Glossary

Astrophilately may use stamps, stationery or special cancels issued within 12 months of the event by a participating country, without anniversary wording; later issues only exceptionally, with justification, and never dominating.See alsoAstrophilatelySpace mail

The American Air Mail Society, publisher of the American Air Mail Catalogue.

The German term for a set-off impression on the reverse, used internationally in EFO description.See alsoSet-off

A marking recording amounts due between postal administrations on international mail under pre-UPU treaty accounting.Example: Franco-British marks like "GB/1F60c" apportioned fees.

A judge on FIP's accredited list; World-exhibition juries come only from it. Management nominates up to 25% from its own federation, the Board appoints up to 25%, and each member may propose up to three.See alsoJuryJury memberApprentice judge

An unsorted mass of philatelic material, as opposed to an organised collection.

A rebuilt or spliced-on margin, common on classics where margins define value.

Frames beyond an exhibit's current allocation, claimed after a Large Vermeil or higher at a qualifying exhibition. The claim goes to the national commissioner by 1 January of the next year or the entry deadline, whichever is earlier.See alsoEight-frame exhibitExhibition frameCommissioner

FDCs may be addressed or unaddressed, but covers that actually passed through the post are preferred, and each must suit the context in which it is shown.See alsoFirst day coverFirst day cover collecting

A stamp designed to be stuck onto mail, as opposed to a design printed directly on postal stationery.

A US and British marking showing an unclaimed letter had been listed in newspaper advertisements awaiting its addressee.

A lightweight airmail letter sheet with imprinted postage that folds into its own envelope; no enclosures permitted.

Flown examples of air letter sheets, collected by rate and route.See alsoAerogramme

The branch devoted to airmail: stamps, rates, routes, flights, and the covers that flew them.

The usual chronological division of aero exhibits: the pioneer period up to 1918, the development period from 1918 to 1945, and the modern period after 1945. The pioneer period is usually more important than the modern.See alsoAerophilatelyPioneer flightAerophilately sub-classes

Aerophilately has two sub-classes: (A) the development and operation of airmail services, shown through flown covers and markings, and (B) airmail stamps and their proper use, judged with the Traditional Philately guidelines.See alsoAerophilatelyAirmailAerophilately periods

The Danish catalogue of Scandinavian issues.

The international association of philatelic experts.

The surcharge over surface rate for air carriage, central to aerophilatelic rate study.

The WWII microfilmed letter service: letters photographed, flown as film, and printed at destination.See alsoV-mail

Mail carried by air, prioritised and (historically) surcharged over surface post.See alsoAirmail etiquette

The blue Par Avion label directing an item into airmail channels.See alsoEtiquette

A stamp issued specifically to pay the fee for mail carried by air.

Envelopes and sheets issued for air services with imprinted airmail postage.See alsoAerogramme

A fiscal receipt for departure taxes in various countries.

An uninked impression showing the design in blind embossing only; most familiar on embossed postal stationery, when two envelopes pass through the press together or a second strike is made without ink.

A book or binder of pages for housing and displaying a stamp collection.

A single leaf of an album, ruled, printed, or blank, on which stamps are mounted.

An old term for forgeries and bogus stamps lurking in collections, popularized by the Reverend R. B. Earée's book of that title.See alsoForgeryBogus

Any change made to an item after production; deceptive alterations define fakes.See alsoFake

The protective envelope or wrapper in which the post office forwards damaged mail and its contents.See alsoWreck cover

The continental European term for a travelling post office, seen in postmarks as "Ambulant" or "Bahnpost".See alsoTravelling post office

Bright synthetic dye-based ink that penetrates the paper and often fluoresces; identified by colour showing through to the back.

The market distinction between scarce classic-era errors and modern errors often released in quantity; values differ accordingly.

A rarity factor for maximum cards judged in three periods: before 1946, when the maximum card was first defined in print; 1946 to 1978; and after 1978, when FIP adopted the maximum card regulations.See alsoMaximum cardCondition and rarityInternational Maximaphily Regulations

The American Philatelic Expertizing Service operated by the APS.See alsoAPS

A trainee judge working with a jury toward accreditation.

FIP members nominate apprentice jurors two years ahead; nominations received after 1 January wait a year. Normally one apprentice per member per world exhibition, and never more than one per jury team.See alsoApprentice judgeJury

The Traditional SREV lists ten groups: essays and proofs, stamps, usages, locals, varieties, plate reconstruction, perfins and overprints, same-die stationery, postally used revenues, and postal forgeries.See alsoTraditional philately (class)Plating studyPostal fiscal

In Thematic Philately: material issued, intended for issue, produced in preparing an issue, used or treated as valid for postage, by government, local or private posts or other duly authorised bodies.See alsoNon-appropriate materialThematic classPhilatelic elements (thematic)

Stamps sent by a dealer for a collector to examine at home, buying what they keep and returning the rest.

The American Philatelic Society, the largest US collector organisation, expertizing (APEX), sales circuits, library, and StampShow.

Issues with augmented-reality content activated by scanning the stamp.

The American Revenue Association, the US society for fiscal philately.

Acid-free, PVC-free, chemically stable materials safe for long-term stamp storage.Example: Polypropylene and polyester (Mylar) are safe; PVC softeners attack stamps.

A military post office of land forces, numbered for security in its markings.

The receiving office's postmark, usually on the reverse.See alsoBackstamp

A block with sheet margin showing the printed arrow marking used to guide cutting and division of the sheet.See alsoGuide line

An artist-created stamp as a work of art in the mail-art movement, openly non-postal.

Sold without return privilege, no extension, no guarantee; common for mixed lots.See alsoExtension (auction)

The American Stamp Dealers Association.

Covers signed or carried by astronauts, overlapping autograph and event collecting.See alsoFlown cover (space)

Items documenting a space event that actually passed through the mail with stamps, postmarks, onboard cancels and special-handling labels, plus preparatory material such as vignettes, artwork, essays, proofs and errors.See alsoAstrophilatelySpace mailFlown cover (space)

The branch documenting space exploration through mail postmarked at launch, tracking, recovery, and mission-event sites.

The American Topical Association, the major society for subject collecting, with handbooks and study units.

Automatenmarken, machine-vended variable-value stamps printed on demand since Frama's 1976 debut.See alsoFrama label

Public competitive sale to the highest bidder, the primary market mechanism for better philatelic material.

A professional who views, advises, and bids for clients at auction for a commission.

The descriptive sale listing; major-sale catalogues become permanent reference literature.See alsoName sale

Collecting covers and cards signed by figures connected to the stamp or event.See alsoAstronaut cover

Any postal marking beyond the basic postmark and cancel, explanations, directions, or service notes applied in handling.Example: "Return to Sender", "Missent", "Received in Damaged Condition".

Maps, photographs, timetables and similar items, allowed in an aero exhibit only to explain a point that cannot be shown otherwise. They must not overwhelm the material; souvenirs such as menus are not allowed.See alsoAerophilatelyPresentation

A grade below very good: perforations cut into the design.

The certificate that accompanies every medal awarded at an FIP exhibition and also records FIP Felicitations. Exhibition certificates are signed by the Jury President and the President of the exhibition management.See alsoFelicitations of the juryMedal levelsJury President

Material listed after regular postage in catalogues, airmails, dues, officials, revenues, stationery and more.

A postmark applied to the reverse of a cover, usually at transit points or on arrival, documenting its route and timing.

The 1851 Baden 9kr printed on the green paper of the 6kr, a colour-of-paper error of legendary rarity.

What remains of a collection or lot after better items have been removed, often sold as one auction lot.

Mail flown out of besieged Paris in 1870-71 by manned balloon, the first great airmail operation.Example: Around 65 balloons carried some 2.5 million letters.

Mail carried by balloon, most famously out of besieged Paris in 1870-71.Example: The "ballons montés" of the Siege of Paris.

A tax band: one of the other physical forms of revenue items listed in the FIP revenue guidelines, alongside stamped paper, official seals and embossings, and so eligible for a revenue exhibit.See alsoRevenue philatelyImpressed duty stampStamped paper

A missing obliterating bar in an overprint meant to cancel a design element or old value.

The 2022-on British definitives with unique data-matrix codes, ending non-barcoded validity.See alsoDatamatrix stampMachin

A numeral within bars or an oval identifying the office of posting without naming it; used in Britain, its colonies, and elsewhere.Example: British stamps of 1844 onward show numbered barred obliterators.

The 1845 Basel cantonal stamp, the first tricolor stamp, an early classic of Switzerland.

Paper with widely spaced guide lines resembling ruled writing paper, laid or wove between the lines.

A revenue for excise on beer barrels, large, elaborate US examples are keenly collected.

A soft curvature not breaking fibres, a minor note, less than a crease.See alsoGum bend

Systematic indexes of philatelic literature, led by the Crawford Library catalogue.Example: The Crawford Library at the British Library anchors the field.

The stepped amounts by which bidding advances.

Show slang for the secure area where exhibits are received, mounted, and dismounted.

A stamp cut in half and used for half its face value during a shortage, collectible only on cover or piece with the cancel tying both halves.See alsoTied

UV inspection for repairs, cleaned cancels, regumming, paper differences, and tagging.See alsoLuminescence

The small black dish in which stamps are wetted with fluid for watermark reading.See alsoWatermark fluid

A stamp lightened by chemical or sun exposure; a condition fault or a changeling cause.

Positions where the pins failed to cut through, leaving impressions but no holes; a minor freak, not an imperforate.See alsoImperforate

A perfin pin that dented but failed to pierce, leaving an incomplete pattern.See alsoBlind perforation

Four or more unseparated stamps arranged at least two by two.

The popular name of the 2d Post Office Mauritius, shorthand for unattainable rarity.See alsoPost Office Mauritius

Paper with a bluish tinge caused by chemical reaction during printing, notable in early British issues.Example: Prussiate of potash in the ink blued much 1840s-50s GB paper.

A wholly fictitious stamp purporting to be from a real or invented authority, made to sell to collectors.See alsoPhantom

Interest coupons resembling stamps, occasionally straying into collections, non-philatelic but catalogued among ephemera.

An absentee bid executed by the auction house against the room, phones, and internet.

A small bound book of stamp panes, often with card covers, sold for pocket convenience.

The specialty of stamp booklets: panes, covers, exploded booklets, and vending varieties.See alsoBooklet

Errors peculiar to booklet production, miscut panes, inverted panes, wrong covers.

One page of stamps from a booklet, usually collected intact with its binding margin.See alsoBooklet

In FIP thematic rules, items that only partly meet the definition of appropriate postal-philatelic material. Use them mainly when nothing else can show a thematic detail, always with philatelic justification, never just for rarity.

A dealer trading floor at shows, or a stand-alone dealer meet without exhibits.

A carton of miscellaneous accumulation sold essentially sight-unseen at auction.

The Bund Philatelistischer Prüfer, the German association of accredited expertizers whose backstamps sign the German market.See alsoExpert mark

Shorthand for Britain's first commemoratives (1924), a milestone of commemorative policy.See alsoCommemorative

The UK military postal service and its numbered office markings.

The unique 1856 provisional, the world's most famous single stamp and repeatedly the most expensive collectible by weight.Example: Sold for $9.48 million in 2014; later purchased by Stanley Gibbons.

A damaged type character in an overprint or typeset stamp producing a constant variety.

The lowest FIP medal level, awarded for 60 to 64 points.See alsoMedal levelsSilver Bronze

Brazil's 1843 first issue, large numerals in ornate ovals; Brazil was second in the world to issue national stamps.Example: The Pack strip mixing values se-tenant is legendary.

A stamp with a full, centred date stamp; another name for socked-on-the-nose.See alsoSocked on the nose

A US precancel applied by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing during stamp production.See alsoPrecancel

A fine pattern of dots or lines printed as a security ground under or over the design; its absence or doubling is a variety.Example: Danish and Estonian issues show classic burelage.

Corporate-ordered valid stamps with company imagery, a personalization variant.See alsoPersonalized stamp

A lot bought back for the consignor when bidding fails to reach reserve.See alsoUnsold lot

The percentage added to hammer price and paid by the buyer to the auction house, commonly 15-25%.See alsoHammer price

An old superlative for exhibition-worthy condition.

A decorative design or inscription printed or stamped on a cover, typically marking a first day, first flight, or special event.

A designer-producer of decorated FDC envelopes; hand-painted cachets are a collecting field of their own.See alsoCachet

US Contract Air Mail route first-flight covers, numbered by route (CAM 1, 2...).See alsoFirst flight cover

The marking applied over a stamp to prevent its reuse.See alsoPostmark

Marked by a postal clerk as a courtesy outside mail processing; such items lack full postal standing.See alsoFavour cancel

Stamps cancelled in bulk by a postal administration without ever carrying mail, usually to sell cheaply to the packet trade; generally worth less than postally used copies.

The Cape of Good Hope triangles (1853), the first triangular stamps, designed so illiterate sorters could spot colonial mail.Example: The "Woodblock" errors of colour are famous rarities.

A proof printed on or mounted to card stock.

Early paid delivery from the post office to the addressee's door, before free city delivery; the US issued carrier stamps for these fees.Example: US "carriers' stamps" are listed before the general issues.

A decorative frame or scroll-like panel within a stamp design, usually enclosing an inscription or portrait.

Abbreviation for catalogue or catalogue value in listings.See alsoCatalogue value

A published listing of stamps with identifying details and prices, the working reference of collecting.See alsoCatalogue value

The shorthand of listings and dealer ads: MNH, OG, NH, LH, HR, NG, CTO, VF, o.g., ★, ⊙ and kin.Example: ★ mint, ★★ MNH, ⊙ used in European notation.

Explanatory notes below listings flagging forgeries, reprints, exclusions, and cautions, required reading.

The identifying number a catalogue assigns each stamp; numbering differs across catalogues.Example: The Penny Black is Scott 1, SG 1, Michel 1.

The price listed in a standard catalogue, a reference point, not a market price; actual sales run above or below by grade and demand.

A variety recognised with its own listing or footnote in a major catalogue.

Mail rocketed by catapult aircraft from liners approaching port to speed delivery, flown 1928-1935 from German and French ships.Example: Bremen and Europa catapult covers are prized aerophilately.

The handstamp, label, or tape showing mail was examined by censorship, chiefly in wartime.See alsoCensored mail

Mail opened and examined by military or civil authority, resealed with tape or labels and struck with censor marks, a rich postal-history field.

A published register of all recorded examples of a rarity, the scholarship behind "one of five known".Example: Inverted Jenny positions are censused individually.

The formal description used when either pass could be "the" inverted one; catalogues typically define the frame as upright.See alsoInverted centre

How evenly the design sits between the perforations or margins on all four sides.

The signed, usually photographic, document recording an expert opinion on an item.See alsoExpertizing

A generic authenticity document; in philately, the recognised expert bodies' certificates carry the market weight.See alsoCertificate

A certificate given instead of a medal: in the Youth class at 45 points, and in Open Philately, Picture Postcards and Modern Philately to exhibits scoring under 60 points.See alsoYouth philatelyOpen philatelyPoints system

A receipt form proving an item was posted; some issues have imprinted fee stamps.

The diagonal or vertical chalk-surfacing lines whose presence identifies chalky-paper printings; their patterns produce sub-varieties.See alsoChalky paper

Paper surfaced with a chalk coating so cancels cannot be washed off, soaking destroys the design; identified by a silver pencil mark test historically (now discouraged).

The FIP class held at General World exhibitions for exhibits that have won three Large Golds at World exhibitions in three separate years. Qualified exhibits must be accepted, show 8 frames, and compete for the Grand Prix d'Honneur.See alsoGrand Prix

A manuscript or handstamped amount to be collected on delivery in pre-stamp and stampless mail.

A fund-raising seal without postal validity, sold to decorate mail for a cause.See alsoChristmas seal

Taking only the best items from a multi-frame exhibit to make a one-frame exhibit. FIP guidelines declare this unsuitable, since the subject is not fully treated in one frame.See alsoOne-frame exhibitTreatment

Collecting Christmas stamps, seals, and special cancels, one of the largest single topics.See alsoChristmas seal

A charity label sold in the holiday season, especially for anti-tuberculosis campaigns; a classic cinderella collectible with no postal validity.See alsoCinderella

The 1979 US $1 candleholder invert discovered by CIA employees, a modern invert legend.See alsoInvert

Excise revenues on cigarette papers and tubes, one of many niche taxed commodities.

Anything stamp-like outside official postage listings, locals, revenues by some definitions, charity seals, poster stamps, phantoms, and more; the "excluded sister" of philately.

The organised collecting of such material, with its own societies and literature.See alsoCinderella

A booklet of priced stamps circulated among society members for purchase, the APS "sales circuit" model.

The basic round postmark giving office name and date, used to record mailing, transit, or arrival.

Roughly the first decades of stamps, from 1840 to about 1875, prized for engraved beauty, rarity, and postal-history depth.

Maximaphily exhibits may be arranged by one country or a group of linked countries, by a specialised field or study, or by a specific subject. Chronological order of issues is generally best avoided.See alsoMaximaphilyExhibit plan

Thematic selection rules favouring stamps, stationery and postmarks, regular over imperforate parallel issues, genuinely used over cancelled to order, commercial over souvenir mail, and correct meter rates over "000" prints.See alsoImperforate parallel issuesAppropriate postal-philatelic materialPhilatelic elements (thematic)

Sharply punched holes with no ragged fibre, contrasted with rough or blind perfs in classifying some issues.

A cancellation chemically or mechanically removed to pass a used stamp as mint, often regummed afterward.See alsoWashedRegummed

One individual unit of a stamp design within a letterpress printing plate; misplaced clichés cause famous errors.Example: An inverted cliché produced the tête-bêche varieties of early issues.

A corner cut or torn away, a major fault.

Mail on the Pan American flying-boat routes across the Pacific and Atlantic, 1935-41.

Sealed bags of mail transiting a foreign postal system unopened between exchange offices.

A tear rejoined with adhesive, visible in fluid.See alsoTear

Paper given a smooth surface coating for finer printing, common in modern gravure and offset issues.

FIP's ethics code for its officials (Board, commission members, jurors, commissioners) and staff, requiring confidentiality, transparency and impartiality and forbidding gifts, conflicts of interest and abuse of office.See alsoFIPJuryCommissioner

The UPU's code for stamp issuing. FIP maximaphily guidelines bar stamps that contravene it from use on maximum cards.See alsoUPUMaximum cardMaximaphily

Stamps issued in rolls for dispensers and vending machines, identifiable by two opposite straight edges and perforations on the remaining sides.

The specialty of coil stamps: line pairs, joint lines, plate numbers, precancels.See alsoCoil

Two unsevered coil stamps, collected to show the format.See alsoCoil

Stamps from leftover coil-press paper finished as sheet stamps, sometimes creating rare perforation combinations.Example: US 1920s coil-waste issues include major rarities.

Mail sent unpaid or underpaid for postage collection from the addressee, standard before compulsory prepayment.

An intact collection sold as one lot, described by strength and catalogue total.

The New York Collectors Club (1896), the leading US philatelic clubhouse, library, and lecture venue.

The Oxford and Cambridge college messenger stamps of the 1870s-80s, classic locals suppressed by the Post Office monopoly.See alsoLocal post

Stamps issued by a colonial power for one of its overseas territories.

A stamp whose colour has been altered by chemicals, light, or environment, not a genuine variety.Example: Orange stamps turned brown by sulfur exposure are common changelings.

Any catalogue-level mistake of ink colour, including wrong colours and swapped colours between values.See alsoWrong colour

A printed guide of named colour chips for describing stamp shades consistently against a standard.Example: The Stanley Gibbons colour key is the classic.

A minor variation within a stamp's colour from ink mixing, printing conditions, or ageing; major shades earn separate catalogue listings.See alsoShade

Misregistration of one or more colour passes, blurring or displacing design elements, a freak whose value grows with drama.See alsoRegistration

A printing made to test candidate colours before issue.See alsoTrial colour proof

A Youth comparison table ranking material from less interesting (Column 1, e.g. modern cancels, loose stamps, FDCs) to more interesting (Column 2, e.g. old cancels, correctly franked posted covers). Group C must use Column 2 only.See alsoYouth philatelyCondition and rarity

Perforating three sides of a row in one stroke with a comb-shaped pin arrangement, giving perfectly regular corners.See alsoLine perforation

A cover with stamps of two countries, each paying part of the route, typical of mail carried by forwarding agents or early international services.See alsoMixed franking

A stamp issued for a limited time to honour a person, event, or anniversary, usually larger and more decorative than definitives.

Any non-postal seal marking an event or anniversary.

Recognition, a commemorative medal or artwork, given by management to non-competitive exhibits. Exhibits under five frames, Youth excepted, are scored 60 to 100 points but receive only certificates and commemorative medals.See alsoMedal levelsAward certificate

A cover that carried genuine business or personal mail with no collector involvement, the preferred evidence in postal history.See alsoPhilatelic cover

The appointed national representative who transports and enters exhibits at foreign shows.

The official who oversees all national commissioners at an international exhibition and coordinates with the exhibition management on receiving, mounting and returning exhibits.See alsoCommissionerExpert team (exhibition)Expert Group report

A known-genuine reference example used side-by-side in authentication.

Competitive classes accepted at FIP exhibitions for any type of exhibit that promotes philately and stamp collecting.See alsoFIP classNon-competitive classes

Different gauges on different sides of one stamp, noted as e.g. "perf 14 x 13½" (horizontal x vertical).

A reduced rate granted to a class of sender or mail, such as soldiers' letters or printed matter.

The judged harmony of the three elements of a maximum card: image, stamp, and cancel in subject, place, and time.See alsoMaximum card

In FDC exhibits, the ideal in which the stamp or stamps, the cachet if any, and the cancellation on a first day cover share a common subject or content.See alsoFirst day coverCachetMaximaphily

The essential property of a maximum card: stamp design and card picture must match as closely as possible. One valid postage stamp only, on the picture side, covering at most a quarter of a commercially available card.See alsoConcordanceMaximum cardConcordance of time

In maximaphily, set by the postmark date, which must fall within the stamp's validity and as close as possible to the issue date. The postmark must be complete, legible, tie stamp to card and relate to the subject.See alsoConcordanceMaximum cardConcordance of subject

A postmark related by place or subject to the stamp and card image.See alsoConcordance

The overall physical state of a stamp or cover, centring, gum, colour, cancellation, and faults, the dominant factor in value.

The judging criterion weighing the quality and scarcity of the material shown.

Material placed with an auction house or dealer for sale on the owner's behalf.

A flaw or feature recurring at the same sheet position through a printing, hence plateable and listable.See alsoPlate flaw

A revenue for consular service fees, visas, invoices, certifications, at diplomatic posts.

An exhibition held by a continental federation; with FIP recognition and qualifying status, its awards count toward a higher number of frames.See alsoNational exhibitionAdditional framesFIAP

A federation of the national federations of one continent, which may include bodies from non-FIP countries; one per continent is admitted as associate member. The three current ones each hold a seat on every commission bureau.See alsoFEPAFIAFFIAP

A genuine device punched fraudulently or unofficially onto stamps to create "collectibles".

Letters, numbers, or emblems overprinted or marginal, tracking accounting and deterring fraud.Example: Spanish issues carry control letters; British sheet controls date printings.

A serial number printed on stamps or margins for accounting, as on revenue and telegraph issues.

A small punched hole used administratively, as on specimen stamps or telegraph forms.

A killer cut from a cork bottle stopper by local postmasters, source of most American fancy cancels.See alsoFancy cancel

A block from the corner of a sheet with two adjoining margins attached.See alsoBlock

Mail carried between space stations and Earth in Soviet/Russian practice.

A synonym of forgery, favoured when speaking of modern postal fakes.See alsoPostal forgery

Any country or state as defined by FIP and accepted by Congress, at its absolute discretion, as the territory of a recognised member. Each country may have only one ordinary member.See alsoFIP membership categoriesNational federation

Building a collection of one country or territory, typically aiming at completeness by catalogue listing.

The identifying inscription of the issuing country; Great Britain uniquely omits it, using the monarch's effigy instead.

A non-postal attachment to a stamp, advertising, instructions, or receipts, distinct from postal tabs.See alsoTab

Mail carried by private courier or diplomatic channels outside the public post.

A revenue paying judicial fees, a vast field in British India and successor states.

A non-competitive showcase at major exhibitions of exceptional invited material, such as famous collections and museum or postal archive holdings.

An envelope, wrapper, or folded letter that has passed through the mail, collected for its stamps, markings, and postal story.

Mail salvaged from an aircraft accident, marked and often officially resealed, interrupted-mail evidence.See alsoWreck cover

The RPSL award for the finest philatelic literature.See alsoRPSL

A fold line breaking the paper fibres, visible in fluid even when pressed out.See alsoGum crease

Accreditation of a fully accredited juror in an additional FIP class. It requires an FIP seminar in that class, at least a Vermeil there in the last 10 years (not for Youth and Literature), and supervised trial judging.See alsoJuryFIP classVermeil

The family of British and colonial watermarks pairing a crown with letters such as CC (Crown Colonies) and CA (Crown Agents), central to identifying Commonwealth issues.Example: Crown CC, Crown CA, Multiple Crown CA and Script CA mark successive eras.

A postal issue paired with a blockchain token, physical stamp plus digital twin, pioneered by Austria in 2019.Example: Austrian Crypto stamp 1.0 launched the genre.

The span of a currency system in a stamp-issuing area, defining its rate tables.Example: Covers are classified by sterling, old franc, new franc, etc.

The green customs declaration label (CN22 and kin) of international parcel mail.See alsoEtiquette

A slice or cross cut through a revenue stamp as cancellation; reduces value versus lightly cancelled copies.

The imprinted stamp cut from stationery with square margins, the traditional way such items were collected.See alsoEntire

A stationery indicium cut along the design outline rather than square, usually worth much less than cut square or entire.See alsoCut square

In Youth exhibits, pieces cut from postal documents (stamps, stationery, aerogrammes) are not allowed without justification, such as showing bisects used during a stamp shortage.See alsoBisectCut squareYouth philately

The British and Commonwealth equivalent of a plate number for photogravure and offset cylinders, printed in the sheet margin.See alsoPlate number

The 1962 US error whose deliberate reprinting to destroy speculation made the original error a footnote and the reprint a story.Example: The Post Office reprinted the invert by the million.

The wire cylinder that impresses the watermark pattern into wet paper pulp during manufacture.See alsoWatermark

A cover whose full date can be established from its markings or contents.

Stamps carrying 2-D matrix codes for tracking and security, standard on new British definitives since 2022.Example: Royal Mail's barcoded Machins keep the Machin head and add a code panel beside it.

A wrong date in a commemorative design or overprint.

A former stamp-issuing entity that no longer exists under that name, collecting them is a popular specialty.Example: Examples include Zanzibar, Danzig, and Bohemia and Moravia.

The postal branch that opens undeliverable, unreturnable mail to find claims; its markings and seals are collectible.

The amount for which an insured item is covered, noted on the cover.See alsoInsured mail

The expert body's statement that no conclusion could be reached on the evidence.

A regular-issue stamp printed in large quantities over a long period for everyday postal use, typically in a small format.

No longer valid for postage, withdrawn issues whose franking power has been officially revoked.

The face value printed on a stamp, expressed in the issuing country's currency.

Postal savings stationery recording deposits, with imprinted or affixed stamps.See alsoSavings stamp

Any subject detail appearing in a stamp's design that admits it to a thematic collection.

A factual mistake in the artwork itself, wrong map, misspelled name, anachronism, as issued, regardless of printing quality.Example: St. Kitts' Columbus telescope stamp predates the telescope.

Covers to unusual or distant destinations, collected for scarce routes and treaty rates.Example: Mail from small countries to remote destinations can be great rarities.

Starch-derived water-activated gum, matte in appearance.

The original piece of steel on which the stamp design is engraved; every printing plate descends from it.See alsoTransfer roller

The separation of self-adhesive stamps by cutting the face paper against the liner, straight or in simulated perforation waves; measured like perforations.See alsoSelf-adhesive

An impression pulled directly from the die, typically on india paper or card with large margins; the finest rendering of a stamp design.See alsoProof

Printing with an engraved die under high pressure, giving inked embossed impressions.See alsoEmbossing

A study of varieties of the dies used to print the imprinted stamps; one of the accepted reasons for including cut squares in a postal stationery exhibit, which normally shows entires.See alsoPostal stationery exhibitStamp impression variationsCut square

A 10-point part of condition and rarity in Modern Philately, since recent material is often hard to obtain and its rarity not yet established. The FDC guidelines also weigh it within rarity.See alsoModern philatelyCondition and rarity

PC- and app-generated franking, online postage, QR-coded labels, the successor of meters.See alsoMeter stamp

The first reported example of an error or variety, often documented in the philatelic press.

Mail fumigated, slit, or vinegar-treated against contagion in the sanitary cordons of past centuries; identified by slits, wafers, and cachets.Example: Cholera and plague-era covers show punch slits and treatment marks.

Exclusion of an exhibit from the current and/or future FIP exhibitions, which the Expert Group may recommend when it contains more than half a dozen forged items. The jury must concur.See alsoExpert Group reportForgeryExpert team (exhibition)

Gum showing any alteration from moisture, hinging, or sweating; reduces mint value.

Contemporary filing notes written on a letter by its recipient, dates, sender, subject, useful for dating stampless mail.

A streak of unwiped ink on gravure printings where the doctor blade failed to squeegee the cylinder cleanly.Example: Common on mid-century gravure issues.

A revenue for taxes on documents and transactions, deeds, checks, receipts, contracts.

The 1843 Geneva cantonal double stamp usable as two halves, an early oddity and rarity.See alsoBisect

The entire design printed twice, slightly out of register, distinct from doubling caused by kiss prints or plate doubling.See alsoKiss print

An overprint applied twice, both strikes showing.See alsoOverprint

Paper of two layers, either a security experiment or the splice-produced accidental variety on rotary presses.

Two rows of perforations where one belongs.See alsoPerforation freak

Postage for the second weight step, twice the basic unit in classic rate systems.

Lowering an exhibit's award when forged, faked, repaired or misidentified items are not clearly marked, set by the Jury Bureau. The Expert Group may recommend one level (two in Annex I) or 5 or more points.See alsoOut of competitionExpert team (exhibition)Forgery

A letter left at an office for collection or delivery from that same office, historically at a minimal rate.

Leaflets, messages and newspapers dropped from the air, either as normal delivery or when postal services were interrupted by emergencies. Such items fall within aerophilately.See alsoAerophilatelyAirmail

An impression so weak from ink starvation that parts of the design barely show.See alsoUnderinking

Printing on paper with low moisture content at higher pressure, adopted by the US in the 1950s; produces whiter paper and crisper impressions than wet printing.See alsoWet printing

The blotter book in which soaked stamps dry flat under pressure.See alsoSoaking

An issue valid for both postage and revenue, inscribed accordingly.Example: British "Postage and Revenue" inscriptions from 1881.

Another name for a mute cancellation, an obliterator giving no identifying text.See alsoMute cancel

A single handstamp combining a dated town mark and a killer that strikes both in one blow.See alsoKiller

An extra copy of a stamp already in the collection, typically set aside for trading.

Repetition of similar items in an exhibit, which must be avoided whatever their value. Under Treatment, judges check that the exhibit is free of it.See alsoTreatmentSpace fillerCherry-picking

The earliest date recorded for a stamp's use, established from dated covers and cancels; refines catalogue issue dates.

The standard Spanish catalogue for Spain and territories.

The collecting field of Errors, Freaks, and Oddities, everything that went interestingly wrong in production.

An exhibit qualified for eight frames must show eight at the next exhibition; with good reason it may show 5 to 7 frames at most twice more within 36 months of the qualifying medal.See alsoAdditional framesExhibition frame

In the Thematic guidelines' list of postal services: a message sent electronically to a post office, where it is printed and delivered to the addressee.See alsoAppropriate postal-philatelic materialThematic class

A printing plate duplicated by electrodeposition of metal into a mould of the original; common in letterpress stamp production.See alsoStereotype

Oval security holes within an otherwise round perforation row, used on modern British and other issues.See alsoSyncopated perforation

Modern novelty productions: embroidered, wooden, metallic-foil, crystal-set, and odd-material stamps.Example: Austria has issued embroidery, meteorite dust, and glass.

Producing a raised relief design by pressing paper between a recessed die and its counterpart, with or without ink; used for early stationery and stamp effigies.Example: The Machin head on many British stamps of stationery is embossed.

An honorary category for senior jurors who have served at least 6 times, granted on application, not automatically. Emeritus jurors may not sit as full jury members but may act as senior consultants.See alsoJuryCross-accreditation

The craftsman who cuts a stamp design into the die, working in reverse at actual size with gravers under magnification.

A complete item of postal stationery as issued, or a complete folded letter; contrasted with a cut square.See alsoCut square

A complete folded letter with its contents, address panel, and markings intact.See alsoFolded letter

The catalogue classification of stationery by standard envelope dimensions.

A major, catalogue-listed production mistake, wrong colour, missing element, inverted part, wrong paper or watermark, normally repeated across a print run.See alsoFreakOddity

A denomination error, the wrong figure or a value inconsistent with the design's intent.

A proposed stamp design, or element of one, that differs from the issued stamp, artwork, photographic mockups, or printed trials of rejected designs.See alsoProof

Unadopted stationery designs and trials.See alsoEssay

Privately produced "essays" and proposals never officially considered, collectible curiosities distinct from true essays.See alsoEssay

The auction house's predicted realization range for a lot.

Creating recessed lines with acid rather than a graver; used with intaglio and photogravure platemaking.

A non-postal instructional label, airmail, express, customs, standardized by the UPU and collected by service.Example: The blue "Par Avion" airmail etiquette is the most familiar.

The blue Par Avion label routing an item by air.See alsoAirmail etiquette

The annual common-theme issues of European postal administrations since 1956, a self-contained collecting area.

GREV's four general criteria: Treatment and Philatelic Importance; Knowledge, Personal Study and Research; Condition and Rarity; Presentation. Special criteria apply to Thematic, Youth and Literature.See alsoGREVTreatment and Philatelic ImportanceCondition and rarity

Forms in an approved format on which judges record the points awarded to an exhibit for each evaluation criterion.See alsoEvaluation criteriaJury critiqueMedal levels

A cover cancelled and often cacheted to mark a specific event such as an anniversary, exhibition, or dedication.

Notation that an item comes from a named collection, "ex Ferrary".See alsoProvenance

A marking applied at an international exchange office where mails passed between administrations.

A designated office where international mails were made up, exchanged, and accounted between administrations.See alsoExchange mark

An exhibitor may be excluded for breaching GREX arts. 11.2 and 14; false information or a different exhibit can bring temporary or permanent exclusion. Any attempt to influence judging means immediate exclusion.See alsoWithdrawal of an exhibitCommissionerJury

A coherent, titled display of philatelic material and research mounted on pages, entered for judging in a defined class.

A single mounted sheet of an exhibit. FIP recommends 21 x 29.7 or 23 x 29 cm (4 per frame row), 42 x 29.7 or 46 x 29 cm (2 per row), and 31 x 29 cm (3 per row).See alsoPresentation

The chapter structure disclosed on the title page and followed through the frames.See alsoTitle page

The standard glass display unit of exhibitions, typically holding 16 pages in a 4×4 layout.Example: A five-frame exhibit is the common adult competitive size.

A souvenir seal issued for expositions and philatelic exhibitions since the 19th century.

The organising body to which an FIP member may delegate running an exhibition; the member stays fully responsible. It must follow the Statutes, GREX, GREV and SREV, decides on applications and allots frames among classes.See alsoIREXGREXFrame allocation

Covers carried by exploring expeditions, polar, mountain, oceanographic, often with special cachets.See alsoPolar philately

A panel of specialists issuing collective opinions, the structure of major expertizing bodies.Example: The Royal Philatelic Society London and the Philatelic Foundation work this way.

Expert Group findings on a questioned item (not as described, cleaned or tampered, stamp does not belong, cancellation forged, redrawn or enhanced), with a recommendation such as no action (NA) or do not exhibit again (DNE).See alsoExpert team (exhibition)OpinionCertificate

The Expert Group's findings and recommendations, read to the jury, whose concurrence is required for any action. It is published with the jury report in the palmares booklet.See alsoExpert team (exhibition)Disqualification of exhibitPalmares

A small handstamp or signature applied to the back of a stamp by continental experts as a genuineness mark, in lieu of certificates.Example: German tradition: "geprüft" plus the expert's name (BPP).

On-site experts at major shows verifying questioned items in exhibits; certificates may be required for key items.See alsoCertificate

Professional examination of a philatelic item to establish genuineness, identify alterations, and describe condition, concluded by an opinion or certificate.

Accelerated service by messenger or expedited handling, under many national names and markings.See alsoSpecial delivery stamp

The buyer's contractual right to submit an auction lot for expertizing before the sale becomes final.

Nearly perfectly centred with balanced margins and no faults, a premium grade.

The overall visual attractiveness beyond technical grade, strike, colour, balance.

Stamps that differ visibly in design, denomination, or colour, as opposed to varieties of paper, perforation, or watermark; the usual basis for counting a "complete" collection.

The postal value printed on a stamp, what it was worth for postage when issued.

The specialist catalogue of Scandinavia.

An openly made reproduction of a stamp, not intended to deceive, often marked as a copy.

Colour lost to light exposure, irreversible and value-destroying.

A genuine stamp fraudulently altered, colour changed, perfs added or removed, cancel cleaned, gum replaced, thin repaired, to simulate something scarcer.See alsoAlteration

A forged cancellation, applied to create a rare postmark or to make an unused stamp look postally used when used copies are worth more. A favour cancel, by contrast, is a genuine strike.See alsoForged postmarkFavour cancel

A forged overprint on a genuine base stamp, the commonest fake class in provisional-rich areas.See alsoOverprint error

US Foreign Air Mail route covers, numbered like CAMs for international routes.

A pictorial or geometric cancellation hand-carved locally, especially in 19th-century America, stars, eagles, skulls, and famous devices like the Waterbury "Running Chicken".

A stamp-like label for an imaginary entity, made without deceptive intent, micronations, artistamps, fiction.See alsoArtistamp

Inks resistant to fading; their failure produces the changelings that must be separated from true colour errors.See alsoColour changeling

Any physical defect: thin, tear, crease, stain, pinhole, missing perf, scuff, or repair.

Explicitly without defects, the standard claim tested by expertizing.See alsoSound

A cancellation applied by request rather than in normal mail processing, often unusually neat.

The German military postal service; its wartime covers, numbers, and airmail issues are widely studied.Example: WWII Feldpost numbers concealed unit locations.

FIP Felicitations: an addition to the medal for outstanding philatelic research or originality. It is noted on the certificate, is not a special prize, and does not go to the same exhibit twice unless it shows new research.

The Federation of European Philatelic Associations, the continental tier under FIP.

The Inter-American Philatelic Federation, the Americas' continental federation.

The Federation of Inter-Asian Philately, the Asia-Pacific continental federation.

A mobile military post office serving troops in the field, with its own datestamps.

A military-issue card for brief messages from the front, often pre-printed and free of postage.See alsoMilitary stationery

A thin spot packed with paper paste and smoothed, detectable in fluid or UV.See alsoThin

Noticeably off-centre but with the design clear of the perforations; the traditional minimum collectible grade for premium pricing.

The intermediate grade between fine and very fine, common in catalogue pricing bases.

The Fédération Internationale de Philatélie, the world federation of national philatelic federations, governing international exhibiting.See alsoFIP patronage

Given to personalities and officials, usually from outside organised philately, in recognition of significant support for philately.See alsoFIP Medal for ServiceFIP Medal for Research

FIP's governing body: a President, three Vice-Presidents and three Directors, elected for four years in staggered elections. It approves jurors and commissioners, adopts regulations except the Statutes and GREX.See alsoFIPFIP CongressFLASH

The recognised competitive classes: Traditional, Postal History, Postal Stationery, Aerophilately, Astrophilately, Thematic, Maximaphily, Revenue, Open, Picture Postcards, Literature, and Youth. One-Frame is an exhibit format shown across classes, not a class.

FIP's specialist bodies for each exhibiting field, such as the Aerophilately, Astrophilately, Maximaphily and Postal History Commissions, which issue the guidelines for their classes.See alsoFIPFIP classSREV

The supreme body of FIP, meeting every two years at a time and place set by the Board. It elects the Board by secret ballot, approves patronage and decides most matters by simple majority.See alsoFIPFIP BoardFIP membership categories

The exhibitor's FIP number, entered on the entry form together with the latest qualifying national award and any FIP-recognised international awards.See alsoCommissionerNational exhibition

A club named in the FIP Statutes whose representatives attend Congress as guests, alongside honorary presidents and FIP consultants.See alsoGrand PrixFIP Congress

A seminar for FIP jurors in a given class. An apprentice must have attended at least one in the class they intend to judge.See alsoApprentice judgeCross-accreditationRe-evaluation

An FIP medal awarded to individuals who have shown outstanding philatelic study and research.See alsoFIP Medal for ServiceFIP Award of AppreciationFelicitations of the jury

FIP's highest honour; its sole criterion is exceptional, usually long and sustained, service to organised philately at international level.See alsoFIP Medal for ResearchFIP Award of Appreciation

FIP admits ordinary members (one national federation per country, the only voters at Congress), provisional, interim and promotional members, and associate members (one continental federation per continent).See alsoFIPNational federationContinental federation

FIP sponsorship of a world exhibition, bringing its regulations and recognition.See alsoFIP

A status, below patronage, that the Board may grant to other international exhibitions of member federations. Results are not entered in the FIP awards list, and Large Golds there do not count toward Championship Class eligibility.See alsoFIP patronageInternational exhibitionQualifying recognition exhibition

An FIP exhibition format, such as Praga 08, at which exhibits queried at earlier exhibitions are reviewed and recorded on the Annex II form.See alsoExpert Group reportChampionship class

An envelope bearing a stamp cancelled on the stamp's official first day of sale, often with a decorative cachet.See alsoCachet

FDC exhibits are shown as an experimental class at the Boston 2026 World Stamp Show. They may use 19th to 21st century material and must devote much or all of the exhibit to FDCs themselves.See alsoFirst day coverCachetFIP class

The pursuit of covers cancelled on issue day, with cachetmakers and unofficial cities as sub-specialties.See alsoFirst day cover

An error stamp used on mail before discovery, usage that multiplies its postal-history interest.

The officially designated date a stamp is first placed on sale.See alsoFirst day cover

A cover mailed on the first day a new postal rate took effect, a dated rarity for rate specialists.

A cover flown on the inaugural flight of a new air route or service, usually with a cachet documenting the flight.

An early, sharp impression of a new cancelling device.

At every FIP World exhibition at least 20% of the exhibits must be competing for the first time, provided enough applications are received.See alsoPhilatelic exhibitionExhibit

The study of tax systems through stamped documents, paralleling postal history for revenues.See alsoRevenue document

Every item in a revenue exhibit, except associated material, must have both: issue or use for a specific fiscal purpose, and philatelic value such as pre-production material, varieties, errors, usage or markings.See alsoFiscal-philatelic balanceRevenue philatelyRevenue stamp

The British-usage synonym of revenue stamp.See alsoRevenue stamp

A postage stamp used to pay a tax, pen-cancelled or dated on documents; usually cheaper than postal use.

The requirement that the items in a revenue exhibit, taken as a whole, keep a balance of fiscal and philatelic aspects, even when a theme-based exhibit is built on other features such as document text.See alsoFiscal nature and philatelic aspectsTheme-based exhibitRevenue philately

A machine cancel whose killer forms a waving flag, widely used in the US around 1900.See alsoMachine cancel

FIP's official information bulletin, where regulations, urgent Board decisions and commission news are published. Changes to GREV and SREV announced in FLASH lapse unless the next Congress confirms them.See alsoFIP BoardGREVSREV

Printing from a flat plate in a press; the earlier standard for engraved stamps.See alsoRotary press

The naval equivalent of an army post office, serving ships and shore establishments.

Relief printing with flexible plates and fluid inks, occasionally used for coils, precancels, and overprints.

Mail actually carried into space, rare, documented, and strictly scrutinized.Example: The Apollo 15 "Sieger covers" scandal involved unauthorized flown covers.

Glow visible only while UV light shines on the stamp.See alsoLuminescence

Paper with optical brighteners glowing under UV light; presence or absence separates many modern printings.See alsoTagging

The affectionate name for hunting micro-varieties, dots, breaks, and specks, with magnifier and patience.See alsoPlate flaw

A corner of the sheet folded during printing or perforating, producing wild design and perforation displacement when unfolded; collectors call the resulting stamp a foldover freak.See alsoPaper fold

A letter sheet written, folded, sealed, and addressed on its outer surface, used before envelopes became common in the mid-19th century.

The application of laboratory methods, spectroscopy, high-resolution imaging, to philatelic authentication.

A stamp or postal marking used in a territory before it issued its own stamps, for example, another country's stamps used there.Example: Ottoman stamps used in Palestine are forerunners of later issues.

The first subject area of an astrophilately exhibit, covering rocket mail, stratospheric balloons and the development of rockets.See alsoStratosphere mailRocket mailAstrophilately

A non-denominated stamp valid permanently for its class regardless of later rate rises, the modern US standard.See alsoNon-denominated stamp

A counterfeit postal marking on genuine or forged stamps, targeted at rare-cancel collecting.See alsoFaked cancel

A fraudulent imitation of a stamp or marking. Postal forgeries cheated the post; philatelic forgeries cheat collectors.See alsoPostal forgery

Collections made up only of forgeries, fakes or reprints, showing how they were made and how they differ, count as traditional philately. In a normal exhibit, other forgeries appear only beside the genuine stamp.See alsoForgeryReprint versus forgeryTraditional philately (class)

Reference works and study circles documenting known forgeries; forgery identification literature is a collecting field itself.See alsoAlbum weed

A card or form sold without imprinted postage for franking with adhesives, official stationery but not "postal stationery" in the strict prepaid sense.

A cover redirected onward from its first address, usually marked "Forwarded" or with the new address, accumulating additional markings and sometimes postage.

A private merchant who received and re-dispatched mail outside or alongside official posts, especially in seaports before UPU days; identified by their cachets and endorsements.

François Fournier (1846-1917), Geneva purveyor of "facsimiles" sold openly but widely misused to deceive; his album of samples documents the output.See alsoFacsimile

Reddish-brown spotting of paper caused by mould or metallic impurities, a common tropical and archival affliction.See alsoToning

The Swiss-made vending machine stamps that named the ATM-label field.See alsoATM label

The outer border of a stamp design surrounding the central image.

8 frames per Championship exhibit; 5 frames for accepted exhibits up to 84 points, first entries included; 8 frames from 85 points. An 8-frame exhibit must show 8 next time, or 5 to 7 at most twice more within 36 months.See alsoExhibition frameQualifying recognition exhibitionFrame fee

The per-frame charge for entering a competitive exhibit.

A marking or endorsement showing postage paid to destination, from Italian; common on continental European mail.

The stamps, imprints, or markings on mail showing that postage was paid or that it may pass free.Example: The signature privilege of officials is the "franking privilege".

A one-off or short-run production accident, folds, shifts, over-inking, dramatic but not constant enough to be a listed error.See alsoError

A signature or marking allowing mail to pass without postage, historically granted to officials, legislators, and soldiers.

A stamp die-cut to a non-rectangular outline, maps, fruit, animals.See alsoRound and odd shapes

Retaining original crispness and colour brilliance, high praise in descriptions.See alsoPost office fresh

A new application of the design after complete removal of a defective one, sometimes leaving traces of the first entry.See alsoRe-entry

Only the face panel of a cover, the rest having been discarded; less desirable than a complete cover.See alsoCover

Ink designed to run or fade if tampered with, used against cancellation-washing and cleaning; makes stamps vulnerable to water damage.Example: British "doubly fugitive" inks protected high-value Victorian stamps.

A basic thematic requirement excluding items unfit for collecting because of their condition, such as cut stamps or stationery or incorrect maximum cards; items are shown complete, with limited exceptions.See alsoPhilatelic elements (thematic)Cut squareCondition

A cut square retaining the complete corner of the envelope, preserving more evidence than a small square.

Market slang, and the top numeric grade, for a flawless, perfectly centred stamp.See alsoNumerical grading

A worldwide collection not restricted to any country or theme.

A faint secondary image from residual ink or offset problems.See alsoKiss print

Thin, semi-transparent paper used for stamp envelopes and interleaving because it is smooth and low in moisture transfer.

Mail carried by glider at events and experiments, a semi-official niche.

Novelty issues with phosphorescent inks visible in darkness, distinct from functional tagging.See alsoTagging

The second FIP medal level, awarded for 90 to 94 points.See alsoMedal levelsLarge GoldLarge Vermeil

A tough translucent membrane used for an experimental 1866 Prussian issue whose design printed in reverse on the back made removal impossible.

An official reprint made by or for the issuing authority, for reference, sale, or UPU distribution.See alsoReprint

The General Postal Union, the 1874 founding name of what became the Universal Postal Union in 1878.See alsoUniversal Postal Union

The formal condition classification of a stamp, from Poor through Superb, driven mainly by centring and faults.

An expert certificate that assigns a numeric grade in addition to authenticating.See alsoCertificate

The 1930 US C13-15 Zeppelins, Depression-era poor sellers turned blue-chip classics.See alsoZeppelin stamps

The best-in-show award at national-level (e.g., APS World Series) exhibitions.See alsoGrand Prix

The top awards of an FIP World exhibition, Grand Prix International, National, and d'Honneur. They go to the exhibits winning the most jury votes in a secret ballot, among those scoring at least 96 points.

Paper with tiny coloured fibres mixed into the pulp as a security feature.Example: Familiar from Swiss and Austrian issues.

FIP's General Regulations for the Evaluation of Competitive Exhibits, the umbrella judging rules.

FIP's General Regulations for Exhibitions under its patronage or recognition. Only Congress may amend them; the current text was adopted at the 78th Congress in Macau on 1 July 2026.See alsoGREVSREVIREX

A killer of parallel or crossed bars in various shapes.

A pattern of tiny pyramidal embossed dots pressed into some 19th-century US and Peruvian stamps so cancelling ink would soak in and prevent washing and reuse.Example: US grills are lettered A through Z by size and type.

A youth exhibit in which more than one young collector takes part. The Youth SREV places it in age group B; GREX allows group exhibits in age groups A and B.See alsoYouth philatelyYouth age groups

The backstamp of an expert or dealer guaranteeing an item, standard in German-school expertizing.See alsoExpert mark

A fine printed or scored line on sheets used to align printing, perforating, or cutting; fragments visible on stamps are collectible positional evidence.

The adhesive coating on the back of a stamp as issued.See alsoOriginal gum

The traditional water-activated stamp adhesive from acacia sap, glossy and prone to cracking in dryness.

A slight wave in the gum that does not break the paper fibres; a minor condition note, less serious than a crease.

Ridges pressed into gum to prevent sheet curling; their patterns distinguish printings of some issues.Example: German issues are classified by Gummiriffelung (gum ribbing).

A pressure crease visible in the gum only; noted in grading.

Wrong or missing gum type on issues where gum defines varieties.

A patch missed in gumming at manufacture, a minor production variety, not damage.

The blank space, often stamp-sized, separating panes on a printed sheet of stamps.

Two stamps joined with the blank gutter between them, prized because they preserve the sheet layout.See alsoGutter

A stamp with an attached strip of adjacent gutter and a sliver of the next stamp, from misregistered cutting.See alsoGutter

The winning bid at which the lot is knocked down, before premiums and fees.

A specialised monograph treating one issue, country, or subject in depth, the research backbone of specialties.

Any postal marking applied by hand with a device, as opposed to machine or manuscript markings; also the device itself.

Perforating an entire sheet or pane in a single stroke.

Hawaii's fragile 1851-52 first issues, named for the mission correspondence that preserved them, great rarities.Example: The 2c Missionary is among the world's rarest stamps.

Bearing a cancel so heavy it obscures the design, a value reducer.

A marking on mail detained for insufficient prepayment.

First and experimental helicopter mail services, from the 1940s.

A French term for photogravure, seen in the imprints of stamps printed in France.See alsoPhotogravure

A British fiscal cancellation of angled parallel cuts.See alsoCut cancel

US term for paper with unusually strong optical brightener content, a collectible variety in some issues.See alsoFluorescent paper

Mail delayed by aircraft hijacking, docketed on eventual delivery, a modern interrupted-mail niche.

A small folded strip of gummed glassine used to mount stamps on album pages; even "peelable" hinges usually leave a trace on mint gum.See alsoHinged

A piece of old hinge still stuck to the back of a stamp.

Describes a stamp whose gum bears the mark of a removed hinge; degrees run from lightly hinged to heavily hinged.

A printed album with mounts already affixed for every listed stamp.See alsoStamp mount

Stamps incorporating holographic foil elements, used both as a security feature and as a novelty.

The FIP President, or a deputy, who sits on every FIP jury ex officio with full rights. Rules on interpreting GREX, GREV and the SREVs and has the final binding decision in disputes.See alsoJury PresidentGREVSREV

Private posts run by remote hotels to carry guests' mail to the nearest government office, with their own stamps, famous in Switzerland.See alsoLocal post

License revenues for field sports; the US federal Duck stamp is the most celebrated.Example: US federal Duck stamps have been issued since 1934.

A plate proof on India paper, cut close and mounted on card so it resembles a die proof; US proof listings class these separately.

Rouletting of short dash-like slits, resembling hyphens.See alsoRouletting

Information-Based Indicia: the US digital franking standard with 2-D barcode.See alsoDigital postage

A Picture Postcards criterion worth 10 points (with Treatment at 20, together 30). It is judged by how well title and plan agree and how the story develops; originality and creative ideas are especially rewarded.See alsoPicture postcard classExhibit planTreatment

The International Federation of Stamp Dealers' Associations.

Labels issued in the name of real countries without their authority, condemned by the UPU and excluded from catalogues.See alsoBogus

Stamps issued without perforations or roulettes, requiring scissors to separate; normal before 1854 and deliberate or erroneous afterward.

A pair with normal outer perforations but none between the two stamps, a listed error format.

Stamps issued unperforated when perforation was intended, usually collected in pairs to prove the absence.See alsoImperforate

A variety with perforations missing between horizontal rows only.See alsoPart perforate

The standard collectible unit proving an imperforate error.See alsoImperforate error

Additional imperforate issues of stamps and souvenir sheets, which rank below the regular issues when selecting material for a thematic exhibit.See alsoClassification of philatelic materialImperforate

A variety with perforations missing between vertical columns only.See alsoPart perforate

A revenue embossed or printed directly onto the taxed document rather than affixed.Example: British deeds carry colourful impressed duty stamps.

The first registration sheet impressions from an approved plate, filed as the official record before printing; from Latin "let it be printed".Example: Imprimatur sheets of Victorian British stamps survive in the postal archives.

The printer's or issuing authority's name printed in the sheet margin, and by extension the marginal inscription itself.

A block with the sheet-margin imprint attached, collected as evidence of the printer.See alsoImprint

The stamp design printed directly on stationery rather than affixed as an adhesive.See alsoIndicium

A foreign particle embedded in the paper at manufacture, natural, but noted in grading.

Mail received in the area studied from elsewhere, the mirror of most country collecting.

A letter in a postmark distinguishing between multiple devices or positions at one office.

Reference listings of a country's or period's postal markings, essential to postal historians.See alsoPostmark

Very thin, tough, opaque paper used for die proofs and plate proofs; takes fine engraved impressions beautifully.See alsoDie proof

The imprinted stamp design on postal stationery showing prepayment; plural indicia.

Mail of hyperinflation periods bearing enormous frankings or repeatedly surcharged stamps.Example: German 1923 covers with milliard-mark frankings are the emblem of the genre.

The pigmented medium of stamp printing; its composition affects shade, fluorescence, and solubility, all studied by specialists.

Spectral and microscopic comparison of inks to detect forgeries, changelings, and repairs.

Accidental smearing of wet ink across stamps, a freak.

Worth 5 points in Thematic Philately: the exhibitor's personal approach, shown through new subjects, new aspects of established themes, new approaches or new use of material; an innovative plan is its prerequisite.See alsoThematic planThematic developmentSurprise material

The lettering on a stamp: country name, denomination, commemorative text, or designer and printer credits.

The Stanley Gibbons transparent sliding gauge reading fractional perf measurements.See alsoPerforation gauge

A marking directing how mail is to be treated or explaining its handling, such as "Forwarded" or "Insufficiently Prepaid".See alsoAuxiliary marking

Mail carried with indemnity against loss up to a declared value, marked with insurance labels or notations.

Printing from an image cut below the plate surface: ink fills the recessed lines, the surface is wiped, and paper is pressed in under great pressure, leaving slightly raised ink ridges you can feel.See alsoLine engravingRecess printing

Modern security printing combining engraved intaglio with offset or gravure backgrounds on the same stamp.

Mail between continents in the era of sail, steamship subsidies, and complex conventions.

In GREX, an international exhibition recognised by the FIP Board (a recognition exhibition), as distinct from a World exhibition held under FIP patronage.See alsoFIP recognitionWorld exhibitionQualifying recognition exhibition

The maximum card regulations adopted by FIP in 1978. Before that date multi-stamp cards are accepted if one stamp matches the picture, and the date also opens the third antiquity period.See alsoMaximaphilyMaximum cardAntiquity

A voucher exchangeable in any UPU country for stamps covering a basic international letter, the reply-paid mechanism of world mail.Example: Famously the instrument of Charles Ponzi's 1920 scheme.

Mail of civilians interned in wartime, handled under similar free-post and censorship rules as POW mail.See alsoPrisoner of war mail

Mail delayed or damaged by accident, disaster, or war and forwarded with explanatory markings.See alsoWreck cover

A stamp with one element printed upside down relative to the rest, the most glamorous class of error.See alsoInverted centre

A bicolor stamp whose central vignette is upside down within its frame, from an inverted pass through the press.Example: The Inverted Jenny is the world's most famous example.

An invert where the frame rather than the centre was the inverted printing pass.See alsoInverted centre

The 1918 US 24c airmail with the Curtiss JN-4 flying upside down, one sheet of 100, the most famous invert.Example: Position numbers of the 100 copies are individually tracked.See alsoInverted centre

An overprint applied upside down.See alsoOverprint

Western Australia's 1855 frame invert, one of the earliest invert errors.See alsoInvert

A watermark upside down relative to the design, usually from inverted paper feed; collected as a variety.See alsoWatermark

The Individual Regulations of an FIP exhibition, set by its management for technical and organisational control. They must not conflict with GREX and need the FIP Consultant's approval; they state frame size, frame fees and deadlines.See alsoGREXExhibition managementFrame fee

A crease pressed flat to escape notice; fluid reveals the broken fibres.See alsoCrease

A stamp or set of stamps released at one time by a postal authority; also the act of releasing them.

The official first day of sale of a stamp, the anchor of FDC collecting.See alsoFirst day cover

Collector-protective limits on issue quantity and frequency urged by the UPU and FIP against exploitative output.See alsoUndesirable issues

Stamps released by two or more countries together, with the same date and usually a shared design, to mark a common subject.

Same-design multi-country issues, favourite connective material in thematics.See alsoJoint issue

The Japan Specialised Catalogue of Japanese philately.Example: Alongside the Sakura catalogue for Japan.

A stamp with unusually large margins for its issue, boosting desirability and graded suffixes like "J".

The accredited team of judges evaluating exhibits at a show.

A non-competitive class for exhibits of the judges appointed to the exhibition, since jury members may not compete there.See alsoNon-competitive classesJuryOfficial Class

The post-judging session where exhibitors receive feedback from judges.

Anyone on an FIP jury, including senior jury consultants, apprentice judges and Expert Group members; apprentices and non-judging experts have no vote. Nominations reach the Board 12 months ahead and invitations go out 6 months ahead.See alsoJuryAccredited FIP judgeApprentice judge

The accredited, experienced judge who chairs the jury, proposed by management with the FIP Consultant and confirmed by the jurors. Holds no key management role, has the casting vote and signs exhibition certificates.See alsoJuryJury SecretaryHonorary President of the Jury

Appointed by the FIP Board with management and the Consultant; sits on the Jury Bureau. Checks that exhibits are correctly qualified for frames and classes, distributes judging among teams, enters results and announces minor awards.See alsoJury PresidentJuryCommissioner

A marking ("jusqu'à" = "as far as") noting the point to which air carriage was paid, with surface onward.

A standard colonial design used across many territories, with only the country name and value changed.Example: Common in British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese colonies.

The heavy obliterating portion of a cancellation, made of bars, cork, or solid shapes, meant to deface the stamp thoroughly.See alsoObliterator

Bulk mixtures of used stamps on paper clippings, traditionally sold by weight for sorting.

A light doubled impression caused by paper contacting the plate twice with a slight bounce.

The cutting die shape of an envelope blank; different knives distinguish stationery varieties.

Any stamp-like piece of paper without postal validity, advertising, charity, commemorative, or decorative.See alsoCinderella

Envelope stock showing laid lines, a classification feature in early stationery.See alsoLaid paper

Paper showing parallel light and dark lines against light, from the wires of the mould; distinguishing it from wove is a basic identification step.See alsoWove paper

The highest FIP medal level, awarded for 95 to 100 points. Three Large Golds at World exhibitions in three separate years qualify an exhibit for the Championship Class.See alsoMedal levelsGold

The FIP medal level for 75 to 79 points, between Vermeil and Silver.See alsoMedal levelsVermeilSilver

The FIP medal level for 85 to 89 points, between Gold and Vermeil. A five-frame youth exhibit in age group C that wins Large Vermeil or higher may move to the adult classes.See alsoMedal levelsGoldVermeil

One of the rarity factors judges look for in revenue exhibits, along with rare values, low printings, rare varieties and early, late or otherwise rare usages.See alsoMixed taxesRelative rarityRevenue philately

A cover from the final day of a rate, service, office, or stamp validity.

A charge for posting an item after the normal closing of a mail, paid for inclusion in that dispatch; shown by stamps or markings on some covers.

Postal use of a stamp or device well after its normal period, documented by the postmark date.

A cover cancelled at the launch site post office on launch day of a mission.Example: Kennedy Space Centre cancels on Apollo launch dates.

Motion or 3-D effect stamps using lenticular plastic lenses.

A folded card sealed at perforated edges; the recipient tears the margins to open it. Postage is imprinted.

A sheet of writing paper with imprinted stamp, folded and sealed for mailing without an envelope; the Mulready of 1840 is the first.See alsoMulready

Relief printing from raised surfaces, called typography in most stamp catalogues.See alsoTypography

Lightly hinged, faint hinge trace on otherwise fine gum.See alsoHinged

Mail from the period a territory was freed, often with provisional overprints and mixed usages.

A postal operator licensed by the government or postal authority. In maximaphily its stamps are accepted but come last in the order of preference.See alsoMaximum cardMaximaphily

The Collectors Club of New York's award for distinguished service to philately.See alsoCollectors Club

A neat, unobtrusive cancellation leaving the design clear, the used-stamp ideal.See alsoSocked on the nose

The two means-of-transport groupings for aero exhibits: lighter-than-air covers balloons and airships; heavier-than-air covers parachutes, gliders and aeroplanes.See alsoAerophilatelyAerophilately periods

Each exhibitor may enter at most two exhibits per FIP exhibition, Championship and Literature entries excepted. Jurors, senior jury consultants, Expert Group members, apprentice judges and their relatives may not compete.See alsoJury memberSenior Jury ConsultantApprentice judge

Intaglio printing from a design hand-cut in steel or copper by an engraver; the classic process of 19th-century stamps.See alsoIntaglio

A pair of coil stamps showing the coloured joint line printed where curved rotary plates meet.See alsoCoil

Perforating one row at a time so corner holes cross irregularly; identified at the intersections.See alsoComb perforation

The release backing paper of self-adhesive stamps.See alsoSelf-adhesive

The competitive class for philatelic books, catalogues, journals, and digital works.

Planographic printing from a flat surface treated so ink adheres only to the design areas; produces flat, even colour without relief.

Modern private-island and route labels (e.g., Scottish islands) paying carriage to the public post, collected though outside official listings.Example: Herm, Lundy, and Calf of Man labels are familiar examples.

Mail posted and delivered within one town or delivery area, often at a reduced "drop" rate.See alsoDrop letter

Any restricted-area postal service, government or private, with its own stamps and markings.See alsoLocal stamp

A precancel overprinted by or for a specific town rather than at the central printing works.See alsoPrecancel

Municipal and provincial tax stamps, city documentary issues, market fees, a deep cinderella-adjacent field.

A stamp valid only within a limited area or service, such as a city delivery company or private carrier, not for national or international mail.See alsoLocal post

A single auction unit, from one stamp to cartons of collections.

The umbrella term for fluorescent and phosphorescent responses of stamps under UV, used in classification and expertizing.

The Arnold Machin sculpted-profile British definitive series since 1967, the most reproduced portrait in history and a vast specialty.Example: Hundreds of collectible values, colours, and printing varieties.

A cancellation applied by automatic machinery, pairing a dial with wavy lines, bars, or a slogan.

The loupe or glass, typically 3x-10x, for examining printing, cancels, and condition.

The horse-drawn coaches that carried mails on trunk roads before railways.Example: Britain's mail coach era ran from 1784 into the 1840s.

The ornate cross-shaped obliterator used on the first British stamps from 1840 to 1844, usually in red or black.Example: Distinctive types from certain towns command premiums.

Coarse buff paper used for wrappers and cheap stationery.

A cancellation written by pen, typical of small offices and early periods.See alsoPen cancel

The study and collecting of postal markings, postmarks, cancellations, and auxiliary marks.

The unprinted paper around a stamp design, between the design and the perforations or the sheet edge; generous margins increase desirability on imperforate stamps.

All the devices printed in sheet margins: plate and cylinder numbers, imprints, arrows, colour dots, accounting numbers, and advertising.

The whole field of mail carried by sea, packets, ship letters, paquebot, naval mail, and seapost.

What an item actually brings between willing buyer and seller, realized prices, not catalogue listings.See alsoCatalogue value

Parts of two stamps joined, e.g., a sound back and a fine front, the extreme of repair fraud.

The finished original die from which transfer rollers are raised.See alsoDie

Plate blocks or positions of the same variety from all four corners or all panes, collected as a set.

The branch devoted to maximum cards, seeking the closest concordance of stamp, picture, and cancellation.

The FIP class for maximum card exhibits judged on concordance of stamp, card, and cancel.See alsoMaximaphily

A picture postcard with a matching stamp and cancellation on the picture side, all three elements showing maximum agreement of subject.See alsoMaximaphily

The FIP medal ladder by total points: Large Gold 95 to 100, Gold 90 to 94, Large Vermeil 85 to 89, Vermeil 80 to 84, Large Silver 75 to 79, Silver 70 to 74, Silver Bronze 65 to 69, Bronze 60 to 64.See alsoPoints systemLarge Gold

The outbound half of a reply postal card.See alsoReply card

Ink containing metal powder, used for gold and silver stamp elements.

The franking impression printed by a postage meter machine, prepaying mail without adhesive stamps; collected by machine type and slogan.

The study of franking-machine impressions by maker, type, and slogan.See alsoMeter stamp

The leading German-language catalogue, the reference for Germany and strong in Europe and beyond.Example: Michel numbers dominate the German market.

A precision gauge used to measure paper thickness in identifying printings and detecting repairs.

Labels of self-declared unrecognized "nations", Sealand, Hutt River, collected as modern cinderellas.See alsoFantasy label

The postal systems serving armed forces, field offices, concession rates, free franking, and censorship, a major postal-history branch.

Free or concession stationery issued to armed forces, field postcards, honour envelopes, and forces air letters.Example: WWI field service postcards with printed sentences to strike out are famous.

The fine ruler for measuring designs, overprints, and margins, essential in variety and forgery work.

A small sheet of stamps, often with decorative margins, sold as a complete unit; the term overlaps with souvenir sheet in many catalogues.See alsoSouvenir sheet

Awards announced by the jury secretary at the palmares, as distinct from the Grand Prix awards.See alsoGrand PrixSpecial prizePalmares

An unused stamp in the same state as sold by the post office, with full original gum if issued with gum.See alsoUnused

Stamps or booklets cut off-position, showing parts of neighbours or marginal markings.

Having perforations well out of place relative to the design, from paper misfeed or fold.See alsoPerforation shift

The self-adhesive equivalent of a perforation shift.See alsoDie cutting

A marking on mail accidentally sent to the wrong office, redirected onward.

The 1959 US submarine-launched missile mail experiment and kin.Example: USS Barbero delivered 3,000 covers by Regulus missile.

One ink of a multicolor design completely omitted, from a skipped plate, blocked cylinder, or paper fold; verified against intact copies.Example: Missing-colour modern errors are a major EFO class.

A stamp that escaped an intended overprint, provable in se-tenant position with an overprinted neighbour.

For astrophilatelic events in space, covers must carry a cancel from the post office near mission control, or come from a post office aboard the space station itself.See alsoAstrophilatelySpace mailTracking station cover

A cover bearing stamps of different issues, currencies, or even countries used together, often during transitions or by special arrangement.

A lot of varied unsorted material sold as a group.See alsoBox lot

Rare combinations of different taxes on one item; with fiscal cancellations, tax markings and rare fiscal rates, a rarity factor judges look for in revenue exhibits.See alsoLargest known unitRevenue cancelRevenue philately

A bulk lot of stamps expected to contain duplicates, sold by count or weight.

Mint never hinged, full original gum with no hinge trace.See alsoNever hinged

Collecting recent material. In FIP exhibiting it means material issued over roughly the last twenty years, since about 1991, judged under the Traditional, Postal History and Postal Stationery rules; it is a category, not a separate class.Example: Commercial covers of high modern values are the new rarities.

A watered-silk security pattern overprinted or underprinted on some issues.Example: Mexico 1872 issues carry moiré overprints.

A pre-registration service for letters declared to contain money, specially marked and recorded.Example: Canadian and British "money letter" markings precede registration.

A single-subject scholarly study, the deepest literature form.See alsoHandbook

The envelope carried to the Moon on Apollo 11 in 1969, bearing the die proof of the 10c Moon Landing stamp and cancelled by the crew during the mission; in 1971 the Apollo 15 crew cancelled a cover on the lunar surface itself.See alsoFlown cover (space)

Revenues for vehicle use taxes, including the US 1940s windshield stamps.

A protective holder of clear or black-backed film that displays a stamp on an album page without touching its gum.See alsoHinge

The decorated 1840 British letter sheets and envelopes designed by William Mulready, issued alongside the Penny Black and quickly ridiculed and replaced.Example: Caricatures of the Mulready design are themselves collected.

Satirical imitations lampooning the Mulready design, early philatelic ephemera.See alsoMulready

A stamp showing more than one impression of the perfin die, from careless punching of stacks.

A rate made up of several copies of the same stamp value.

A repeating pattern of small devices so every stamp shows all or parts of several.

A cancellation deliberately without office or date information, used in wartime for security or by design.Example: Russian WWI mute cancels are a specialty.

An auction of a single famous collection sold under the collector's name, the catalogues become provenance references.Example: The Ferrary, Caspary, and Ishikawa sales are legendary.

A show sanctioned at national level, qualifying exhibits toward international entry.Example: A Vermeil at national level typically qualifies for FIP shows.

The umbrella body of a country's philatelic societies, affiliating to FIP and running national exhibitions.

The Smithsonian's postal museum in Washington, home of US national philatelic collections.

Handmade local paper of early stamps of some Asian states, irregular in texture and thickness.Example: Classic Nepal and Kashmir issues are on native paper.

Production gum irregularities that are not damage, distinguished in certificates from disturbed gum.See alsoGum skip

The imperforate sheet-margin side as produced, not a fault, but usually discounted.See alsoStraight edge

A cover cancelled aboard or associated with a warship, heavily collected with event cachets in the US.Example: USS commissioning and decommissioning covers.

Mail posted aboard warships, with ship or fleet postmarks and censorship in wartime.

A fixed asking price, as opposed to catalogue-percentage pricing or auction.