A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Back stamp: A postmark applied to the back of the postal item frequently indicating the date and time of arrival at the receiving post office, a postmark applied to mail by the receiving post office or by a post office handling the piece while it is in transit. Back stamps are usually on the back of a cover, but they can be on the front.
Bank mixture: A high-quality mixture of stamps. It generally represents clippings from the mail of banks or other businesses with extensive overseas correspondence, and thus includes a relatively high proportion of foreign stamps of high face value.
Bantams: The nickname of the South African definitive series of 1942-43. Issued in a very small size as a paper saving measure during second world.
Batonne: A wove or laid paper with watermark like lines deliberately added in the papermaking process and intended as a guide for handwriting.
Bicolor: Printed in two colors.
Bilingual: Stamps inscribed in two languages.
Bisect: A stamp cut into two halves and issued for half values to serve professional needs. They are also called Split stamps. Officially authorized bisects have often been used during temporary shortages of commonly used denominations. Unauthorized bisects appear on mail from some countries in some periods. Bisects are usually collected on full cover with the stamp tied by a cancel.
Bishop mark: The first famous circular dated post mark of Great Britain introduced by Henry Bishop in 1661. A Bishop mark was used to indicate the month and day that a letter was received by a post office. It encouraged prompt delivery by letter carriers.
Black Jack: The nickname of the United States 2c. Black Andrew Jackson stamp issued between 1863 and 1875.
Blind perforation: Perforation holes that have been lightly impressed where the holes are not punched out into the stamps, leaving the paper intact. Stamps with blind perfs are minor varieties carrying little, if any, price premium over normally perforated copies.
Block: A unit of four or more stamps are joined together in square position, and not in a strip form, including at least two stamps both vertically and horizontally. Most commonly a block refers to a block of four, or a block of stamps two high and two wide, though blocks often contain more stamps and may be irregularly configured.
Blued Paper: Paper with a pale blue tinge, caused by chemicals in the paper or printing ink, by a reaction of one with the other. Blued paper was used for many British postage and fiscal stamps printed by De La Rue using the letterpress process up to 1884.
Bluenose: The nickname for Canada, the 50th issue of 1929, picturing the schooner Bluenose.
Bogus stamps: These stamps are issued by some people, not for postal purposes but to earn money and are bought by stamp collectors under deception. Bogus stamp include labels for nonexistent values added to regularly issued sets, issued for nations without postal systems etc and also refers to issues meant to defraud collectors.
Booklet: A unit of one or more small panes or blocks (known as booklet panes) glued, stitched or stapled together between thin card covers to form a convenient unit for mailers to purchase and carry. They were pioneered by Luxembourg in 1895. For some modern booklets of self-adhesive stamps the liner (backing paper) serves as the booklet cover.
Bourse: A meeting of a group of collectors or dealers, where stamps, covers and first day covers are sold or exchanged. A bourse usually has no competitive exhibits of stamps or covers. Almost all public stamp exhibitions include a dealer bourse, though many bourses are held without a corresponding exhibition.
Bull’s Eye Cancellation: It refers to a “socked-on-the-nose” postmark with the impression centered directly on the stamp so that the location and date of mailing are shown on the stamp.
Burelage: A design of fine, intricate lines printed on the face of security paper, either to discourage counterfeiting or to prevent the cleaning and reuse of a stamp. The burelage on some stamps is part of the stamp design.
Burele: Adjective form for burelage, meaning having a fine network of lines. Some stamps of Queensland have a burele band on the back. Also called moir.
By post: In certain cases state postal service was often unable to cover the whole territory or the country. This gap was filled by private posts who used their own stamps or mark