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.