Philatelic terms - complete collector's vocabulary

Here you can find the meaning of common used words in philately

Understanding the language of philately is essential for every stamp collector, from beginners to advanced specialists. This page provides a clear and accessible glossary of common and rare philatelic terms, helping you navigate catalog descriptions, auction listings, expert reports, and historical references. Whether you collect Russian Empire, Soviet Union, revenues, perfins, cinderellas, or thematic stamps, a strong vocabulary makes it easier to identify varieties, understand postal history, and communicate confidently with other collectors. Our glossary includes terminology related to:

• stamp printing and production
• perforation and watermarking
• postal rates, cancellations, and postal services
• errors, overprints, and speculative issues
• condition, grading, and expertization

This page is continuously updated with new terms and definitions, making it a practical resource for philatelists, exhibitors, researchers, and anyone curious about the world of stamps. Explore the vocabulary that shapes our hobby and deepen your knowledge of philately—one term at a time.

Airmail Stamps

Airmail stamps were introduced to mark and fund the faster, more expensive transport of mail by air. With themes of aviation, speed, and modernity, they represent a key turning point in global communication. Many airmail issues are beautifully designed and historically significant.

Back-of-Book Stamps - Exploring the Hidden Corners of Philately

Stamps that are normally listed in the back of the catalog after the regular stamp issues. This might include air mail, special delivery, semi-official, official, postage due, local issues, stamped envelopes, post cards, essays, and revenue stamps.

BOGUS

A fictitious stamp like label created for sale to collectors. Bogus issues include labels for nonexistent countries, nonexistent values appended to regularly issued sets and issues for nations

CATALOGUE

A comprehensive book or similar compilation with descriptive information to help identify stamps. Many catalogs include values for the listed items.

CANCELLATION

The marks place by postal authorities which may indicate date, rate, route, or place of the mailing.

CHARITY SEALS

Stamps like labels that are distributed by a charity. They have no postal validity, although they are often affixed to envelopes. Christmas seals are one example.

CINDERELLAS

Cinderella is a catch-all term to describe phantoms, fantasies, bogus items, municipal issues, exhibition seals, local revenues, transportation stamps, labels, poster stamps and many other types of items. Some cinderella collectors include in their collections local postage issues, telegraph stamps, essays and proofs, forgeries and counterfeits.

COMMEMORATIVES

Special issues to honor important people or events.

COUNTERFEIT

Any stamp, cancellation or cover created for deception or imitation, intended to be accepted by others as genuine. A counterfeit stamp is designed to deceive postal authorities.

CTO

Canceled-To-Order. Stamps are "canceled to order,'' usually in full sheets, by many governments. The cancels may be printed on the stamps at the same time that the stamp design is printed. A stamp with a cancel and with full gum is likely a CTO stamp, as CTOs do not see actual postal use. CTO stamps are sold to stamp dealers at large discounts from face value.

CUT OUT

cut-out is an imprinted stamp cut from an item of postal stationery such as a postal card, letter sheet, aerogramme or wrapper that may have been used as a normal stamp.

CUT SQUARE

A neatly trimmed rectangular or square section from a stamped envelope that includes the imprinted postage stamp with ample margin. Collectors generally prefer to collect stationery as entire pieces rather than as cut squares. Some older stationery is available only in cut squares.

FACSIMILE

A reproduction of a genuine stamp or cover. Such items are usually made with no intent to deceive collectors or postal officials. Catalog illustrations may also be considered facsimiles.

FAKE

A stamp, cover or cancel that has been altered or concocted to appeal to a collector. In a broad sense, fakes include repairs, re perforations and re gummed stamps, as well as painted-in cancels, bogus cancels or counterfeit markings. Sometimes entire covers are faked.

FANTASIES

A fantasy is an adhesive created for a nonexistent stamp-issuing authority. Fantasy items range from imaginary countries (Kingdom of Sedang, Principality of Trinidad or Torres Straits), to non-existent locals (Winans City Post), or nonexistent transportation lines. On the other hand, if the entity exists and may have issued stamps, was known to have issued other stamps, the items are considered bogus stamps.

FISCAL

A revenue stamp or similar label denoting the payment of tax. Fiscals are ordinarily affixed to documents and canceled by pen, cancelled or mutilation. Because of their similarity to postage stamps, fiscals have occasionally been used either legally or illegally to prepay postage. See also Postal fiscal, Revenues.

FORGERY

A completely fraudulent reproduction of a postage stamp. There are two general types of forgeries: those intended to defraud the postal authorities , and those intended to defraud the collectors (see also Bogus).

LIGHTLY HINGED

A stamp with full gum with only slight evidence of hinge marks or disturbance.

MINT

A stamp in the same condition as the day that it was printed.

MINT NEVER HINGED

A stamp that has never been hinged.

Overprints and Surcharges

Many BOB stamps include temporary overprints or surcharges created to adapt to postal rate changes, political transitions, inflation periods, or emergency shortages. These markings add layers of historical context, making each overprinted stamp a small document of the era in which it was used.

PERFINS

[PERforated INintials] Stamps perforated through the face with identifying initials, designs or holes in coded positions. Perfins are normally used by a business or government office to discourage pilferage or misuse of stamps by employees. Perfins may be either privately or officially produced.

PHANTOM PHILATELY

The collection of bogus stamps. The name is derived from Frederick Melville's book Phantom Philately, one of the pioneer works on bogus issues.

POSTAGE DUE STAMPS

Postage Due stamps were used to indicate insufficiently paid or unpaid mail. Instead of returning letters to the sender, postal administrations applied these special markings to charge the recipient the outstanding amount. Often bold, simple, and highly functional in design, Postage Due issues reveal much about postal tariffs and handling procedures throughout different eras.

POSTAL STATIONARY

Aerogrammes, envelopes or postal cards with a stamp design embossed or printed on them.

PRECANCEL

Stamps issued by the Post Office with words or lines printed thereon which prevent further use of the stamp.

REVENUES / FISCAL STAMPS

Revenues are stamps representing payment of tax. Revenues come in several forms. The first were directly embossed onto documents. Others were printed directly onto documents, often large ornate designs such as those of the Indian States. In the mid-19th Century, it was recognized that adhesive revenues (like postage stamps) would be an advantage in use (saving taking documents to a stamping office) and adhesive revenues have become the mainstream of revenue production and revenue collecting.

SOUVENIR SHEET

A small sheet of stamps with a special commemorative inscription or decorative border.

USED

The condition of a stamp when it has been cancelled.

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