Collecting stamps has been a favorite American hobby for many years, and ranks in popularity just below coins!

Stamp Collecting Definitions

Adhesive - The gum on the back of a stamp.

Album - A book for storing and displaying stamps.

Block - A group of attached stamps at least two wide and two tall.

Booklet Pane - A page of stamps from a booklet. Most panes consist of at least six stamps.

Cachet - The design or artwork on an envelope, found primarily on first day covers.

Cancellation - A mark used by the post office to show that a stamp has been used.

Centering - The position of the design on a postage stamp. On perfectly centered stamps, the design is exactly in the middle with equal margins.

Coils - Stamps that are sold in rolls. Two opposite edges of the strip have straight edges rather than perforations. Coils were issues for use in dispensers or vending machines.

Commemoratives - A stamp issued for a limited period of time. Commemoratives usually honor persons, organizations, events or causes on significant anniversaries.

Condition - This refers to what physical shape the stamp is in and will help in determining a stamp's value.

Cover - An envelope that has passed through the mail.

Denomination - The amount of postage which the stamp is worth.

Face Value - See denomination.

First Day Cover - An envelope with a stamp canceled on its first day of sale.

Gum - See Adhesive.

Hinge - A small pieces of gummed paper that is used to affix stamps to an album page.

Imperforate - A stamp sold without perforations.

Mint - A stamp in the same condition as originally issued. The stamp has its full gum and has not been hinged.

Overprint - An additional printing on a stamp that was not part of the original design. Typically overprints occur when there is not enough time to design and print a whole new stamp needed for a special reason or when rates increase.

Pane - The name for a sheet of stamps sold at a post office. Most panes include a plate number and other markings in the margin or selvage.

Perforations - Holes punched between stamps to make it easier to separate two or more stamps.

Philately - The study and hobby of stamp collecting.

Plate Block - A block of four or more stamps that has a code (plate number) printed on the margin (selvage) identifying the printing plate used in the stamps production.

Postmark - A mark indicating when and from where a letter was sent.

Se-tenant - Two or more attached stamps with different designs.

Selvage - The margin of a pane of stamps that usually includes the plate number and other markings such as copyright notices.

Surcharge - A stamp that has been overprinted with a different denomination.

Thematic - A subject or topic of stamps such as animals or trains.

Topicals - A collection of stamps based on subject rather than country.

Watermark - A special mark incorporated into postage stamp paper or stock used as a security device making it more difficult to counterfeit.