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A meter stamp, or meter mark, is the impression made by a
Meter stamps can be used to pay taxes and the resulting meter marks are a form of
Meter Stamp Society
International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog
Philatelic terminology {{Philately-stub
A meter stamp, or meter mark, is the impression made by a postage meter
A postage meter or franking machine is a mechanical device used to create and apply physical evidence of postage (or franking) to mailed items. Postage meters are regulated by a country's postal authority. A postage meter imprints an amount o ...
machine that indicates that postage has been paid on a letter or parcel. Meter stamps are widely used by businesses and organisations as they are more efficient than using postage stamps.
Meter stamps are not adhesive postage stamps in the normal sense, although they may be printed on adhesive labels before being applied to mail. Meter stamps are normally in red, although a variety of colours are found.
Components of a meter stamp
The usual components of a meter stamp are: *The country of issue. *The date. *The postal value. *The license number. *The meter manufacturer. (optional) *A slogan relating to the user. (optional)UPU approval
The international use of meter marks was approved by theUniversal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to ...
in 1920, effective 1 January 1922.Carlton, R. Scott. ''The International Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Philately''. Iola WI: Krause Publications, 1997, p.158.
Forgeries
Meter stamps can be forged like any other stamp. In the 1990s, fraudsters in Nigeria began to forge meter stamps using a rubber stamp in connection with 419 scams as applying a rubber stamp to letters was much cheaper than even the forged stamps they had previously used."Forged Meter Marks on Mail from Nigeria". Rob May, '' Cameo'', Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 122-123.Revenue stamps
Meter stamps can be used to pay taxes and the resulting meter marks are a form of 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, ...
.
See also
*Indicia (philately)
In philately, indicia are markings on a mail piece (as opposed to an adhesive stamp) showing that postage has been prepaid by the sender. ''Indicia'' is the plural of the Latin word ''indicium'', meaning distinguishing marks, signs or identifyi ...
* McInroy Collection A collection of meter stamps in the British Library Philatelic Collections
The British Library Philatelic Collections is the national philatelic collection of the United Kingdom with over 8 million items from around the world. It was established in 1891 as part of the British Museum Library, later to become the ...
.
References
External links
Meter Stamp Society
International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog
Philatelic terminology {{Philately-stub