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

U

* Unaccepted design * Undeliverable mail * Undesirable issue * Uniform Fourpenny Post *

Uniform Penny Post The Uniform Penny Post was a component of the comprehensive reform of the Royal Mail, the UK's official postal service, that took place in the 19th century. The reforms were a government initiative to eradicate the abuse and corruption of the e ...

Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It has 192 member states and is headquartered in Be ...

* Untagged * Used abroad

V

* Valentine cover * * Varnish bars * Stamp vending machine * View card

W

* Want list * War cover * War issue *{{Interlanguage link multi, War mail, ru, 3=Военная почта * War savings issue * War tax stamp *

Watermark A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as various shades of lightness/darkness when viewed by transmitted light (or when viewed by reflected light, atop a dark background), caused by thickness or density variations i ...

* World War II Patriotic Cacheted Covers * Wrapper (philately) * Wreck cover

Y

* Yvert catalog

Z

* Z Grill – * Zeppelin mail – * Zip block *

Philatelic topics