Glossary – S

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

7-1-71: issue date of the new USPS emblem, issued at every post office in the nation, creating a new field of specialization
S: 1:Auction abbreviation term for “Superb” or best there is. 2: auction abbreviation term for Specimen. 3: international postal code for Sweden. 4: Scott Catalog number prefix for Franchise. 5: shilling, ship, Seville; pre-adhesive postmark. 6: Sucre; currency unit in Ecuador. 7: Som; currency unit in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan. 8: auction abbreviation for “scarce,” in scale of rarity. 9: British canceler for Stamboul, Constantinople, or Istanbul; 1884-1914. 10: in Cyrillic is the letter “C”; thus C.C.C.P. = S.S.S.R., known as the U.S.S.R.; Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 11: in circle. arrival mark for mail routed through Spain, used in Gibraltar. 12: in barred oval; Salonica. 13: Colombia-Scadta consular overprint for Switzerland. 14: Sheriff, South Australia official overprint, 1868-74. 15: Straits Settlements-Selangor surcharge overprint, 1879-91. 16. Colombia-Scadta consular overprint for Switzerland. 17. Sheriff, South Australia official overprint, 1868-74
$S: Dollar, currency unit in Singapore
S20, S30, S40: marginal markings on some rotary press plates made from a die with an experimental variation in the frame line depth
SA: Latvia overprint, Russian Occupation
S.A.: 1: Saudi Arabia. 2: self-adhesive. 3: pressure sensitive gum or self-adhesive
Saar: region between France and Germany, southeast of Luxembourg; currency: 100 pfennig = 1 mark, 100 centimes = 1 franc (1921) 1920-35 administered by France under League of Nations control, 1920, Jan.30: No.1, 2 pfennings gray, issued its own stamps, those of Germany and Bavaria overprinted “Saare” (Fr.) or “Saargebiet” (Ger.), 1922: first official stamp, 1926, Oct. 25: first semipostal stamp, 1928, Sept. 19: first air mail stamp, 1934, December to February 1935: British Field PO 10 used during plebiscite, 1935, March 1: became the Saarland Province of the Third Reich as a result of the plebiscite, stamps of Germany used, 1945, Dec. 17-Jan. 3, 1947: French Occupation Zone of Germany, 1947, Jan.: region had its own stamps as French Administration Protectorate, inscribed “Saar,” 1948, Oct. 12: first air mail semipostal stamp, 1951, Jan.1: State of Saar established, 1957, Jan. 1: reunion with Federal Republic of Germany, stamps inscribed “Saarland,” but valued in French currency, 1959, July 6: Saar stamps discontinued, German Federal Republic stamps and currency used
Saare: (Ger.) overprint on stamps of Bavaria and Germany for Saar
Saare: (Fr., Ger., It.) Saar
Saaremaa: bogus, Russia area, not valid for postage
Saargebeit: (Ger.) overprint/inscription for Saar
Saargebeit Luftpost: (Ger.) Saar air mail
Saargebeit Volkshilfe: (Ger.) Saar semipostals
Saarland: (Ger.) inscription from 1957-59 for Saar
Saarpost: (Ger.) Saar mail
Sabadell: city in Spain, local post, Civil War; Republican forces,1937
Sabah: formerly North Borneo; 1963: became Sabah before joining the Federation of Malaysia, 1964, July 1: No.1, 1¢ red brown and green, Sabah overprint on stamps of North Borneo, 1964: no stamps for the territory above 25¢ issued since the 1964 issue; North Borneo
Sabot: Dutch; Evans, Donald
Sacha-Yakutia: bogus Russian issue
Sach(s)en: (Ger.) Saxony, German State
Sachet, stamp: containers/folders of loose stamps sold in British post offices vending machines
Sachsen: (Ger.) Saxony
Sachsen Bundesland: (Ger.) on stamps of Germany for the Russian Zone of Saxony
Sächische Schwärzungen: (Ger.) Saxon blackouts; Hitler and Hindenburg definitives with the portrait obliterated; provisional postal use, Soviet-occupied Germany, beginning May 12, 1945.Sac postal: (Fr.) mail bag
Sad Polowy D.O.E. Wolyn: (Pol.) army field court marshal, handstamp, Poland, 1921
SAE: stamped-addressed envelope
Særstempel: (Dan.) cachet
Safad Issue: provisional issue authorized by Israel Commissioner of Postal Services, April 1942
Safety paper: two-ply paper made by two webs of different quality paper pressed together, used to make stamps hard to forge, a common form has silk threads in it, also known as Duplex paper
Safety paper overprint: same as underprint, except printed on top of already printed stamps
Safety paper underprint: applied prior to printing the stamp’s design; can be a pattern of repeated words in very small type, numbers, bars, straight lines, network patterns or other designs
Safe vinyl: vinyl is not chemically safe or stable and it is impossible for a vinyl product to be inert; from: Preservation and Storage Library of Victoria
Safeway Car Service: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Saffi / Marrakech: local post, Morocco, 1898-1900
Safieh: city in Egypt, 1880, Interpostal seals
Safir: (Nor.) sapphire, deep purplish-blue (color)
Sage type: French series, 1876-1900, designed by Jules-Auguste Sage who won a French government competition for a new stamp design
Saggio: (It.) proof, essay. 1: Italy, Italian Colonies, overprint for specimen. 2: Italy, Italian Colonies, overprint for proof
Saggio di colore: (It.) trial color proof
Sagittair: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Sagunto: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War; Republican forces, 1937
Saha, Saha-Yakutia: bogus Russian local overprint
Sahara, Empire of: bogus, West Coast of Africa strip of land between Cape Bojador and Cape Juby, 1907
Sahara Espanol: (Sp.) overprint on stamps of Spain for Spanish Sahara, 1924
Sahara Occidental: (Sp.)inscription on stamps of Spain for Western Sahara
Sahara Occ. R.A.S.D.: (Sp.)Western Sahara
Sahara Occidental La Aguera: (Sp.) La Aguera
Saharan republic: Saharan republic, illegal issues, not issued by Morocco, based on UPU circular of Nov. 18, 2002
Sahraoui, République Arabe Démocratique: (Fr.) bogus, labels, does not exist, reported to the UPU April 10, 2000 by Morocco
S.A.I.D.E.: Service Aérien Internationale d’Egypte (Fr.); (International Air Service of Egypt) overprint on stamps of Egypt, 1948, for inaugural flights from Cairo to Athens and Rome
Saigon: Vietnam, now known as Ho Chi Minh City
Saint Christophe: (Fr.) St. Kitts
Saint Christopher: St. Christopher
Saint Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla: St. Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla
Saint Christopher Nevis, Anguilla: Beach Cricket inscription, unissued Great Britain cinderella by David Horry, 2001
Sainte Helene: (Fr.) St. Helena
Sainte Foy la Grande: local provisional, France, 1944
Sainte-Marie de Madagascar: French 1881: administered from Diego Suarez, 1894, April: first stamps issued, 1890: used stamps of Diego Suarez, 1898, Jan. 18: stamps withdrawn,
Saint Helena: St. Helena
Saint Helena Tristan Relief: overprint on stamps of St. Helena; semipostal for Tristan da Cunha, 1961
Saint James: local label, Danish West Indies, 1910?
Saint John’s College: local, United Kingdom, Cambridge, 1883-85
Saint Kilda: bogus local, United Kingdom
Saint Kitts: St. Kitts
Saint Louis: 1: U.S. postmaster provisional US 11X. 2: City Dispatch, US local post, 1851. 3: Clark & Hall’s Penny Post, U.S. local post, 1851. 4: Saint Louis City Delivery Company, US local post, 1883. 5: Smith & Stephens’ City Delivery, US Local post. 6: Squier & Co.’s Letter Dispatch, U.S. local post, 1859-60
Saint Lucia: St. Lucia
Saint Lucia Steam Conveyance Co., Ltd.: West Indies local post, 1871-72
Saint Marino: (Fr.) San Marino
Saint Petersburg: 1: Deutsch-Baltisches Comite; Russian local post, 1918. 2: “SPB” local overprint on stamps of Russia, 1992. 3. city in Russia, formerly known as Leningrad and Petrograd
Saint Pierre and Miquelon: St. Pierre and Miquelon
Saint Thomas and Prince Islands: St. Thomas and Prince Islands
Saint Thomas-Porto Rico: bogus local post, 1869
Saint Vincent: St. Vincent
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: St. Vincent Grenadines
Saisprezece: (Rom) sixteen (number)
Saizeci: (Rom) sixty (number)
S.A.K.: Saudi Arabia Kingdom
Sakha: 1: 2002, Jan. 14: illegal labels, purporting to be stamps, Russian Federation report to the UPU; not valid for postage. 2: city in Egypt, 1880, Interpostal seals
Sakhalin: 2002, Jan. 14: illegal labels, purporting to be stamps, Russian Federation report to the UPU; not valid for postage
Sakha-Yakutia: state at Yakutsk, cinderella local post, 1994
Sakura: specialized catalogue of Japan
SAL: Surface AirLift, form of overseas mailing
Salamanca: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces, 1938
Salamanca Province: province in western part of Spain near border of Portugal; 1868-69: provisional stamps used in the Spanish province; handstamped with “Habilitado Por La Nacion.” (Provisional Government) Spain 117f-122f, 1868-70
Salamon Szigetek: (Hung.) the Solomon Islands
Sale by tender: auction whereby the highest bidder gets the lot at the bid price, regardless of the next highest bidder’s offer
Salem, N. C. Paid 5: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Sales circuit: Circuit Book
Salhagar: city in Egypt, 1880, Interpostal seals
Salida: (Sp.) exit; used in post-Civil War censor marks as a “S” to indicate item was sent from the Censorship Department
Salinas: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Salins: local provisional; France; 1944
Salisburgo: also known as Salzburg, Austria.Salisbury: now known as Harare, Zimbabwe
Salisbury, N. C. Postage five cents: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
S. Allan Taylor Boston: inscription for Samuel Allan Taylor, stamp dealer, who produced many labels for sale to collectors
Sällsynt: (Swed.) scarce
Salobrena: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces, 1937-38
Salon de Provence: local provisional, France; 1944
Salonica: Greek seaport on the Aegean Sea, now known as Thessaloniki; 1912-pre: part of the Turkish Empire, 1909, Feb.: No.1, 10 paras on 5c green, “Salonicco” surcharge on stamps of Italy; Italian post office in the Levant; Russian post office in Turkish Empire, 1916: British post office in the Levant; Salonika and Salonique. WW I: base for Allied operations, WW II: occupied by Germany
Salonicco: Salonica; city in Egypt, 1868, Interpostal seals
Salonicco: Salonica; overprint on stamps of Italy for Italian Offices in the Turkish Empire; Salonika, 1919-11
Saloniceo: overprint on stamps of Italy for Italian Offices in Turkish Empire, Salonika
Salonika: 1911, overprint on stamps of Turkey for Sultan’s visit to Macedonia
Saloniki: (Ger.) Salonica
Salonique: city that was gateway to the Adriatic Coast; 1909-10; overprint on stamps of Russia; Russian Offices In the Turkish Empire, Salonica; issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Russian post office in the Turkish Empire
Saltillo: overprint on stamps of Mexico for this district, 1856-1883
Salung: unit of currency in Siam (Thailand)
Salvador, El: Pacific coast of Central America, formally known as El Salvador; official name of postal administration: Dirección General de Correos currency: 100 centavos = 8 reales = 1 peso, 100 centavos = 1 coló 1822, Sept. 2: became independent of Spain, 1841, Jan. 30: assumed formal name of El Salvador, 1867, May: No.1, ½ real blue, first stamp, 1879, April 1: joined the U.P.U., 1890-98: signed agreement with Seebeck for free stamps in exchange for the right of Seebeck to make and sell reprints to collectors, 1895: first postage due, parcel post stamp, 1896: first official stamp, 1897: first Acknowledgment of Receipt stamp, 1929, Dec. 28: first air mail stamp, 1931: first postal tax stamp
Salve Hospes: “National Tourist Assn.,” inscription on stamps of Netherlands for semipostal
Salvonia: bogus overprint on stamps of Yugoslavia overprinted for Bosnia Republic
Salzburg: province of Austria; 1921: local issue for plebiscite, 1945: AMG stamps issued for use during occupation
SAM: Space Available Airmail; to be sent via airmail if space is available, usually on US military transportation
Samalout: city in Egypt, 1880-84, Interpostal seals,
Samanoud: city in Egypt, 1864-84, Interpostal seals
Samara: local post; Russian Zemstvo; 1908
Samarinda: local overprint for Japanese Naval Control Area; Japanese occupation; 1942-45
Sambata: (Rom.) Saturday
Sambia: (Ger.) Zambia
Same Day Delivery: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Samenhanged: (Dut.) setenat
Sämisch: (Ger.) buff, brownish-yellow (color)
Samling: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) collection
Sammantryck: (Swed.) se-tenant
Sammaröarnas: (Fin.) used on steamships, carrying mail, serving Finland cities, 1913
Sammeln: (Ger.) collect; to assemble or bring together
Sammenhengende: (Nor.) se-tenant
Sammermarken: (Ger.) “Philatelic handling label” for careful canceling and handling of mail, supplied by postal authority, Germany
Sammler: (Ger.) collector, a person who collects, especially rare things
Sammlerverein: (Ger.) collector’s club
Sammlung: (Ger.) collection, an assembly of philatelic material
Samoa: : island in the South Pacific, east of Figi, aka Western Samoa; islands in the South Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and New Zealand; Stamps of this country can be found in these catalogs:Stanley Gibbons, Michel, Scott, Yvert et Tellier. Currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 pfenning = 1 mark (1900) 100 sene (cents) = 1 tala (dollar) (1967) 19th century, late: islands divided between Germany, Great Britain and the U.S.: 1877: first stamp, “Samoa Express,” postal service by local newspaper, Samoan Times, 1878: No.1,1 shilling, orange yellow, first stamp, 1881: service closed, but reprints exist, 1891: joined the U.P.U., however mail to the U.S.A. required an additional 5¢ American stamp to pay for inland delivery, 1895: “Samoa Postage” inscription on stamps, 1898: Britain withdrew, used overprinted stamps of Germany, 1900: (German Samoa) islands divided between Germany and the U.S.; #8220;Samoa” overprint on stamps of Germany, and German colonial keytypes, eastern group used U.S. stamps, 1914, Aug. 29: German dominated islands occupied by New Zealand, “G.R.I.” overprint on stamps of Germany and surcharged in New Zealand currency, 1914, Sept. 29: overprint “Samoa” on stamps of New Zealand, “G.R.I.” overprint on stamps of German Samoa and surcharged in New Zealand currency, 1920: mandated to New Zealand by the League of Nations, 1920s: mourning label issued by German stamp dealer Sigmund Hartig, 1921: New Zealand stamps replaced by stamps of Samoa, 1935, Aug. 7: “Western Samoa” inscribed / overprinted on stamps, 1962, Jan. 1: Western Samoa became independent, 1962, July 2: became the independent country of Samoa, stamps inscribed “Samoa I Sisifo” (Western Samoa), 1965, Dec. 29: first air mail stamp, 1966, Sept. 1: first semipostal stamp, 1977: name officially shortened to Samoa, 1989, Aug. 9: joined the U.P.U.; G.R.I
Samoa Express: local post, 1877-80
Samoa i Sisifo: (Samoan) Western Samoa, Independent State, 1958; Samoa
Samoa Occidental: (Fr.) Western Samoa
Samorzad Warwiszki: (Pol.) overprint on stamps of Poland for South Lithuania, Polish occupation, March 23-27, 1923
Samos: aka Vathy, Aegean Island; 1878-1912: Aegean Island; Ottoman Principality, Turkish control with British, French and Russian protection, 1894: stamps of France surcharged / overprinted “Vathy,” 1912, Nov. 14: captured by Greece from Turkey, provisional government; issued own stamps, No.1, 5 lira gray green, 1913, May 30: Samos united with Greece by the Treaty of London, stamps of Samos overprinted “Greece” in Greek letters, 1914: stamps of Greece used, WW II: occupied by Axis forces
“Sample (A)”: an overprint used on stamps instead of specimen; produced by the American Bank Note Co. at the request of the U.S. Post Office Department to avoid confusion with “Specimen” overprinted issues; 1889
Sample labels, stamps: security printer products to show prospective clients the capabilities of different printing processes
Sample Post: an international special rate for trade samples packed in small parcels
Samsoun: current name is Samsun; French post office opened Nov. 1857, closed Aug. 1914
SAN: 1: Sanabria’s Air Post Catalog 2: (Sp.) saint
Sanad, Sunnud: Indian States term for title deed, charter, etc
Sanahuja: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
San Antonio, Tex Paid 10: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Sanar: currency unit in Afghanistan
San Augustin: (Sp.) St. Augustine postal marking used in 1784
Sanda Island: Great Britain local carriage label, Scottish island, 1962
Sandia Crest: local post, New Mexico, delivered mail from a visitors’ center on top of the mountain Sandia Crest to the post office, 1956-61
Sand Dune States: 1960s nickname for desert sheikdoms that issued a large number of stamps
Sandjak d’Alexandrette: overprint on stamps of Syria for Alexandretta, 1938
Sanjak: local overprint on stamps of Yugoslavia; 1990s
Sands, A. B. & D.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Sands, M.P.J. & H.M.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Sandwich Islands: former name for the Hawaiian Islands, discovered by Capt. Cook in 1778, named by Cook after Earl of Sandwich
Sandzak: Jugoslavia labels
San Francisco: 1: California City Letter Express Co.; US local post; 1850s-60s. 2: California Penny Post Co.; 1850s-60s. 3: Carnes’ City Letter Express: US local post; 1864. 4: Gahagan & Howe City Express: US local post; 1864-70. 5: Reed’s City Despatch post; US local post; 1853-54. 6: William E. Loomis Letter Express; US local post; 1868
San Francisco Match Company: Private die match proprietary stamps. San Francisco roulettes: postal authorities found sheets in 1907 of the 2¢ carmine with shield on 1903, with horizontal perforations missing between two top rows; rouletted at San Francisco
Sang: unit of currency in Tibet
Sanita: (Sp.) marking on mail that has been fumigated so that the letter will not be a carrier of disease
Sanitary Fair stamp: unofficial stamps issued by the U.S. Sanitary Fair Commission and considered a forerunner of the Red Cross; 1863, Dec.: first stamps inscribed, “Young Ladies of Brooklyn Bazaar.”
Sanitatsstempel: (Ger.) postmark that the item has been disinfected
Sanitorium: with cross of Lorraine, inscription on stamps of Dominican Republic for postal tax
San Juan: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
San Juan de la Pena: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces, 1937
San Juan del Puerto: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces,1936-37
San Juan Despi: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1939
San Luis Potosi, State of: region in Mexico; 1914: revolutionary provisional stamps issued
San Marino: eastern Italy, European republic; currency: 100 centesimi = 1 Italian lira, 100 cents = 1 euro (2002) 1850-70; stamps of the Papal States, 1870-77: stamps of Italy, 1877, Aug. 1: No.1, 2 cents green, first stamp, 1897: first postage due stamp, 1907, April 25: first special delivery stamp, 1915, July 1: joined the U.P.U., 1917, Dec. 15: first semipostal stamp, 1923, Sept. 20: first semipostal special delivery stamp, 1928, Nov. 22: first parcel post stamp, 1931, June 11: first air mail stamp, 1933, Apr. 28: “Zeppelin” surcharge on air mail stamps, 1944, Apr. 25: first air mail semipostal stamp, WW II: not occupied by foreign powers
San Nicolas: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces, 1936
San Paulo: province of Brazil; revolutionary government issued stamps, Sept. 1932
Sans: (Fr.) without
Sans charnière: (Fr.) unhinged
Sans Dinero: (Without Money) South America mythical country
San Paulo: seceding state in Brazil; 1932
San Sebastian: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist and Republican forces, 1937
Sans gomme: (Fr.) ungummed
Sans-serif type: (without caps or serifs), type without an ornamental projection to one side of a letter, at top or bottom
Sans Valeur: (Fr.) without value overprint, used as a training stamp
Santa: city in Egypt,1879-84, Interpostal seals
Santa Ana la Real: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces, 1937
Santa Claus: children’s stamps; Toy stamps
Santa Claus post: label produced by Dennison, 1908-12
Santa Cruz de Tenerife: largest of the Canary Islands; 1936: Spanish stamps overprinted Viva Espana/18 Julio/1936, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist and Republican forces
Santa Cruz del Comercio: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces, 1937-38
Santafe: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces, 1937-38
Santa Fe Express: handwritten marking to indicate mail via the Missouri frontier via a military express
San-Tai: local post; Southwest China; 1949
Santa Landia: Christmas fantasy labels created by Maggie Kate
Santa Maria Albarracin: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist and Republican forces,1936
Santa Maura: aka Lefkas, Greek stamps with Italian overprints are fraudulent; Lefkas
Santander: 1: Department in Colombia, formerly a state; stamps issued 1884-1907. 2: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist and Republican forces, 1937 3: Correo Rapido de Santander; local post; 1926-28
Santapola: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Santavakia: Christmas fantasy labels created by Maggie Kate
Santiago de la Espada: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Santim: unit of currency in Hatay
Santimi, Santims, Santimu: 1923-25; surcharge, stamps of Latvia
Santi Quaranta: Epirus port bogus overprint on stamps of Italy, 1914
Santisteban del Puerto: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Santo Domingo: formerly Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic
San Tomas: local from Venezuela, 1864, used by Blohm, Nolting & Co., a German shipping company, that traveled between La Guaira, Puerto Cabello, St. Thomas (Danish Antilles) and Curazao (Curacao)
Sant Petersburg: (Rus.) Saint Petersburg, straight line cancel, about 1819-21
Sao Paulo: 1932, Sep.13: stamps issued by revolutionary forces; stamps later recognized by the government for general use
S.A.O.R. Eire: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Saorstát Eireann 1922: overprint on stamps of Great Britain for use in Free State of Ireland, Dec. 1922, 1925-27
Sao Tome and Principe: St. Thomas and Prince Islands
Saouakin: city in Egypt, 1868-82, Interpostal seals
SAPDA: South African Philatelic Dealers Association
Sapozhok: local post; Russian Zemstvo; 1870-1913
Saptamâna: (Rom.) week
Sapte (Rom.) seven (number)
Saptesprezece: (Rom) seventeen (number)
Saptezeci: (Rom) thirty (number)
S. Ar.: (Sp.) Sevilla Aracena, Spain, pre-adhesive postmark
SAR: Syria; Syrian Arab Republic
S.A.R.: South African Railways
Sar.; Sard.: (It.) Kingdom of Sardinia, pre-adhesive postmark
Sarafou, Principality of: three islands issued labels, 175 leagues from the Phoenix Islands
Saransk: local post, Russian Zemstvo; 1908
Sarapul: local post, Russian Zemstvo; 1893-94
Saratoff: city in Russia, local post, Russian Zemstvo; 1869-1879
Sarawak: northwest coast of the island of Borneo; currency: 100 cents = 1 dollar 1869, March 1: No.1, 3¢ brown yellow, stamps first issued, British protectorate, 1941, Dec.17-Sept. 11, 1945: Japanese occupation issue, stamps of Sarawak overprinted in Japanese, 1945, Nov.1: British military administration, stamps of Australia used, 1945, Dec. 17: Sarawak stamps overprinted “BMA” (British Military Administration), 1946, April 15: civil government restored, 1946, July 1: first stamp, ceded to Great Britain, became a Crown Colony, 1963, Sept.: joined the Federation of Malaysia, uses their stamps with overprint “Sarawak.”
Sarawak: Mad Dogs and Englishman, inscription, unissued Great Britain cinderella by David Horry, 2001
Sârb: (Rom) Serbian (adj.)
Sardaigne: (Fr.) Sardinia
Sardegna: (It.) Sardinia
Sardinia, Kingdom of: Kingdom of Savoy, Piedmont and Sardinia; formed in 1815; 1817: world’s first postal stationery, carried by private agencies, each sheet embossed with a figure of a horse and rider, known as “little horses,” 1851, Jan. 1: No.1, 5 centesimi gray-black, first adhesive stamps issued, variations re-issued in 1853, 1854, 1855, 1855: Sardinia issue (imperforate) is identical to first issue of Italy (perforated), 1860: King of Sardinia became King of Italy, Savoy and Nice ceded to France, 1860: states of Italy joined Sardinia; Modena (March 16); Parma (March 18); Tuscany (March 22) and Romagna (March 25), 1861, March 17: became the Kingdom of Italy, 1862: stamps issued as Kingdom of Italy
Sardinien: (Dan., Ger., Nor., Swed.) Sardinia
Sardin’ Island: Swiss origin fantasy
Sárga: (Hung.) yellow (color)
Sárga Papíron: (Hung.) (on) yellow paper (color)
Sárgásbarna: (Hung.) yellow(ish)-brown (color)
Sárgászöld: (Hung.) yellow(ish)-green (color)
Sargent’s Express: private mail delivery serviced Boston and Lowell, Mass., used a label, 1850
Sark: island in English Channel, Guernsey Dependency, 1919-39: used British stamps, 1937: air service to Jersey, 1939 to Guernsey, 1962-1971: local posts
Sarkari: overprint on stamps of Saurashtra for official use
Saroelangoen: local overprint for Palembang district of Sumatra; 1942-45
Sarral: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Sarroca: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
SAS: Sassone Specialized Italy Postage Stamp Catalog
SASE: “Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope” is an unused envelope addressed to the sender with return postage affixed. Many stamp correspondents will not reply unless you include a SASE
Sase: (Rom.) six (number)
Saseno: island in harbor of Valeno, Albania; currency: 100 centesimi = 1 lira 1914: seized by Italy, 1923, April: “Saseno” overprint on stamps of Italy, 1947: returned to Albania by the Treaty of Paris
Sassone: specialized catalogue of Italian area, includes Trieste, San Marino, Vatican and more
Satang: currency unit in Siam, Thailand
SATAS: Societé pour l’Affranchissement et le Timbrage Automatiques (Fr.) postage meter firm founded in 1934, headquartered in Paris
Satellite, French A-1; D-1: common design on stamps of the French Community of Nations, 1965-66
Satellite Post Office: postal facility that has counter services, accepts mail and packages and sells stamps, but does not have any mailboxes
Satinado: (Sp.) glazed, glossy
S Atlantic Fund: surcharge on stamps of Barbuda
Satzpreis: (Ger.) price for a complete set
Satzware: (Ger.) series, stamps in set
Saudi Arabia: on the Arabian peninsula between Red Sea and Persian Gulf, formerly Al Arabitan as-Saudiyah; currency: 40 paras = 1 piaster = 1 guerche (garch, qirsh), 11 guerche = 1 riyal (1928) 110 guerche = 1 sovereign (1931), 440 guerche = 1 sovereign (1952) 20 piasters (guerche) = 1 riyal (1960), 100 halalas = 1 riyal (1976) 1916: Grand Sherif of Mecca established the Arab State “Sanjak of Hejaz” and “Lawrence of Arabia” drove out the Turks, 1916, Oct.: first stamps issued considered as first issue of Hejaz and forerunner to those of Saudi Arabia, 1917, June 27: first Hejaz postage due stamps, 1921, Dec. 21: stamps for the Kingdom of Hejaz, 1925: No.1, 5 piaster ocher, first issues of the Nejd Administration of Hejaz on Turkish stamps, 1925, April: first Nejdi Administration of Hejaz postage due stamps, 1925: first newspaper stamp; may be unofficial, 1927, Jan. 1: joined the U.P.U. 1932: renamed Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1934, Jan.1: No. 1, 1/4 guerche yellow green, first stamps for Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 1934, May 15: first postal tax stamp, 1937: first postage due stamp, 1939: first official stamp, 1949: first air mail stamp, Hejaz-Nejd
Saudiarabien: (Swed.) Saudi Arabia
Saugor Island: local post; United Kingdom; rocket dispatch; 1934
Saunders’ Express: private mail delivery firm serviced Mass. and N. H.; used labels, 1860s
Saurashtra: State in India, 1948: United States of Saurashtra formed of 216 former states on the Kathiawar Peninsula of India, 1949-50; stamps issued, 1956: became part of the Bombay State; Soruth
Säuregehalt: (Ger.) acidity
Sav.: Savannah (Georgia) pre-adhesive postmark
Savage Republic: rock band labels
Savannah, Ga. paid 5, paid 10: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Savannah, Georgia: occupied by British from 1778 to 1781
Saventhem: Belgian church fair label
Saverne: 1: local provisional; France; 1944. 2: Local for Alsace; German occupation; 1944
Savings Stamps: U. S. War Savings Certificate Stamp
Savona: Co. Nazionaldi Liberazione; local post; Italian liberation; 1944?
Savory & Co.’s Express: private mail and parcel delivery serviced Boston and Salem, Mass.; used labels, 1849-73
Sawin’s Express: local express firm serviced Boston and Cambridge, Mass., used labels, year unknown
Saw-tooth: roulette type that gives the perforation a saw tooth appearance; British used term when automatic vending machines got out of register with the grips
Saxony: central Germany, German State, aka Sachsen; currency: 10 pfennings = 1 neu-groschen, 30 neu-groschen = 1 thaler 1850, June 29: No.1, 3 pfennings brick red, first stamps issued, inscribed Sachsen, 1850, July: joined the Austro-German Postal Union, 1852-66: used double circle with crossed design as postmark, 1868, Jan. 1: stamps of the North German Confederation, 1871: became part of the German Empire, 1872: stamps of the German Empire, then the Weimar government, followed by stamps of the Third Reich, 1945: Saxony Province; issued “Provinz Sachsen” stamps under Russian occupation, 1945: East Saxony (Dresden) issued stamps under German occupation, 1945: West Saxony (Leipzig) issued local stamps under Russian occupation, 1946, Feb. 12: West Saxony issued semipostal issues under Russian occupation, 1946, Jan 19: Saxony Province; issued semipostal stamp under Russian occupation, subsequently part of the German Democratic Republic
S. Ay.: (Sp.) Sevilla Ayamonte (Spain) pre-adhesive postmark
Sayalonga: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces, 1938
Sayles, Welcome B.: postmaster, Providence, RI, 1844-46, issued Postmaster’s Provisional stamps
SB: 1: softbound. 2: stock book, suggested bid. 3: boat: steamboat, pre-adhesive postmark
SBZ: (Ger.) Soviet Occupation Zone, Germany
SC: 1: USPS abbreviation for South Carolina. 2: auction abbreviation for stampless. 3: souvenir cover. 4: Stamp Collecting, Great Britain publication. 5: Small Crown (British Watermark). 6: Scott Catalogue. 7: South Carolina, pre-adhesive postmark
SC: Supreme Court, South Australia official overprint, 1868-74
sc.: (Lat.) signifying the stamp’s artist
S.c: small crown, watermark
SCADS: Stamp Collectors Against Dodgy Sellers; formed in 2002 to educate collectors about fakes, forgeries, etc
S.C.A.D.T.A.: Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aéros; (Sp.) a South American air line which issued private stamps until 1932; 1928, Aug. 28 – Dec.27, 1930: private air firm under government contract had their own stamps to show the airmail fee, 1932: succeeded by Avianca
Scale print: each color printed separately
Scanalatura: (It.) ribbed
Scandinavie: (Fr.) Scandinavia
Scanning marks: refers to electric eye markings, dashes, guides, etc
Scarab cancel: appears vaguely like a beetle
Scarab seal: seal, scarab
Scarce Plate Number: a plate number that had a limited printing
Scarpanto: overprint on stamps of Italy, offices in Scarpanto, Aegean Islands; 1912-32
Scarpanto: Dodecanese Island, Aegean Sea 1912 – pre: used stamps of Turkey, 1912: No.1, 2 centesimi orange brown, overprint on stamps of Italy, offices in Scarpanto, 1920: Turkey ceded group to Italy, 1943, Sept.: became part of Greece, 1943: reoccupied by German forces, 1945: liberated by Allied forces, 1945, May 21: stamps of Britain overprinted “M.E.F.” (Middle East Forces), when islands transferred to Greece, 1946, April 17: British post offices closed, 1947: stamps of Greece overprinted “S.D.D.” (Dodecanese Military Occupation), 1947, summer: stamps of Greece used
SCCS: Space City Cover Society
Sceau: (Fr.) seal
Sceau d’Noël: (Fr.) Christmas seal
Scenic cancellation: Japanese postmark with a graphical representation of a geographical or historical design of cultural significance to the community in which the post office is located
Scented stamps: Luxembourg had the scent of cinnamon on the selvage of panes of its 2002 Christmas stamp issue
SCF: Stamp Collector’s Fortnightly (Great Britain)
Sch: (Schilling) currency in German States
Schabatz, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built around 1870s, for middle Danube lines
Schach: (Ger.) chess (thematic)
Schaden: (Ger.) defect, damage
Schädliche Ausgabe: (Ger.) issued mainly to exploit the collector
Schalterbogen: (Ger.) pane of stamps as sold by the post office
Schätzpreis: (Ger.) Estimated value
Schätzung: (Ger.) appraisal
Scheetz’s Celebrated Bitter Cordial: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Schenck & Son: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Schenck’s Mandrake Pills: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Schenck’s Pulmonic Syrup: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Schermack Company: Schermack Mailing Machine Co., Detroit, Mich., type of interrupted perforation to permit feeding through automatic vending machines. manufacturer of stamp vending machines, 1906-26, to be used with its machine that sealed envelopes and affixed stamps to them; perforations noted for their distinctive long slots
Schermack perfin: made a series of nine pin holes in US 1908 series postage stamps perforated by Schermack Co. as a security device for its customers against pilferage by dishonest employees; missing pin holes stood for a code assigned to each firm
Schernikow die proofs: die proofs or essays printed from the original master dies for the 1861 and 1871 issues; printed in ten colors on proof paper, colored card stock and pelure papers; dies acquired by Ernest Schernikow when Philadelphia Bank Note Company went bankrupt; he created “breakdown die proofs” in order to produce a series of prints showing the development of the design; also known as “breakdown die proofs.”
Schiavi Press: Multi-Color Corp., subcontractor for American Bank Note Co., prints 19 rows of 36 stamps
Scientific Expedition stamps: official and unofficial stamps created specially for the use of expeditions
Schiff: (Ger.) ship
Schiffpost: (Ger.) ship post
Schiffsbrief: (Ger.) ship letter
Schilling: currency unit in Austria, old German states
Schlesien: (Ger.) Silesia
Schleswig: 1920s: mourning plebiscite label issued by German stamp dealer Sigmund Hartig
Schleswig-Holstein: northern Germany, German state; currency: 100 pfennig = 1 mark, 100 ore = 1 krone, 16 schillings = 1 mark 1848-51: autonomous territory, 1864-pre: placed under Danish rule, 1850, Nov. 15: No.1, 1 schilling dull blue, greenish blue, first stamps by revolutionary government, protesting Danish rule, used circle design of bars as postmark, 1851, May 1: Danish rule, Danish stamps used in Schleswig, withdrawn March 31, 1864, 1853, July 1: Danish rule, Danish stamps used in Holstein, withdrawn Feb, 29, 1864, 1864, Aug. 1: Denmark defeated by Prussia and Austria, Schleswig and Holstein each issued own stamps, 1865: combined Duchies issue for both territories, but individual duchies issued own stamps, 1865, Nov.1: Schleswig awarded to Prussia, Holstein to Austria, 1866: Prussia defeated Austria, took over both territories, became province of Prussia, 1866, Nov. Schleswig and Holstein stamps could be used in either duchy, 1868, Jan.1: stamps of the North German Confederation, 1871: stamps of the German Empire, 1920, Jan. 25: stamps inscribed “Slesvig Plebiscit” followed by “1 Zone” and “C.I.S” Commission Interalliee Slesvig, as a result of the plebiscite, North Schleswig became part of Denmark, south Schleswig remaining part of Germany, one set of stamps in German currency and another with values in Danish currency issued, 1920, Jan. 25: No.1, 2 ½ pfennigs gray, 1920s: mourning plebiscite label issued by German stamp dealer Sigmund Hartig. 1920: first official stamp, 1920, July 9: stamps withdrawn from northern zone, replaced with stamps of Denmark
Schleswig Zone 1: Northern zone, to Denmark; 1920 Scott Schleswig 15-28
Schleuderflugpost: (Ger.) catapult mail
Schliersee: city in Germany, local post; 1918-23
Schlitz: (Ger.) slit
Schloss: (Ger.) castle
Schmalrandig: (Ger.) with narrow margins
Schmetterling: (Ger.) butterfly (thematic)
Schmitt & Schmittdiel: Private die match proprietary stamps
Schmölin: city in Germany, (Express-Packet-Beförderung) local post; 1891
Schnittmarkierung: (Ger.) guide line printed on sheets for separation into panes
Schöenebeck/Elbe: city in Germany, (Privatstadtbrief-Beförderung Courier) local post 1895-1900
Schololaden: (Ger.) chocolate (color)
Schön: (Ger.) fine
Schönfalz: (Ger.) peelable hinge
Schongau: displaced persons camp, German, 1946
School stamps: private adhesive stamps used by schools for service payment to and from nearby post offices
Schottland: (Ger.) Scotland
Schránka: Postovní schránka (shránky)
Schriftstempel: (Ger.) script cancel
Schrifttum: (Ger.) literature
Schriftverkehr: (Ger.) correspondence
Schroeter Local Post: Bergen – F. Schroeter Local Post
Schutzaufdruck: (Ger.) burelage
Schutzgebiet: (Ger.) protectorate, colony
Schutzgebietdruck: (Ger.) colony overprint
Schwaan: city in Germany, (Privat-Post) local post; 1899-1900
Schwacher bug: (Ger.) slight crease
Schwach Gestempelt: (Ger.) lightly cancelled
Schwaren: unit of currency in the German state of Oldenburg
Schwartz, J. E. & Co.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Schwarz: (Ger.) black (color)
Schwarzdruck: (Ger.) black printing
Schwarzenberg: city in Germany, local post; 1945
Schweden: (Ger.) Sweden
Schweiz: (Dan., Ger., Nor., Swed.) Switzerland
Schweizer Post.Vaduz: inscription on local stamp issued by Vaduz municipal council, 1918, to frank mail from Liechtenstein to Sevelen, Switzerland
Schweizer Reneke: town, southwest of Pretoria, in the Transvaal; 1900, Aug.1- Jan. 9, 1901: town where stamps of Transvaal, and colony of Cape of Good Hope were handstamped “Beseiged” by British troops
Schweizisk: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Swiss
Schwer Gestempelt: (Ger.) heavily cancelled
Schwerete: city in Germany, local post ((Private-Brief-Verkehr) 1887-88
Schwindelmarke: (Ger.) bogus stamp
Scinde: province of Sind in India; 1850: system of camel mail riders introduced, 1852, July 1: established July 1, 1852; using horses and camels, the governor of Sind, established a system of prepaid letter service, stampscalled “Scinde Dawks,” 1853: the Indian government took over the postal operation for the entire country 1854, Oct. postal service was discontinued; it is now Pakistan
Scinde District Dawk: first issue of India; India-Scinde District Post
Scio: city in Egypt (Ottoman Empire); 1868, Interpostal seals
Sciupato: (It.) damaged
SCM: Stamp Collector’s Magazine
Scolorito: (It.) faded (color)
Scooter Messengers: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Scotland: 1840: British stamps valid for postage throughout Great Britain, 1958, Aug. 18: regional stamps inscribed “Postage Revenue,” except for Machin issues which includes the “Lion of Scotland.”
Scotland local cancellations: undated name stamps used at small post offices from 1854 to 1860
Scott Catalogue: American based stamp catalogs of the world
Scott Catalogue number: number assigned to a philatelic item by Scott editors according to that publisher’s criteria for such assignment
Scottish Lion: national symbol of Scotland used in upper right-hand corner of stamps from Scotland
Scott’s Express: local railroad and steamboat baggage delivery serviced Jersey City, N.J., used a label, year unknown
Scout Post: postal services operated by the scouts, usually in periods of emergency; Mafeking, Prague, Warsaw Ghetto Rising
Scouts Fund: overprint on stamps of Siam; semipostal
Scovell, Hezekiah W.: postmaster, Lockport, N.Y., 1846, used oval handstamp as Postmasters’ Provincial
Scovill, A.L. & Co.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
SCR: Stamp Collector’s Review (Great Britain)
Scrambled indicia: name given to hidden encoded imagery used on U. S. stamps; Decoder, Encoded Designs; Stamp decoder
Scrape: an abrasion of the stamp surface which removes or moves paper fiber
Scratchboard: technique in stamp production that looks like traditional line engraving
Screened Tagging: made of thin lines, or a dot pattern that appears to be lines, when seen with low magnification
Screw press: press pressure applied by turning of a screw-threaded bar
Scrim envelopes: Palestine Postal Authority scrim-lined linen envelopes ordered in 1921
Script: a type-face resembling handwriting
Scrisorei: Romania Moldavia-Wallachia
Scroll: 1: curved device located within frame of some stamps. 2: British postmark with a curved name panel instead of the circular date stamp. 3: nickname for scroll with word “Canada” at the top of each design, starting August 1928
Scudo: currency unit in the Roman States
Scum: colored flaw
Scutari di Albania: (Town of Albania) northern part of Albania; 1479-1913: under Turkish rule, 1909-16: No.1, 10 paras on 5c green, “Scutari di Albania” surcharge on stamps of Italy in Turkish currency, Offices in Turkey, 1914: “Scutari-Skadar” postmark on stamps of Montenegro and Albania, 1918-19: occupied by Allied forces, fiscal stamps of Austria overprinted “Posta Shkodres Shqypnis,” Italian Offices in Turkish Empire
Scutit de taxe postale: (Rom.) post-free
SCV: Scott Catalog Value
SD: 1: USPS abbreviation for South Dakota. 2: topical association abbreviation for stamp design. 3: small date variation on U.S. stamps. 4. international postal code for Swaziland; 4: Haiti provisional overprint. 5: Stamp Duty; Hong Kong fiscal overprint, 1891
S.D.C.: (Sp.) Santo Domingo de la Calzada, pre-adhesive postmark
S.D.D.: (Gr.) Stratiotiki Dioikisis Dodecanissou (Military Administration of the Dodecanese Islands) overprint on stamps of Greece for Rhodes and the Dodecanese, Mar. 31, 1947
SdeB: Samuel DeBinder, BEP employees initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
S.D.N.: (Fr.) Société des Nations (League of Nations); overprint on stamps of Switzerland
S.d.N. Bureau International du Travail: International Labor Bureau, overprint on stamps of Switzerland, official
SDO: Stamp Distribution Office; suppliers of U.S. stamps for either philatelic or standard sales
SE: 1: Straight edge. 2: watermark on stamps of Ireland are the initials of “Saorstat Eireann” (Irish Free State). 3: precedes the European postal code on addresses in Sweden, such as SE-532 Skara.
Seabury & Johnson: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp.
Sea Floor Bahamas: cancel on mail posted in the bathysphere at the bottom of the sea in Nassau Marine Garden, Aug. 1939
Sea horses: nickname for the British King George V high value stamps of 1913-34
Sea Islands: bogus, labels, year, source unknown
Seal: 1: an ornamental paper stamp, such as a Christmas seal; a cinderella. 2: a design, initial or other device placed on a document or letter as a signature or proof of authenticity. 3: letter seals of Egypt, 1932, for use by British forces in Egypt for lower rate on letters to G.B; replaced in 1936 by the “Army Post” stamps
Sealand: Great Britain fantasy country, made from abandoned WW II concrete platform made into kingdom; source unknown
Seal, charity: Christmas and Easter seals, not valid for postage
Seal, dead letter: seal used to seal letters that were opened to find a forwarding address
Seal, disinfection: letter was opened in the disinfection center, exposed to sulfur fumes and re- sealed with an official seal confirming that the mail piece received this disinfection treatment
Sealed coil: a full roll of coil stamps that is in the original condition as sold at the post office
Seal, lead: lead used to “seal” a letter into which was pressed the sender’s distinctive mark; high government officials used lead as the sealant
Seal, letter: usually round, may be embossed; used by government departments and private firms as a form of advertising
Seal, official: U.S. Post Office Department, in 1877, used official seals to reseal undeliverable letters; they do not pay postage
Seal, registry: used to seal registered mail
Seal, scarab: seal carvings engraved on the flat surface of stone scarabs, the emblem of the sacred beetle, and used as rings or fitted into handles and used to impress sealing wax on papyrus as authentication of a message
Seal, wafer: In 13th century Venice, messages were folded and tied with string; the string ends were adhered to the letter with a blob of sealing wax, overlaid with a small piece of paper, called a wafer, this was inserted into a rudimentary form of a press, which then sealed the paper into the seal attached to the letter
Seal, wax: formerly, molten wax “sealed” a letter into which was pressed the sender’s distinctive seal
Sea Mail: paquebot marking
Seapost: operations and markings of governmental postal employees operating a post office aboard a seagoing ship on a route where a fixed schedule is maintained
Search fee: New York City postmaster held mail addressed to countries that were invaded by Germany in WW II, advertised in newspapers that for a fee, based on time, held mail would be searched for letters which senders wanted returned; postage due stamps were affixed to the letters when returned to sender
Seasonal gum: gum formula calculated to make the gum resistant to the weather and atmospheric conditions
Seasons Greetings: U.S. undenominated stamp, valued 20¢, placed on sale Oct. 28, 1981
Seaway Invert: variety of the 1959 issue printed upside down
Seaway Issue: The St. Lawrence Seaway issue of Canada; famous because of inverted center
Sebastopol: bogus Ukranian local overprint
Secap: Societé d’Etudes et de Construction d’Appareils de Précision (Fr.) French postage meter firm, 1994
Secheresse Solidarite Africane: (Fr.) overprint on stamps of Gabon, 1973, for African solidarity in drought emergency
Secondaire (Collection): (Fr.) sideline or secondary (collection)
Second Bureau Issue: second set of definitive stamps issued by the BEP, 1902
Second Class Mail: former name of Periodicals-Class Mail
Second Day: ceremony conducted by postal officials on the day after stamp issuance, in locations different than the first day of issue city
Second day cover: cover postmarked on the day following the First Day of Issue; popular in the 1940s when the stamps were available at the Philatelic Agency in Washington, DC on the second day
Second issue: replacement for first issues of U.S. revenue stamps, slightly different than first issue; most printed with blue frames and black vignettes; 1871
Second Issue revenues: enacted Dec. 25, 1862, where any type of stamp could be used to indicate the prepayment of any U.S. tax, featured state seal medallions for the engraved central designs
Secours: “Relief” used on stamps of Saudi Arabia semipostals
Secours aux Refugies: “refugee relief” inscription, with airlaine, on 1925-31 stamps of Syria.
Secours aux Victims de la Guerre: “Relief for victims of the war” inscription on stamps of Haiti semipostals
Secours Guerche: inscription on postal tax stamp, Saudi Arabia
Secours National: (Fr.) (National Relief) overprint on stamps of French Colonies semipostals
Secret mark: 1: identification mark, not easily seen in the stamp design. 2: marks placed on dies of U.S. stamps which the National bank Note Co. turned over to its successor, the Continental Bank Note Co, in 1873
Sector: the sixth and seventh digits of a ZIP + 4 code; it is a geographic portion of a ZIP Code area or a rural route, several blocks or a large building, part of a post office box section, or an official designation; Segment
Sécurité (papier de): (Fr.) safety (paper)
Security overprint: applied to a stamp with the specific purpose of discouraging forgery
Security paper: various types of paper used to prevent stamp counterfeiting
Security Services: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Security watermark: used to guard against postal misuse.Sedang: fantasy stamp of Annam Kingdom; IndoChina, 1899; by Marie David de Mayrena, considered a classic bogus issue
Sedá: (Czech.) grey (color)
Sedavi: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Sedella: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces, 1937
Sede vacante: vacant , period between the death of an religious ruler and appointment of his successor; Vatican City overprint, inscription
Sedfa: city in Egypt; 1884, Interpostal seals
Sedocerná: (Czech.) grey-black (color)
Sedofiolová: (Czech.) grey-violet, grey-purple (color)
Sedohnedá: (Czech.) grey-brown (color)
Sedomodrá: (Czech.) grey-blue (color)
Sedoolivová: (Czech.) grey-olive (color)
Sedozelená: (Czech.) grey-green (color)
Seebecks: a nickname given to certain issues of Ecuador (1892-96), Honduras (1890-99), Nicaragua (1890-99) and Salvador (1890-99). Nicholas Frederick Seebeck, as agent for the Hamilton Bank Note Company, printed stamps for these countries at no charge in exchange for the right to sell remainders and reprints to stamp collectors
Seedorf: displaced person camp, Germany; 1946
Seelye, Dr. D. H. & Co.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Seepost stempel: (Ger.) sea mail cancel
Se faner: (Fr.) faded (color)
Sefkat Pullari: Turkey postal tax
Segment: the eighth and ninth digits of a ZIP + 4 code; a specific block , apartment house bank of boxes, a firm, a floor in a large building, or other specific location; Sector
Segnatasse: (It.) “Sign Tax” postage due stamps of Italian Colonies, Italy, San Marino, Vatican; 1863-69
Segno di Controllo: (It.) control mark
Segno di garanzia: (It.) marking applied to stamps by the issuing agency indicting that the stamp is genuine and valid for postal use; also “expert’s mark.”
Segno segreto: (It.) secret identification mark, not easily seen in the stamp design
Segorbe: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Segovia: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces 1936-38
Seguis: (Sp.) applied to forgeries produced by Sr. Segui
Segunda Republica: (Sp.) The 2nd Spanish Republic of 1931
Seguro Postal: (Sp.) ‘Safe Post’ inscription on stamps of Mexico for insured letter stamps
Seguro Social del Campesino: (Sp.) ‘Social and Rural Workers Insurance Fund’ overprint on Ecuador postal tax stamps
Seid eining, einig, einig!: (Ger.) ‘Be One, One, One’ inscription on Germany stamp as propaganda for union of North and South Germany, 1900
Seidenfaden: (Ger.) silk thread
Seite: (Ger.) side, page
Seiyun, Kathiri State of: Aden
Sejm Wilnie: (Lith.) inscription on stamps of Central Lithuania (Litwa Srodkowa) for opening of national parliament at Vilna, 1922
Sejour: residence permit; French Colonies revenue inscription
Sekajoe: local overprint; Japanese occupation Palembang district, Sumatra; 1942-45
Seks: (Dan., Nor.) six (number)
Seksstripe: (Nor.) strip-of-6
Seksten: (Dan.) sixteen (number)
Seksti: (Nor.) sixty (number)
Selangor: Malaya; on west coast of the Malay Peninsula; 1878: No.1, 2¢ brown, an overprint on stamps of Straits Settlements,”S” in a circle, stamps were for local postage only; used in combination with stamps of Straits Settlements for overseas mail until 1891, 1881: Selangor inscribed in stamps, 1895: joined the Federated Malay States, 1900: used Federated Malay States issues, 1935, Dec. 2: name Malaya used on stamps, 1942, May-1945: Japanese characters and “Dai Nippon 2062 Malaya” and “Dai Nippon Yubin” (Japanese Postal Service 1942) overprint, 1942-48: stamp shortage caused stamps of Selanger to be used in other states, 1948, Dec. 1: first stamp, 1949, Sept. 12: first definitive, 1957: stamps of the Malayan Federation used along with those of Selanger, 1963, Sept.: became part of the new Federation of Malaysia, 1965, Nov. 15: used designs of Johore, inscribed Selangor, on stamps of Malaysia
Selantan: South Moluccas (unrecognized issue)
Selbstklebende marken: (Ger.) self-adhesive stamps
Selbstklebepostkarte: (Ger.) self-adhesive postcard; Folded Business Card
Selective block tagging: untagged area on printed stamps permits the cancellation ink to permeate the stamp paper to help prevent illegal use
Self-adhesive stamp (S/A): adhesive on stamp back that does not have to be moistened to adhere to paper, also known as pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA); stay tacky at room temperature and require a silicone coated paper to facilitate their use, do not require licking to activate, first used by Sierra Leone on Feb. 10, 1964, US in 1974
Self Government 1947: overprint on stamps of Malta to commemorate the granting of the constitution in 1947
Self-service: term applied to covers that have been serviced, such as getting own cancels, applying stamps, etc., by collectors themselves
Self-service registration stamps: German Democratic Republic issued registration labels with a fee for special handling, 1967-68
Seller’s commission: pre-determined commission or fee deducted from the final price of the lot and kept by the auctioneer as part of the commission for selling the lot
Selling Price: the price a seller can realize from the sale of a philatelic item
Sello: (Sp.) 1: postage stamp. 2: seal (philatelic)
Sello 10 A 1896Y97: overprint or alone on stamps of Fernando Po for revenue use
Sello aéreo: (Sp.) airmail stamp
Sello ano 100: (Sp.) jubilee (century)
Sello commemorativo: (Sp.) commemorative stamp
Sello da Tasa: (Sp.) postage due
Sello de Admisión: (Sp.) admission stamp
Sello de Aviso de Recibo: (Sp.) stamp issued as a prepayment fee as an acknowledgment of receipt of a registered package
Sello de beneficencia: (Sp.) charity, or semi-postal stamp
Sello de certificado: (Sp.) registration stamp
Sello de Ciudad Postal: (Sp.) city post stamp
Sello de Correo Aéreo Semioficial: (Sp.) issued privately, but accepted by the postal agency. “Buffalo Balloon” stamp is an example
Sello de Correo Carlista: (Sp.) Carlist stamp of Spain
Sello de correos de campaña: (Sp.) field post stamp
Sello de corro maritimo: (Sp.) ships post
Sello de Cuoto tardio: (Sp.) late fee stamp indicating payment of a special fee for forwarding a mail piece after the regular mail has been closed; also known as supplementary mail
Sello de derechos consulares: (Sp.) consular fee stamp; Tangiers, 1939 with overprint
Sello de devolucion: (Sp.) stamp used in fee payment for the return of an undelivered letter
Sello de entraga autorizaro por paquetes postales: (Sp.) authorized deliverystamp, parcel post
Sello de entrage autorizaro por carta: (Sp.) authorized delivery stamp, correspondence
Sello de franqueo insuficiente: (Sp.) postage due stamp
Sello de giro (postal): (Sp.) money order stamp
Sello de guerra: (Sp.) war stamp, stamp issued during war conditions
Sello de impuesto: (Sp.) tax stamp
Sello de Navidad: (Sp.) Christmas seal
Sello de Recargo: (Sp.) stamp used in payment of postal tax in addition to normal postage
Sello de Urgencia: (Sp.) special delivery stamp
Sello encapsulado: (Sp.) encased postage stamp
Sello falso: (Sp.) forgery
Sello fiscal: (Sp.) revenue stamp
Sello negro: (Sp.) handstamp with arms of Castille & Leon on official letters in earl 18th century
Sello para cartas retardadas: (Sp.) too late stamp
Sello para Periódicos: (Sp.) newspaper stamp
Sello pegado al sobre: (Sp.) stamp on cover
Sello Postal: overprint on demonitzed issues of Nicaragua to validate issue for use
Sello tipo: (Sp.) definitive stamp
Sellos de Correos-Resena Historica: (Sp.) private issue, Spain, by A. Duro, 1881
Sellos sobre fragmento: (Sp.) stamps on piece
Selma, Ala.: Confederate States of America, 3¢ 1861 Postmasters’ Provisionals
Selma, Ala. Paid 5: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
S.E. Local Post: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Selten: (Ger.) rare, scarce
Selvage (Selvedge): the unprinted paper on the edge or margin of a sheet of stamps
Selwyn College: local, United Kingdom, Cambridge, 1882
Sembellawin: city in Egypt; 1879-84, Interpostal seals
Semblable: (Fr.) similar
Sem denteaçâo: (Port.) imperforate
Semenov, Gen.: stamps of Russia surcharged under general’s occupation
Semeuse camée: (Fr.) sower on solid background
Semeuse lignée: (Fr.) sower on lined background
Semi-gloss gum: moisture activated stamp adhesive; displays a moderate degree of light reflection, aka Low Gloss or Satin Gum
Semi-imperforate: a stamp that has at least one imperforate side and one side with perforations. Imperforate and Fully imperforate
Semi-official: stamps used in connection with private postal use, but having official sanction such as the railway letter fee stamps of England, or the U.S. Buffalo Balloon covers where their delivery started in a private balloon and taken to the nearest post office where it continued on to its destination courtesy of the U.S. Mails
Semi-official air mail stamp: private firms operating air services carried mail and some issued their own private labels to indicate payment of the air mail fee; in addition to the normal postage as indicated on government postage stamp
Semipostal: an additional monetary value, called a surcharge, devoted to a specific non-postal purpose such as the Red Cross; the surcharge has no postal validity and is usually separated from the official postal value with a “+” sign, aka Charity Stamps
Semlin, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built around 1840s, for middle Danube lines
Sen: currency unit in Indonesia, Japan, Malaya, Malaysia, Ryukyu Islands and West Irian
Señal de charnela: (Sp.) hinge mark
Senalguacil: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces, 1937
Senant: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Sendung: (Ger.) sending, consignment
Sene: unit of currency in Western Samoa
Senegal: west coast of Africa, bordering on the Atlantic Ocean; official name of postal administration: La Poste currency: 100 centimes = 1 CFA franc 1859: used French Colonies General Issues with lozenge of dots reading “GOR” or “SEN,” 1887: No.1, 5 centimes on 20¢ red, French rule, stamps for the French colonial general issue surcharged, 1892: Commerce and Navigation stamps inscribed “Senegal & Dependances,” 1903: first postage due stamp, 1906 Upper Senegal and Niger, 1915: first semipostal stamp, 1924: Dakar made a special territory, 1935: stamps just used name “Senegal;” first air mail stamp, 1939: first air mail semipostal stamps, 1943: former French colony of Senegal became part of French West Africa, stamps of Senegal surcharged for use there, 1944-1959: used the stamps of French West Africa, 1946: Dakar reunited with Senegal, 1958, Nov. 25: Republic of Senegal established, 1959, April 4-June 20, 1960: united with the Sudanese Republic to form Mali Federation, 1960, Aug. 20: became Republic of Senegal, Sudanese Republic stayed as the Mali Federation, Senegal resumed issuing its own stamps, 1961, Sept. 18: first official stamp, 1961, June 14: joined the U.P.U.; 1981, Dec.: Senegal agreed to merge with the Gambia to form Senegambia; French Sudan, Senegambia and Niger
Senegal Gum: gum from the acacia plant, shrub or tree collected in the Senegal district.
Senegal, Upper and Niger: 1903-pre: stamps of French Sudan, 1904: French West Africa colony established to replace Senegambia and Niger, 1906-14: first stamps inscribed “Haut Senegal et Niger,” postmarks read “Ht Senegal et Niger,” and in Niger “Territoire Militaire du Niger,” 1920: stamps overprinted for French Sudan when name changed
Senegal, Upper and Niger: Northwest Africa; 1903-pre: stamps of French Sudan, 1904: French West Africa colony established to replace Senegambia and Niger, 1906: No.1, 1 centimes slate, first stamps inscribed “Haut Senegal et Niger,” postmarks read “Ht Senegal et Niger,” and in Niger “Territoire Militaire du Niger,” 1906: postage due stamp issued, 1915: semipostal stamp issued, 1921:issues for French Sudan resumed, stamps overprinted, 1933: part of Upper Volta added; French Sudan, Mali, Federation of
Senegambia: 1982, Feb.1.: Republic of Senegal and The Gambia merged
Senegambia and Niger: French administrative unit for the Senegal and Niger possessions in Africa; now Republic of Mali, currency: 100 centimes = 1 franc 1903-pre: used stamps of French Sudan, 1903, July: No.1, 1 centime black, Commerce and Navigation key type inscribed “Senegambie et Niger,” 1904: became part of the French Sudan; name changed to Upper Senegal and Niger; stamps inscribed “Haut-Sénégal-Niger,” 1920: colony became French Sudan, later the Republic of Mali,1930-36: used French keytypes; Niger
Senegambie et Niger: (Fr.) Senegambia and Niger, 1903
Sengi: currency unit in Zaire
Senit: currency unit in Tonga
Sennar: city in Egypt; 1879-80, Interpostal seals
Sennett Security Products: printer of U.S. postage stamps
Sensitized paper: stamp paper covered with a light-sensitive mixture, used for the siege of Mafeking, 1900
Sent: currency unit in Estonia
Sentimo: currency unit it the Philippines
Sentrering: (Nor.) centering
Senza gomma: (It.) ungummed
Senza linguella: (It.) hingeless
S.E.O.F.: (It.) Servizio Estero Oltre Frontiera (Foreign Service Beyond Border) pre-adhesive postmark
Seoul: also known as Soul, South Korea
Sep(s): separation(s)
Separated: torn apart by separating the perforations; Abgetrennt (Ger.)
Separations: the method employed in which stamps are separated from one another; perforations are a form of separations
Séparé: (Fr.) severed. (Independence)
Sepia: (Eng., Ger., Fr., Sp.) dark reddish-brown color
Sepia die (inspection) proof: French-area countries proof printed in sepia color only; made on thinner paper than artist die proofs and contain only a single stamp impression, with three hole punches (diamond, crescent, diamond)
Seppia: (It.) dark reddish-brown color
Septembrie: (Rom.) September
Serapoum: city in Egypt; 1868-71, Interpostal seals
Serbes: overprint on France for Serbia, 1916-18
Serbia and Montenegro: southeast Europe, between Albania, Bosnia and Herzegoovina; Currency: 100 heller = 1 krone, 1 dinar = 100 paras (Serbia), Euro (Montenegro) 1866: No.1, 1 para dark green, depicting coat of arms, stamps issued as Principality of Serbia, 1874: Serbia was an original member of the General Postal Union, 1875, July 1: joined the UPU, 1878: Became independent of Turkey, 1882: Kingdom declared, 1895: First postage due stamp, 1911: First newspaper stamp, 1912-1913: Balkan War: Annexed territories used regular Serbian stamps, 1914: Serb nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, start of WWI, 1915-1918: First World War – occupied by Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria, Austria used stamps of Bosnia overprinted “Serbien,” 1916-1918: Serbian Government in Exile on Corfu, used French stamps overprinted “Postes Serbes,” applied after stamps were on a cover, 1918: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes formed, 1919, May 5: overprinted stamps used in occupied Baranya, Hungary, 1919, May 10: overprinted stamps used in occupied Temesvar, Hungary, 1919: Serbia combined with Montenegro, Bosnia – Herzegovina, Croatia, Dalmatia and Slovenia to form the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, 1920: Stamps of Yugoslavia used, 1921, Dec. 24: rejoined the UPU as Kingdom of Serbs, Croates and Slovenes, 1929, Oct. 3: name officially changed to Yugoslavia, rejoined the UPU; 1941: Yugoslavia invaded by the Axis powers, Serbia occupied by Germany, stamps of Yugoslavia overprinted “Serbien,” 1941, Sept. 22: first occupation semipostal stamp, 1941: first occupation air mail, postage due stamps, 1943: first occupation official stamp, 1945: Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia proclaimed; consists of Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia, 1991: disintegration of Yugoslavia; remaining area known as Federal Republic of Yugoslavia consisting of Serbia & Montenegro, Macedonia, 1992: Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence, Serbia and Montenegro declared itself as Federal Republic of Yugslavia, 1998: province of Kosovo in Serbia revolted, 2001, June 18: rejoined the UPU as Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Kosovo governed by U.N. Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UMIK)., 2003, Feb. 4: rejoined the UPU as Federation of Serbia & Montenegro, 2003, Apr. 3: first stamps from new republic, 2003, Aug. 27: first stamps with two currencies, dinar and euro; Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbian Occupation of Hungary: 1919: stamps of Hungary overprinted for use in Baranya, stamps of Hungary surcharged for use in Temesvar
Serbie: (Fr.) Serbia
Serbien: 1. (Dan., Ger., Swed.) Serbia.
2. overprint on stamps of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Austrian Occupation, World War 1. 3. overprint on stamps of Yugoslavia, German Occupation of Serbia, 1941
Serbienisk: (Dan.) Serbian
Serbisk: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Serbian
Serbmit Sirap a Yruam: Timbres Maury a Paris, backwards, inscription on labels of a stamp dealer
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Kingdom of the: Yugoslavia 1-62 1921-28
Serbska: Serbian held Bosnia; 1992
Serge Beaune: multi color printing principle of Giori and similar presses
Serie: (Czech., Fr., It., Sp., Swed.) set, series
Serienstempel: (Ger.) machine cancel
Serial number: postal administration method of control and checking stamp issue; usually applied in margins or on labels; also used on registration labels or other methods for recorded delivery.
Series: a set of stamps with various denominations such as the National Parks issue, may be released to or added to over a period of years
Series of 1894: nickname; First Bureau Issue
Series of 1902: nickname; Second Bureau Issue
Series of 1908: nickname; Washington-Franklins
Series of 1922: nickname; Fourth Bureau Issue
Series of 1938: nickname; Presidential Series (Prexies)
Serif type: type with an ornamental projection to one side of a letter, at top or bottom
Seri Pervas, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built 1839, for Levant lines; re-named Baron Stuermer, then Persia, built 1839
Serpentine roulette: perforation as deep continuous S-shaped, looks like waves, cuts
Serrated roulette: perforation as triangular cuts
Severn & Wye & Severn Bridge Railway: British railway local post
Severn & Wye Joint Railway: British railway local post
Sever, Severni: (Czech.) North
Severni Amerika: (Czech.) North America
Severni Irsko: (Czech.) Northern Ireland
Severni Korea: (Czech.) North Korea (People’s Democratic Republic of Korea)
Severni Mariánské Ostrovy: (Czech.) Northern Mariana Islands
Severni Rhodésie: (Czech.) Northern Rhodesia
Severni Vietnam: (Czech.) North Vietnam
Severovychod: (Czech.) Northeast
Severozápad: (Czech.) Northwest
Service: 1: used as an abbreviation for “On Government Service” to indicate official mail use only. 2: the act of affixing a stamp to a cover and having it cancelled
Service: 1: overprint on Bangladesh official stamps, 1973-94; Bangladesh. 2: no country name; overprint on revenue stamps of British India and Pakistan for official use, 1866. 3. used as an abbreviation for “On Government Service” to indicate official mail use only. 4. the act of affixing a stamp to a cover and having it canceled. 5. overprint on stamps of India for official use of International Commission Vietnam, August 1, 1966
Service cover: postal item sent on active service, with relevant postmarks
Service de la Societe des Nations: (Fr.) “League of Nations” overprint on stamps of Switzerland, 1923-44
Service de l’Etat: “State Service” inscription on stamps of Egypt, 1893 for official use
Service des Postes Persanes: (Fr.) official stamps of Iran
Service des Postes sur le Chemin de Fer: (Fr.) railway mail service, Belgium, initiated 1841
Service Franco: official stamps of Iran
Service indicator: inscription included in the design of a stamp to indicate category of postal service to be rendered such as “Bulk Mail Rate.”
Service inscribed: term used for wording on a stamp to identify the service for which the stamp was designed; such as “Bulk Rate,” etc
Service overprint: postage stamp overprinted, with the word “service” or the initials of a military force, for exclusive use by military personnel, often outside country of issue
Service Postal Aerienne: (Fr.) French Morocco, airmails
Servicer: person who performs the act of servicing; usually done on a commercial basis; Service
Services Consulaires: (Fr.) consular service for revenue issues
Service stamps: name used for Official Mail handstamp of a government agency, or their agents; first issued by Switzerland for the Universal Postal Union in 1957
Service Two Annas: surcharge on official stamps of India
Service watermark: originally intended for the exclusive use of the USPS, but also used for regular envelopes issued to the public
Service with a smile: slogan of the Rural Free Delivery carrier
Servicio Aereo: (Sp.) “Air Service” Spanish language countries
Servicio Aereo Exterior: (Sp.) “Foreign Air Service” Spanish language countries
Servicio Aereo Habilitado: (Sp.) overprint on stamps of Honduras, officials made valid for air mail use
Servicio Aereo Interior: (Sp.) “Domestic Air Service” Spanish language countries
Servicio Aereo Internacional: (Sp.) “International Air Service” Honduras airmails
Servicio Aereo Sobretase: (Sp.) “Air Service” Argentina
Servicio Bolivariano de Transportes Aeros: (Sp.) Colombia airmail
Servicio Centro Americano: (Sp.) “Central American Service” Nicaragua airmails
Servicio de Alcance: (Sp.) inscription meaning “late fee” but used for the “Too late” fee
Servicio del Estado: (Sp.) “State Service”overprint on stamps of Chile, official use
Servicio de Transportes Aeros en Colombia: (Sp.) Colombia airmail
Servicio Ecuador de Transportes Aeros: (Sp.) Ecuador airmail
Servicio Interno: (Sp.) “Internal Service” overprint on stamps of Guatemala
Servicio oficial: (Sp.) “Official Service” inscription/overprint on stamps of Paraguay, Peru and Ecuador
Servicio Ordinario: (Sp.) “Ordinary Service”overprint on stamps of air mail stamps of Nicaragua, validating airmails for regular use
Servicio Postal Aéreo: (Sp.) “Air Mail Service” Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Uruguay airmails
Servicio Postal del Salvador: (Sp.) “El Salvador Postal Service”
Servico Postal India Port: inscription on stamps of Portuguese India, 1871
Servicio Postal Mexicana: (Sp.) “Mexico Postal Service”
Serviço Aereo: (Port.) air mail surcharge on stamps of Brazil, 1927
Servizio di Stato: (It.) “State Service” Italian language countries, airmail officials
Servizio pacchi postali: (It.) parcel post
Servizio Sospeso: (It.) service suspended, applied on mail sent from Italy to a foreign nation, after its surrender to occupation forces, WW II
SES: Special Event Souvenir Sheet; introduced by Australia as a personalized sheet of stamps with 10 or 20 stamps with tabs and a decorative border
Sesquicentennial: stamps marking the 150th anniversary of an event or date
Set: 1: a series of stamps with similarity in design or purpose. 2: stamp production term of composing type or the arrangement of cliches so that sheet of stamps can be printed in that arrangement. 3: serie (Fr., It., Sp.); satz (Ger.)
Seta, hongo: (Sp.) mushrooms (thematic)
Seten: (Fr.) se-tenant
Se-tenant (Seten,): (Fr.) (joined together), two or more unseparated stamps having different colors, denominations, or designs
Set-off: when freshly printed sheets are stacked before the ink is completely dry and transfers to the gummed side of the sheet directly above it
Set solid: printing term for sheets of stamps printed in a format so that they are not separated into panes by gutters
Setting: the exact geometrical arrangement of the type used for an overprint
Setting error: occurs when a cliche is inserted sideways or upside down in relation to the rest of the plate
Seu d’Urgell: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
S.E.U.F.: Stati esteri ultre frontiera (It.) foreign states beyond the frontier
Seul (timbre): (Fr.) single (stamp)
Sev.: (Sp.) Seville, city in Spain; pre-adhesive postmark
7R1E: “seven right one early,” seventh position in the right pane of the first plate in the early state; the imperforate Benjamin Franklin issue of 1851, Scott # 5
Sevastopol: surcharge on stamps of Russia during the occupation of Gen. Wrangel’s army, 1920
Seven stars: Cook Islands Federation 1892 issue with seven star design in center
Sever: (Czech.) North
Severni: (Czech.) North
Severni Amerika: (Czech.) North America
Severni Irsko: (Czech.) Northern Ireland
Severni Korea: (Czech.) North Korea (People’s Democratic Republic of Korea)
Severni Mariánské Ostrovy: (Czech.) Northern Mariana Islands
Severni Rhodésie: (Czech.) Northern Rhodesia
Severni Vietnam: (Czech.) North Vietnam
Severovychod : ( Czech.) Northeast
Severozápad : ( Czech.) Northwest
Seville: 1: city in Spain, local post, Civil War, Nationalist and Republican forces, 1936. 2: overprint Viva España Julio-1936 on stamps of Spain for city of Seville, 1936
Sevilla-Barcelona: (Sp.) Spain, 1929
Sev. Zap. Armia: (Cyrillic) Severo-Zapadnaya Armia; Northwest Army
Sewing machine perforation: rows of holes used for the separation of stamps actually done by an actual sewing machine; result is a pin roulette
Sexagenary 1897: overprint on stamps of Leeward islands for 60th year of Queen Victoria’s reign
Sexfärgstryck: (Swed.) Tryck – Sexfärgs
Seychellerna: (Swed.) the Seychelles Islands
Seychelles: British group of about 100 islands off the east coast of Africa; currency: 100 cents = 1 rupee 1811: administered by Britain as a dependency of Mauritius, 1861-90: used stamps of Mauritius, 1890, April 5: No.1, 2¢ green and rose, British colonial key type design, 1903, Aug. 31: became a British Crown Colony, 1951, March 1: first postage due stamp, 1975, Oct.: internal self-government, 1976, June 29: became independent, 1977, Oct. 7: joined the U.P.U.; Zil Elwannyen Sesel
Seychelley: British Colonial Royal Wedding frames from book, Surreal Stamps and Unreal Stickers
Seyham, Turkey: now Adana;
SF: 1: (It.) strada ferrate (Railroad) pre-adhesive postmark. 2: precedes the European postal code on addresses in Finland, such as SF-00101 Helsinki. 3: (Swed. or Finland) Soldater Frimärke (Soldiers’ Stamp) overprint on stamps of Sweden for reduced mail rates for their armed forces. 4: Sanitary Fair. 5: Space Filler. 6: Franc, currency unit in Liechtenstein, Switzerland, 7: speckled fluorescence
SFB: (Swed.) (Svenska Frivillig Bataljonen) Swedish Volunteer Battalion
S.F.K.: “Svenska Frivillig Karen” (Swedish Volunteer Unit) used in postmarks for Swedish volunteers attached to Finnish armed forces fighting Russia in 1939
SFL: single folded letters with writing on inside and address on outside
SFRY: Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
SFS: Stamp Fulfillment Services
Sfor-Bosnia: bogus Russian issue
SFTS: Service Flying Training School
SG: 1: Stanley Gibbons catalogue. 2: (Sudan Government), perforated on stamps of Sudan officials, 1913
SG: 1: Surveyor General, South Australia official overprint, 1868-74. 2: (Sudan Government), overprinted on stamps of Sudan officials, 1936. Shakespeare stamp: inscription on label issued by stamp dealers, 1964
SGAG: Stanley Gibbons Auctions Galleries, Inc. (USA)
SGL: single stamp
SGMJ: Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal
SGP: international postal code for Singapore
S.GR: (Silbergroschen) currency unit in the German States
s’Gravenhage: aka the Hague, The Netherlands
SH: 1: auction abbreviation for topical ships. 2: (in upper corners) Schleswig-Holstein, German States, 1850. 3: sheet
Shackleton-Rowatt Expedition: stamps printed by Great Britain in 1922 but canceled due to death of Shackleton
Shade: gradation in depth of tone causing differences in the color of a stamp
Shaded letter type: usually a letter with a white outline and a black shadow
Shadrinsk: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1869-1917
Shagiv: currency unit in the Ukraine and Western Ukraine
Shahi: currency unit in Afghanistan and Iran
Shahpura: State in India, 1914-28
Shakers: Shaker town postmarks, can be found spelled as “3 mo. 16, ’56”
Shakespeare: common design on stamps of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1964
Shakspeare Penny Memorial: 1864-65, inscription on label to arise funds for a memorial, name misspelled
Shako: British letter carrier cap with a cloth covered peak at the back and a drop front peak of glazed leather; replaced with a normal peaked cap in 1932
Shanghai: city in Kiangsu Province, China; currency: 16 cash = 1 candareen, 100 candareens = 1 tael, 100 cents = 1 dollar (1890) 1843: British settlement founded, followed by France, United States, and other foreign settlements, 1864, postal service organized with agencies in 16 cities, 1865: No.1, 2 candareen black, first municipal or local stamps, 1866-69, 1873: stamps printed in Britain, 1892: first postage due stamp, 1898: postal system merged into the Imperial Service,1919-22: U.S.A. overprinted and surcharged its stamps for use in Shanghai, 1922-pre: stamps of Hong Kong overprinted “China” in use until 1922, 1922: currently uses general issues of China. 1940: regional surcharge on stamps of China
Shanghai: Mail Bus, Jin Ang Railway Station, Talking Shop inscriptions, unissued Great Britain cinderellas by David Horry, 2001
Shanghai/China: overprint on stamps of the United States, Offices in China
Shanghai Local Post: Treaty Port, Shanghai, 1890-98
Shanghai L.P.O.: “Local Post Office” inscription on stamps of Shanghai
Shipwreck Mail: By Bottle inscription, unissued Great Britain cinderella by David Horry, 2001
Shanghai Municipality: Shanghai international Municipal Council
Shanghai surcharges: overprints on the U.S. Washington-Franklin series, authorized in1919 for use in the American postal agency in Shanghai when the Chinese rate became erratic
Shanghai, U.S. Postal Agency: 1868, July 27: authorized by Act of Congress, used U.S. stamps overprinted “Shanghai China,” 1907, Sept. 25: postal agent appointed replacing U.S. Consul at Shanghai, 1919: U.S. Post Office established, 1922, Dec. 31: U.S. discontinued operation
Shan States: eastern states of Burma, 1942, Aug.: Japanese Military Government used own stamps, 1943, Dec. 24: stamps overprinted for use throughout country, Sc Burma 2N51-57
Shansi: province in northeast China; part of the Northwest China Liberation area,
used rebel stamps prior to the formation of the People’s republic of China; Japanese occupation; China 5N
Shantung: province of the People’s Republic of China; 1: Japanese occupation, 1941-45 China 6N. 2: Shantung Pohoi Post; local post, 1946-49. 3: Shantung Post; local post 1945-49 SC China 5L1-5L9. 4: Shantung Wartime Post; local post, 1942-49
SHAPE: Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Sharjah and Dependencies: Oman Peninsula, Persian Gulf Sheikdom; one of the United Arab Emirates; currency: 100 naya paise = 1 rupee 1963, July 10: No.1, 1 naye paise light blue-green and pink, first stamp, first air mail stamp, 1963–72: issued 1,200 different stamps, not including imperforate and souvenir sheets, 1964: stamped printed in Egypt inscribed “Government of Sharjah and Dependencies,” 1965-69: Khor Fakkan enclave had own stamps, supposedly valid throughout Sharjah 1965, Jan. 13: first official stamp, 1966, Nov. 22.: some previous issues reissued with new riyal currency 1971, Dec. 2: one of six Persian Gulf Sheikdoms to join United Arab Emirates, which proclaimed independence, 1972: used stamps of the United Arab Emirates, Trucial States, United Arab Emirates
Sha-Si: local post; Central China; 1949
Shatsk: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1871-1916
Shaw’s Express: parcel delivery firm serviced Boston and Newburyport, Mass., used labels, 1869
Shchigry: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1882-86
SHCO: on shield with Geneva cross, inscription on postal tax stamps of Mozambique
Shedd’s Express: local parcel delivery firm serviced Boston and Bridgewater, Mass; used labels, year unknown
Sheet: 1: one full impression of stamps taken from a printing plate; a typical sheet of U.S. commemorative stamps is four panes each of 50 stamps, the sheet is then cut into four panes of stamps for eventual sale. the typical post office pane now appars to be 20 stamps. 2: bogen (Ger.); feuille (Fr.); foglio (It.); hoja (Sp.)
Sheetfed: a flat-plate press that prints postage stamps in individual sheets; web presses
Sheet files: an oversized glassine envelope that can hold an entire mint pane of stamps
Sheetlet: 1: a small pane of stamps; less than what is normally considered by normal standards as a usual pane; in the U.S., a normal pane consists of 20 or 50 stamps, while a sheetlet would be sheets of less than that quantity. 2: Michel 2001 Catalogue considers items with the same four stamps as a sheetlet provided it does not also appear at the same time as a block; items with five to ten of the same stamp are sheetlets; Blocks, Combination sheetlets, Combination sheets
Sheet margin: the portion of unprinted paper that surrounds a stamp or a pane of stamps
Sheet numbers: consecutive numbers placed on sheets by an automatic numbering machine to keep an accurate count of the number printed
Sheet Stamp: stamp produced in sheet format, vs a stamp made in a coil or booklet pane format
Sheet Waste: stamps with incorrect perforations or misaligned colors, etc., remnants of some rotary press sheet stamps that were perforated gauge 11, creating rare stamps
Sheet watermark: a large watermark covering the entire sheet with only aportion showing on a stamp
Sheffield & Midland Railway Committee: British railway local post
Sheffield and North: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Sheffield Service: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Shekel: currency unit in Israel
Shek-Hung: local post; southwest China, 1950
Shensi: People’s Post; northwest China; 1949
Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia: region of Northwest China, issued stamps 1946-49, prior to the formation of the People’s Republic of China
Shensi province: China, 1949
Sherifan Post: 1892: post used octagonal cachets, valid throughout Morocco to 1915, in Tangier to 1919, 1912: first stamps; three zones established; Tangier with European posts, the North had a Spanish protectorate, and a French protectorate was in the rest of the country, 1915: Sherifan Post ended in Morocco, 1919: Sherifan Post ended in Tangier
Shetland Islands: Scotland issued labels, 1993-94, purporting to be official; South Shetlands
Shiffsbrief: (Ger.) ship letter marking
Shift: a postage stamp printed in more than one color in which one color is off center
Shift, coil: coil stamps, due to having two round plates curved and fitted around the cylinder, may have a slight misalignment of the plates in relationship to each other; the shift usually shows up between the last stamp on one plate and the first stamp on the next; a line (known as line pair) may be printed between two stamps showing the shift; known as a “jump” on coil stamps of Canada
Shifted Transfer: occurs as the design in being rocked in, or transferred, to the plate; reentry
Shih-kia-chwang: local post; north China, 1949
Shihr and Mukalla: Aden Dependency; 1942: first stamp valid for use throughout Aden, Qu’aiti State of Shihr and Mukalla
Shill bidding: increased bids placed by same bidder against himself or a friend, sometimes using an alias, to increase the value of an item; once the bidder reaches the level being sought by the seller, the shill bidder drops out and the winning bid gets the lot at an inflated price
Shilling: 1: currency unit in many British countries. 2: putting an item up for sale at auction and then assuming a different identity to bid up the price
Shiny gum: water activated stamp adhesive having a high light reflective appearance; incorrectly referred to as wet gum
Ship: world’s first stamp to picture a steam and sailing ship was New Brunswick’s 12 1/2¢ (Sc.10)
Ship cancellation: a postmark applied to mail on board a ship, steamer
Ship letter: letter carried by a private ship and bearing a rubber stamp or manuscript marking such as “Ship Letter,” Loose Ship Letter,” or “Posted at Sea” with name of port of entry
Ship mail: 1: first mail sorted aboard ship was on the Holyhead and Kingstown (H&K) packet on Oct. 1, 1860. 2: West Indies mark
Ship Mail Room: indication that a letter has passed through the foreign section of the post office on its outward trip
Shipping company stamps: stamps issued by shipping firms to prepay the postage for mail carried by their vessels
Shipping Postmaster: marking applied on mail using South African stamps cancelled on board ship in the harbors of Cape Town(1906-72) or Durban (1906-48)
Ship Post Offices: first post offices aboard a ship were on the Columba and Iona, July 1879, on the Greenock-Ardrishaig route
Ship Postmark: letter carried on a private ship, usually delivered to a post office at the ship’s port of entry
Shirt Pocket Mail: mail delivered by people traveling from one place to another
Shiu-Hon Chan: Color Illustrated Stamp catalogue of China
Shizen: term for “health” on Japanese Christmas seals
Shkrodra, Shkodre, Shkoder: Albania overprint
Shlisselburg: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1865-66
SHM: auction term for staple holes in margin
Shoe Fly: Toledo, Ohio, cancel illustrated a shoe over a fly.Short paid: postage due to be collected, for various reasons, including one for “too many words;” in 1933, the British rate was five words for 1d on a postcard, more than five required the letter rate of 1 ½ d per ounce
Short perforation: paper has been removed down to the base line of the perforation holes
Short set: an incomplete set of stamps usually with the expensive or important value missing
Short stamp: postage stamp in which the top and bottom edges are closer together than usual, as a result of the perforating machine; in nearly all early British perforated stamps, the top row is one shorter than the remainder
Short transfer: a variety that occurs when a stamp design is not fully transferred to the plate
Show cancel: postmark applied to covers at philatelic events; the name of the event is indicated in the cancel
Show-hsien: local post, east China, 1949
Show stopper: nickname for a rare and unusual exhibition item
Shpitsbergen Island: bogus Russian Federation Republic; local overprint and stamps
Shqipenia: overprint on stamps of Turkey for Albania, 1913
Shqipenie, Shqiperia, Shqiperija, Shqiperise, Shqipni, Shqipnija, Shqiponies, Shqiprari, Shqyptare: (Alb.) Albania
Shqiperie Korce Vetqeveritale: (Alb.) “Albanian Kortza Independent” French Forces, occupation of Albania
Shqipnija: (Alb.) fund on bogus stamps issued under German administration or government in exile
Shránky: Postovní schránka (shránky)
Shri Lanka: Sri Lanka, 1972
Shrinkage: expansion of wet paper when drying occurs in the circumference of the paper, not the length; that direction is called the grain
Shrub Oak: local post established by philatelic write Herman Herst Jr., in Shrub Oak, N.Y., a village with no delivery service; his children, later his dog Alfie, carried mail to the post office for the 2-cents fee, 1953-73
Shrunken stamps: stamps that have been chemically altered so that the fibers shrink
S.H.S.: 1918, Oct.: State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Drzava Slovenaca Hrvta i Srba), 1918 – 20: Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kraljevstvo Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca) 1919 – 20: Drzava S.H.S., overprint on stamps of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1919 – 20: Hrvatska S.H.S., overprint on stamps of Hungary
Sht: auction term for sheet
Shtator 14 1943: Italian occupation stamps overprinted in 1943-44 for Albania; Albania
Shtlt: abbreviation for sheetlet
Shu-cheng: local post, east China; 1949
Shuna: Scottish carriage label, Oct. 1949
Siam: Thailand; Bangkok
Sibbo: (Fin.) steamship, carrying mail, serving Finland cities, local, 1892-99
Siberia: huge Russian northern territory; currency: 100 kopecks = 1 ruble 1918 Nov.: Admiral Aleksandr V. Kolchak became ruler of area, issued surcharges on stamps of Russia issued 1919, resigned on Jan. 4, 1920; 1919: No.1, 35 kopecks on 2 kopeck dull green, Kolchak stamps issued in Omsk; later used along the line of the Trans-Siberian railway to Vladivostok, 1921: Priamur Government / Nikolaevsk issues handstamped / overprinted / surcharged “H A II B II” (Nikolaevsk on Amur Priamur Provisional Government), 1922: stamps of Far Eastern Republic overprinted “B II 28/V II 1921-1922” the initials of the “Vremeno Priamursk i Pravitel’stvo” Provisional Priamur Government, 26th May, other overprints exist; Ataman Semyonov, Amur, Far Eastern Republic, Priamur and Maritime Provinces; Trans-Baikal Province and Russia
Siberia, Eastern: 1923, Jan.: first stamps issued; due to currency differences, special surcharged stamps issued; Russia
Siberian Silhouettes: name given to stamps with a silhouette of a soldier and a cathedral used by Czech troops in Siberia, Dec. 1919
Siberske: Siberia
Sibir: (Dan. Nor.) Siberia
Sibirien: (Ger.) Siberia
Sibersk: (Dan. Nor.) Siberian
Si-Chong: People’s Post; southwest China; 1950
Sicilia: (It., Sp.) Kingdom of Two Sicilies
Sicilia Calabria: 1908 triangular label to raise funds for earthquake charity
Sicile: (Fr.) inscription on stamps of Sicily for Two Sicilies
Sicilien: (Dan.) Sicily
Sicily: Mediterranean island off southern Italy; 1859, Jan.1: issued a set of stamps, cancel was a frame so that the head of the king would not be defaced, 1861, Feb. 15: superseded by Sardinia, new stamps for the Neopolitan provinces, 1862: stamps of Italy issued; Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Sicmon Islands: group of six islands in the South Pacific created by Nick Bantock for his book, Griffin & Sabine
Sidcup Etc.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Side: abbreviation for sideways watermark
Side-delivery: coil machine dispensing a roll of side-by-side postage stamps
Siderographer: the technician who produces printing plates by coordinating the spacing of individual subjects and transferring many copies of the design onto the plate
Siderographer Initials: initials of the BEP employee who created the plate in the lower left corner of the plate, in effect from 1906 – 1928
Siderography: process of creating an engraved plate from a transfer roll
Sidi-Gaber: city in Egypt;1879-82, Interpostal seals
Sidney short route: Sidney, Nebraska forwarder, H. T. Clarke, issued imprinted envelope to forward mail
SIEG: Sieger.Zeppelinpost Spezial-Katalog (specialized Zeppelin Mail Catalog)
Siege de la Ligue Arabe: “Meeting of the Arab League” Morocco
Siegel: (Ger.) cancel
Siegelmarke: (Ger.) stamp seal
Siege (of) Mafeking: Mafeking
Siege of Paris: When Bismarck’s army surrounded Paris, the residents used balloons to carry official dispatches and private letters; September 23, 1870.Sieg oder Tod in Alpenrot: (Ger.) victory or death in the Alps; label made in Vienna
Sielaff: stamp vending machine, introduced in Germany
Sieradz: city in German-occupied Russian Poland, local post overprint, 1918-20
Sierra de Yeguas: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Nationalist forces,1937
Sierra Leone: west coast of Africa; currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 cents = 1 leone (1964) 1859, Sept. 21: No.1, 6 pence bright violet, depicting Queen Victoria, 1896: British colonial key type used, 1961: granted independence, but remained in the British Commonwealth, 1962, Jan. 29: joined the U.P.U., 1963, April 27: first air mail stamp, 1964: issued first self-adhesive, free-form stamps, 1971, April 19: became a republic
Sievier’s Essays: R.W. Sievier submitted engraved and embossed designs in British treasury competition, 1840
Sigesmond, Dr. S. Brown: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Sigillo di Natale: (It.) Christmas seal
Sigillum Nov. Camb. Aust.: Sigillum Novae Cambriae Australis (Latin) New South Wales inscription, The Seal of New South Wales; first stamp of Australia colony, Jan. 1,1850
Sigillum Sanitatis: (Latin) Seal of the Health (Authority) indicating letter has been disinfected against disease
Siglo: (Sp.) century
Signalrød: (Nor.) deep bright red, traffic-sign red (color)
Signature: indication of the name of the designer or engraver; when on the back of a stamp provides the security of an expert certifying the authenticity of the stamp
Signature capture: conversion of delivery storage information from paper to electronic
Signature confirmation: USPS service for mail that is supposed to require a recipient’s signature upon delivery; can be tracked via USPS tracking page
Signé: (Fr.) signed
Signed: indication of being expertised, by signature usually, on reverse of cover
Signe d’guarantie: (Fr.) marking applied to stamps by the issuing agency indicting that the stamp is genuine and valid for postal use; also “expert ‘s mark.”
Signed stamp: a signature on a stamp, blocks or pane, usually in the margin
Signette: (Ger.) revenue stamped paper
Signiert: (Ger.) signed; Expertize
Signoscope: commercial name of an electronic watermark detector
Signum: Cachet
Sikajy: Madagascar local issue
Sikang: province of China; 1949: Communist rebels issued stamps for use in the province, 1955: divided between Tibet and Szechwan
Sikkim: overprints on stamps of India, ‘Sikkim State’; may be bogus, 1920s
SILA: “Svensk Interkontinental Lufttrafik AB,” Swedish air firm organized for transatlantic service, started 1945
Silber: (Ger.) silver
Silb.Gr.; Silbergroschen: (Ger.) currency unit in Bremen, Brunswick, Hanover, Oldenburg, Prussia, Thurn and Taxis
Silentium Victoriam Accelerat: (Latin) Silence Speeds Victory; motto used by the U.S. Office of Censorship during WW III and used as the basis for censorship of mail
Silesia, Eastern: after World War 1, located on border of Czechoslovakia and Poland, 1920: plebiscite planned; stamps of Czechoslovakia (Feb. 13, 1920), Poland (April 15, 1920) overprinted “SO / 1920” “Silesie Orientale” (Eastern Silesia), plebiscite never held and area divided between two countries
Silesia, Upper: territory between Germany and Poland; currency: 100 pfenning = 1 mark, 100 fennigi = 1 marka 1906: No.1, 1 centimes slate, 1920, Feb. 20: plebiscite planned as to whether area should go to Germany or Poland, but vote was not conclusive, Polish Plebiscite Commissioner Wojciech Korfanty rebelled, issued official stamps, 1920, Mar.: stamps issued for official use with overprint “C1.H.S.” in circle and “C.G.H.S.” Commission de Gouvernment Haute Silesie, Commission of Government of Upper Silesia, on stamps of Germany; 1921, March 20: League of Nations awarded most of disputed area to Poland with balance going to Germany, C.G.H.S
Silesie: (Fr.) Eastern Silesia
Silistria, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built around 1840s, for lower Danube lines
Siljans Mail: (Swed.) Swedish town local post
Silk: postcard with some or all of the design on silk fabric
Silk cachet: cachet with pictorial design printed on fabric with a silk-like finish
Silkote: paper that is whiter than usual stamp paper with a surface texture that is extraordinarily smooth; used for the U.S. 2-cent Liberty experimental printing of 1954
Silk paper: stamp paper containing small pieces of colored silk in the paper mixture
Silk thread: 1: paper used for stamps containing a silk thread as a means of preventing forgery. It is most easily seen on the back of the stamp. 2: filamento de seda (Sp.); fil de soie (Fr.); filo di seta (It.); seidenfaden (Ger.)
Silla: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Sils: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Silurian paper: granite paper containing blue threads
Silvering: some encased postage stamps had a thin silver coating to look like the silver coinage of the period
Silver Jubilee: common design on stamps of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1935
Silvers: Silver Yuan
Silverstreak Radio Tax: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Silver tax stamps: used to pay tax on the net profit on the sale of silver bullion; conventional revenue stamps denominated in currency, 1934-63
Silverton Tramways: local, Australia, about 1887-1966
Silver Wedding: common design on stamps of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1948-49, 1972
Silver Yuan: the mid-1949 Nationalist issues of stamps of China with denominations expressed in silver-backed currency
Sily: currency unit in Republic of Guinea
Simbabwe: (Ger.) Zimbabwe
Simboluri: (Rom.) symbols
Simi: (Symi) overprint on stamps of Italy for offices in Simi, Dodecanese Island, Aegean Islands; 1912, pre: used stamps of Turkey, 1912: No.1, 2 centesimi orange brown, overprint “Simi” on stamps of Italy, 1916: first stamps without overprints, 1920: Turkey ceded group to Italy, 1943, Sept.: became part of Greece, 1943: reoccupied by German forces, 1945: liberated by allied forces, 1945, May 21: British post offices opened, stamps of Britain overprinted “M.E.F.” (Middle East Forces), when islands transferred to Greece, 1947, March 31: British post offices closed, stamps of Greece overprinted “S.D.D.” (Dodecanese Military Occupation), 1947, summer: stamps of Greece used
Similigravure: (Fr.) half-tine (engraving)
Simili-timbre: (Fr.) bogus
Simmons, Dr. M. A.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Simoor: Indian States; 1879-1902
Simple watermark: when the watermark is designed to appear on each stamp
Simulated perforation: a perforation printed on the stamp to separate the stamp image from the tab
Sinai, Peninsula of: area between Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba; 1916: Turkey issued a set of stamps with overprints to mark its occupation
Sinaloa: state in Mexico, revolution issue, 1929; federal forces stopped revolution before stamps could be used
Sin charnela: (Sp.) never hinged
Sind: province in India, issued “Scinde Dawk” issue, July 1, 1852, first adhesive stamps in Asia
Sin dentar: (Sp.) imperforate
Sin-Feng: local post, central China, 1949
Singapore: island off southern tip of the Malay Peninsula; official name of postal administration: Singapore Post Pte Ltd currency: 100 cents = 1 dollar 1867, April 1: British colony and part of the Straits Settlements with Malacca and Penang, 1942: Japan invaded island, 1945-48: Malaya B.M.A. stamps used, 1946, April 1: Straits Settlements dissolved, had its own stamps inscribed “Singapore” as a Crown Colony, Malacca and Penang joined the Malayan Union, 1948: No.1, 1¢ black, stamps inscribed “Malaya / Singapore” 1948: Malayan Union renamed Federation of Malaya, 1955: first air mail stamp, 1958, Aug.1: became self-governing as the State of Singapore, used stamps of the Federation of Malaysia, along with those of Singapore, 1963, Sept. 16: joined the Federation of Malaysia, withdrew in 1965, 1965: became independent member of the British Commonwealth, 1966, Jan. 8: joined the U.P.U., 1968, Feb.1: first postage due stamp
Singapore: Raffle Ticket inscription, unissued Great Britain cinderella by David Horry, 2001
Singapour: (Fr.) Singapore
Single: individual postage stamp
Single letter: prior to 1845, letters were charged by piece and per zone; a single letter was a single piece of paper weighing less than one ounce; letters before 1845 were folded pieces of paper, with no envelope, and sealed with wax
Single line: characters, figures, frames, circles, made up of one stroke or line
Single line perforation: separation with a single row of holes or cuts in made in one operation
Single Line Watermark: the USPS initials are in one single line
Single-ring c.d.s.: a circular date handstamp contained within a single circle
Single watermark: each stamp bears the complete watermark impression
Singolo: (It.) single
Sin goma: (Sp.) ungummed
Sinkage: depression in the card backing of a die proof by the die block
Sinkiang: Province of China between Mongolia and Tibet; 1882-1920: used stamps of Russia in Russian post offices c1900: Chinese post office opened, used stamps of China, 1915: No.1, ½ cent black brown, overprint on stamps of China with surcharge due to currency differences for Chinese Turkestan, 1920: Russian post offices closed, 1945, Mar. Northwest China Liberation Area issued stamps, 1945, Aug.: Uighur Republic declared independence, rejoined China in 1949
Sinking fund: annual public debt-reducing stamps of France, 1927-31
Sinn Fein: labels issued by Irish rebels, 1907; possibly used during 1916 “Easter” rebellion
Sinober: (Nor.) cinnabar, reddish-blue (color)
Sinonim: (Rom.) synonymous
Sinope: current name is Sinop, port on a peninsula leading to the Black Sea, French post office opened Nov. 1857, closed May 1869
Sin-siang: local post, north China, 1949
Sin-Tu: local post; southwest China; 1950
Sin Valor Postal: (Sp.) “No postal value,” Spain charity seals, 1953
Sion: local airmail; Switzerland, 1913
SIPEX: Sixth International Philatelic Exhibition held in Washington, D.C. in 1966
SIPS: Staten Island Philatelic Society, four initials frame the corners of the Ulysses portrait on the U.S. 1¢ postcard
Sibir: (Dan. Nor.) Siberia
Sibersk: (Dan. Nor.) Siberian
Sir Codrington error: Greece, 1927 issues had Sir Edward Codrington’s Christian name omitted, against British custom; corrected in third and final printing
Siria: (Sp.) Syria
Sirmoor: India Feudatory State, aka Sirmur; 1874: first local stamps, 1879: No.1, 1 pie green, first stamps, 1890: first official stamps, overprint “On / S.S.S.” On Sirmoor State Service, 1890s: stamp reprinted for collector demand, 1902, April 1: stamps discontinued for stamps of British India
Siroky Dolní Okraj: (Czech.) wide lower margin
Siroky Úzky Okraj: (Czech.) narrow lower margin
Sirotam: surcharge on stamps of Italy for Yugoslavia, German occupation of Ljubljana
Site: (Eng.) location
Sitges: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Sitron: (Nor.) lemon (color)
Sitrongul: (Nor.) lemon-yellow (color)
Sivas: overprint on stamps of Turkey, 1930
Si Vende Cosi Com’è: (It.) sold as is.Siwai: Indian states term for any tax collection besides land revenue
Sixth International Philatelic Exhibition (SIPEX): international stamp show held in Washington, DC in 1966
Sizilien: (Ger.) Sicily
Sizing: chemicals added to paper in the manufacturing process to keep the ink from bleeding through the paper fibers and to add stiffness; improving the printing characteristics
SJ: (Swed.) Statens Järnvägar
Sjælden: (Dan.) rare
Sjelden: (Nor.) rare
Sjokoladebrun: (Nor.) chocolate-brown (color)
Sju: (Nor.) seven (number), introduced in the spelling reform of 1938, Syv
Sk, Skr: Krona, currency unit in Sweden
Skadet: (Nor.) damaged
Skagway Reindeer Express Syndicate: phantom express firm supposedly in Skagway, Alaska Territory; used a range of colored labels
Skalat: city in former Austrian-occupied Poland, local post overprint, 1918-20
Skandisnavia: (Nor.) Scandinavia
Skandinavien: (Dan., Swed.) Scandinavia
Skandinavisk: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Scandinavian
Skargards Trafik Aktiebolaget: Finland local, 1874-87
Skatik(u)as: currency unit in Lithuania
Skattemærke: (Dan.) revenue stamp, fiscal stamp
Skeleton handstamp: a date handstamp made so that loose type could be inserted
Skepp: (Swed.) ship
Skeppsbrottetpost: (Swed.) ship wreck mail
Skeppspost: (Swed.) ship mail
Skeppspostkontor: (Swed.) ship post office
Skibbruddpost: (Nor.) ship wreck mail
Skibsbrev: (Ice.) ship letter marking, Scandinavian origin
Skibspostkasse: (Dan.) mail boat mail box, paquebot mail box
Skierniewice: city in German-occupied Russian Poland, local post overprint, 1918-20
Skifferblå: (Swed.) slate-blue (color)
Skiffergrå: (Swed.) slate-grey (color)
Skilling: currency unit in Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden
Skilling Banco: currency unit in Sweden
Skilling Oscar-Serien 1856: (Nor.) refers to the 1856-1857 King Oscar I definitve issues
Skilling Oscar-Serien 1878: (Nor.) refers to the 1878 King Oscar I definitve issues
Skilling Posthorn-Serien 1872: (Nor.) refers to the 1872-1875 “Posthorn and Crown” definitve issues
Skilling Posthorn-Serien 1877: (Nor.) refers to the 1877-1878 “Posthorn and Crown” definitve issues
Skilling Posthorn-Serien 1882: (Nor.) refers to the 1882-1893 “Posthorn and Crown” definitve issues
Skilling Posthorn-Serien 1893: (Nor.) refers to the 1893-1908 “Posthorn and Crown” definitve issues
Skilling Posthorn-Serien 1910: (Nor.) refers to the 1910-1929 redrawn “Posthorn and Crown” definitve issues
Skin: natural oil from skin may damage stamp paper
Skinned: stamp that has part of the paper stripped away, leaving a thin copy
Skip: 1. a mailpiece that has passed through a canceling machine without a cancellation being applied to the postage stamp. 2. (Nor.) ship, boat
Skipper’s post: handstamp indicating amount of postage used by skippers of sailing ships and barge masters on inland waterways to indicate fee collected for transport of the mailing piece, 1667
Skipsbrief: (Ice.) ship letter marking, Scandinavian origin, started Jan. 9, 1914
Skipspost: (Nor.) ship mail
Skipspostkasse: (Nor.) mail boat mail box, paquebot mail box
Skipspostkontorer: (Nor.) ship post office
Skopin: city in Russia; local post, Zemstvo, 1871-1916
Skotland: (Dan.) Scotland
Skotlsk: (Dan.) Scottish
Skottland: (Nor., Swed.) Scotland
Skotsk : (Nor., Swed.) Scotch
Skravert: (Nor.) shaded
Skull Island, Kingdom of: advertising fantasy created for the movie, King Kong
Skye: bogus, label, year and source unknown
Sky train mail: gliders towed by airplanes flown from New York to Washington with stops at Philadelphia and Baltimore, Aug. 2, 1934, backstamped Aug. 3
SL: 1: precedes the European postal code on addresses in Slovenia, such as SL-1001, Ljubljana. 2: Straight Line (cancellation)
Slabbing: encasing collectibles in a container after authentication and grading that will show evidence of any tampering
Slania, Czeslaw: (1921- ) world’s most famous stamp engraver, engraved stamps for more than 35 nations, his 1,000th stamp was issued in Sweden March 17, 2000
Slant Marking: found on sheet margins of Swedish stamps to position the stamps for perforating and assembling into booklets
Slätt tryck: (Swed.) smooth print
SLB: (Sp.) San Lucas de Barromeda (Spain) pre-adhesdive postmark
SLD: (soldi) currency unit in Austria, Offices in Turkey
Sleeper: a stamp in a dealer’s inventory that may be underpriced
Sleeve: 1: plastic protector on a cover. 2: seamless steel cylinder used in line engraved intaglio printing; images to be printed are entered directly on the curved surface
S Lepem: (Czech.) with gum
Slesien: (Dan.) Silesia
Slesvig: 1. (Dan.) inscription on the plebiscite issues, Schleswig, 1920. 2. (Swed.) Schleswig
Slg., Sammlung: (Ger.) collection, an assembly of philatelic material
Sligo, Letrim & Northern Counties Railway: Ireland railway local post
Slime holes: mixture of water, chemicals, etc. used to form paper can develop clumps of bacteria that turn into slime; will become an irregular hole in the finished stamp paper
Slitting: separating the individual rows of stamps in a printed web to from continuous bands that are cut to length and rolled into coils
SLM: precedes the European postal code on addresses in Malta, such as SLM-11
SLO: international postal code for Slovenia
Slobovia: Donald Evans issue, Evans, Donald
Slogan cancel: : metal die hub cancel that contains some form of information, advertising or propaganda message
Slogan postmark: postmark with an announcement or message
Slogan postmark, first hand: used in London, 1661 for addresses along Kent Road; “For all Kent goes every night from the Round House in Love Lane & Comes Every Mor(ning).”
Slott: (Nor.) castle
Slovacchia: (It.) Slovakia
Slovakia: central province of Czechoslovakia; official name of postal administration: Slovenská Posta currency: 100 haleru = 1 koruna 1918: became part of Czechoslovakia, 1920, May 18: joined the U.P.U. 1939, Jan. 18-45: German protectorate, No.1, 5 haleru ultra, overprint “Slovenský stát 1939” on stamps of Czechoslovakia; 1939, March 14: declared independence, 1939, April: first newspaper stamp, 1939: first postage due stamp, 1939, Nov.6: first semipostal stamp, 1939, Nov. 20: first air mail stamp, 1940: first personal delivery stamp, 1942, May: had its own stamp exhibition, issued four stamps, 1945, April 4: Russia liberated country, became a constituent republic of Czechoslovakia, 1993, Jan. 1: became a republic, split into Czech Republic and Slovakia, 1993, March 18: rejoined the U.P.U
Slovakien: (Dan., Swed.) Slovakia
Sloveniensk: (Dan., Swed) Slovenian)
Slovakiet: (Dan.) Slovakian
Slovakotour: inscription on tiny stamps for German citizens to use on postcards while on prepaid vacations in Slovakia
Slovaquie: (Fr.) Slovakia
Slovene Coast: post WW II issues for Istria and the Slovene Coast, Istra, Slovensko Primorje (Slov.), Zone B, Istria
Sloveni: overprint on stamps of Yugoslavia, Italian Occupation, 1941
Slovenia: Southeastern Europe, between Austria and Croatia; Official name of postal administration: Posta Slovenije d.o.o. Currency: 100 paras = 1 dinar, 100 stotins = 1 tolar pre-1918: part of Holy Roman Empire, 1918, Oct. 29: part of State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Drzava Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov, Drzava S.H.S. (Crot.), 1918, Dec. 1: part of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later named Kingdom of Yugoslavia; Istra, Slovensko Primorje and Venezia Giulia were given to Italy after WW 1, 1919: No.1, 3 filler violet, first stamp, postage due and newspaper stamps, 1920: a plebiscite in Carinthia (Koroska -Slov. / Kärnten – Ger.) between Slovenes and Austrians, 1921, Dec. 24: joined the UPU, 1941, April: occupied by Italy, named Provincia di Lubiana Province of Ljubljana, overprints of stamps of Yugoslavia, first semipostal, air mail stamps, 1942: annexed to Italy, used stamps of Italy, 1944: German occupation known as the Province of Ljunljana (Provinz Laibach / Ljubljanska Pokrajina) 1944: stamps of Italy overprinted by Germany, first German occupation air mail, air mail special delivery, postage due; Italian occupation first postage due, 1945: became part of Yugoslavia, 1991, June 25: declared independence, 1991: No.1, 5 dinars, had its own stamps, 1992, May 8: first postal tax stamp, 1992, Aug. 27: rejoined the UPU
Slovenien: (Dan.) Slovenia
Sloveniensk: (Dan.) Slovenian
Slovenija: Slovenia, formerly northern part of Yugoslavia; independence in 1991; Ljubljana
Slovenská, Posta: Slovakia bogus issue, year and source unknown
Slovenskeno: overprint on stamps of Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, 1939-44
Slovensko: Slovakia; triangular stamps with V or D in corners are personal delivery stamps of Slovakia
Slovensko: Slovakia; overprint on stamps of Hungary, unofficial issue
Slovensko-Primorje: overprint of stamps of Yugoslavia; Istria and the Slovene Coast, 1945-46
Slovensky: (Czech.) Slovakian
Slovensky Stát: overprint on stamps of Czechoslovakia for Slovakia, 1939-44
Slov.Liga.Slovensky Brat.Objimso mat: Slovakian label printed in the U.S
Slowakei: (Ger.) Slovakia
Slowenien: (Ger.) Slovenia
S.L.Potosi: overprint on stamps of Mexico for this district, 1856-1883
Slug: contains changeable information such as date or time and cane be placed in a postmark or cancel die
Slurred print: ink smudging caused by moving during the actual printing process
S.M.: 1. Stipendary Magistrate, South Australia official overprint, 1868-74. 2. Soldat Militen (Drafted Soldier) Belgium, for free franking while in service
Smal: (Nor.) narrow
Small Banknotes: nickname for stamps issued in 1890-93 by the American Bank Note Co
Small Cut: postcard collectors term for only saving the round portion of the postmark
Small die proof: production proofs and small-size reproduction proofs made before 1903 for a series of 83 albums from dies, prior to final approval of design and color; large die proofs trimmed down are not considered small die proofs
Small packets: class of mail created by the UPU in 1929 for small parcels, weighing up to 1 kilogram (2 pounds 3 ounces) to be sent unsealed
Small Queens: nickname for the stamps of Canada Queen Victoria stamps of 1870, on sale for 27 years
Smaragdgrön: (Swed.) emerald-green (color); Blågrön
Smarald: (Rom.) emerald (color)
Smaragdgrønn: (Nor.) emerald-green (color)
S. Maria: series of colored labels featuring Santa Maria, 1911
S. Marino: San Marino
Smear: an over- or under-inked image variety
S.M.D.P. Alejandro Selkirk: handstamp for ship that delivered supplies to island off coast of Chile; Isla de Mas Apuera
SMH: 1: Great Britain Scotland Machin. 2: Scott Catalog number prefix for Machins (G.B., Scotland)
Smiling Boy stamps: nickname for 1931 design for New Zealand Health stamps
Smirne: Ottoman Empire; city in Egypt;1867-74, Interpostal seals
Smirne: overprint on stamps of Italy for use in Turkish city of Smyrna; Italian Offices in Turkish Empire, 1909-22
Smísená Frankatura: (Czech.) mixed franking
Smith & Stephens’ City Delivery: U. S. local post, St. Louis, Mo
Smith, E. K.: Private die match proprietary stamps
Smith’s Mountain Express: S. Allan Taylor label in four colors
Smith, S. N. & Co.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
SMJ: Scott’s Monthly Journal (USA)
Smjeinogorsk: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1917-20
Smolensk: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1894
SMOM: Sovereign Order of Malta
SMS: (Ger.) Seiner Majestät Schiff (His Majesty’s Ship)
Smuk: (Dan.) beautiful example
Smyrn: variety; Russian Offices In the Turkish Empire, overprint on stamps of Russia, Smyrna
Smyrna: (myrne, Smirne), Turkish city; 1: French post office opened May 1, 1837, closed Aug. 1914. 2: British stamps used at British post office from 1872; then stamps of the British Levant. 3: now known as Izmir, Turkey
Smyrna: (Amyrne, Smirne), Turkish city; 1: stamps of Italy overprinted “Smyrne” 1909-10. 2: overprint on stamps of Russia, Russian Offices in Turkish Empire, issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Russian post offices in the Turkish Empire, 1909-10
SN: currency unit in Japan and Ryukyu Islands
Snail mail: disparaging term started being used in the early 1990s referring to mail sent via government post offices
Snake Island: bogus British local post
Snark Island: fantasy label for island near Borneo
SNCF: (Fr.) Societé Nationale des Chemins de Fer, issued parcel stamps in Belgium staring May 1, 1879
Snedcentrerat: (Swed.) off-centered
Sniper: a dealer who attends stamp shows has no booth, but attempts to sell his material at stamp shows to collectors, often setting up a table at the show cafeteria
Sniping: the practice of placing a bid at the last possible moment in an auction
Snowbird Express: local, Toronto, Hamilton and London, Canada, 1970s
Snowdon Mountain railway: British railway that printed stamps for mail carried on their trains to post offices
Snowflakes: typographed stamps that have shed flakes or ink with the passage of time
Snowflakia: Christmas fantasy labels created by Maggie Kate
Snowginia: Christmas fantasy labels created by Maggie Kate
Snowklahoma: Christmas fantasy labels created by Maggie Kate
Snowland: Christmas fantasy labels created by Maggie Kate
Snowman perforation: an overlapping perforation variety that looks like a sideways snowman
Snow’s Express: private mail delivery firm serviced points along the Hudson River, N.J., used labels, many forgeries exist, 1856
Snowshoe Thompson: John A. Thompson, contracted with T.J. Matheson, Murphy’s Camp, California, to maintain postal service in the winter between mining towns of Placerville, Ca. and Carson Valley, Ne., for $200 per month, regardless of the depth of the snow
Snowtrack: USPS unofficial term for cancel on flat, or large envelopes that are repeated over the full length of the envelope
Snow York: Christmas fantasy labels created by Maggie Kate
SO: international postal code for Slovakia
S.O.: 1: Sorting Office. 2: Stationery Office; punch-perforated, with crown, on stamps of Great Britain. 3. “Stamp Office” fiscal overprint on stamps of Hong Kong, used during stamp shortage,1882
S.O. 1920: (Fr.) Silésie Orientale 1920 (Eastern Silesia), overprint on stamps of Czechoslovakia and Poland for 1920 plebiscite, which was never held
SOA: semiofficial air mail
Soaking: the process where stamps are removed from the paper on which they were affixed; place stamps with envelope paper attached, face down in pan of lukewarm water, when soaked, they should be placed face down on any absorbent paper
Soay: bogus, island off the island of Skye, Scottish “isle of sheep,” 1965
Soberbia: (Sp.) suberb
Sobota: (Czech.) Saturday
Sobre: (Sp.) Cover
Sobrecarga: (Sp.) surcharge
Sobre Clota Para Multos Postales: (Sp.) inscription on stamps of Mexico for parcel post
Sobre de primer dia: (Sp.) first day cover
Sobre de primer vuelo: (Sp.) first flight cover
Sobre fragmento: (Sp.) on piece (of cover)
Sobreimpresión: (Sp.) overprint
Sobre Porte: (Sp.) inscription on stamps of Colombia for additional postage or tax; used for mail to countries with which Colombia had no postal agreement
Sobre prefilatélico: (Sp.) stampless cover
Sobretasa Aerea: (Sp.) postal tax or charge added for Colombia air transit, 1929
Sobretasa: (Sp.) inscription on stamps of Colombia for postal tax
Soccer, World Cup: common design of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1966
Soccorso a Garibaldi: (It.) inscription to raise money for Garibaldi’s fight against Sicily
Social contract: UPU members rights and obligations that affect the exchange of mail and collection of postage due
Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya: Libya
Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Vietnam, South
Sociedad Colombo-Alemana de Transportes Aereos: (Sp.) Colombia air mail, 1929
Sociedad Ecuatoriano de Transportes Aeros: (Sp.) overprint on stamps of Ecuador, 1938-40
Sociedade de Geographia de Lisboa: (Port.) “Geographic Society of Lisbon” inscription on stamps of Portugal franchise issue, 1903-38
Sociedade de Portugueza da Cruz Vermelha: (Port.) “Red Cross,” inscription on stamps of Portugal private franchise stamps
Sociedade Humanitaria Cruz da Oriente: (Sp.) “East Cross Humanitarian Society” Mozambique postal tax inscription
Societa Corrieri Alta Italia: (It.) (Northern Italian Courier Co.) CORALIT, private bicyclist local post, Italy, Feb.1945-April 28,1945, May 24, 1945-June 30, 1945
Société des Nations: (Fr.) overprint on stamps of Switzerland for League of Nations, 1922-23
Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Francais (SNCF): (Fr.) France, railway parcel post, local
Society for Suppression of Speculative Stamps (SSSS): group of collectors and dealers founded in 1895 in London, England, to provide an organized voice against too many stamp issues; disbanded due to inability to define a common ground and no means of enforcement
Society of Philatelic Americans: founded Feb. 1894 as the Southern Philatelic Association; became the Society of Philatelic Americans in 1918; last issue of journal was Dec. 1983
Socked-on-the-nose (SOTN): 1: stamp with the postmark in the center of the stamp, Bull’s eye cancellation. 2: perfekt zentralstempel (Ger.); oblitération Parfaitement (Fr.); matasello perfectamente centrado (Sp.)
Soc(k)otra: Mahra Sultanate, Eastern Aden protectorate, became part of the People’s Republic of Yemen
Soc(k)otra: Cyprus stamps overprinted for Indian Ocean island in 1892
Socovos: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Söder: (Swed.) South
Soft Paper: paper with a special surface, with the feel of flocked cloth, first used to print stamps of Finland, August 9, 2004.Sohag: city in Egypt;1872-84, Interpostal seals
Soho Local Post: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Soigné: (Fr.) exact or correct
Soiling: any substance which dulls or darkens the appearance of a stamp
Sol: currency unit in Peru
Sol 33 Istiqial: Afghanistan overprint “33rd Year of Independence,” Aug. 25, 1951; erroneous inscription on Aug. 25, 1951 issue, voided with a gold bar overprint
Solar System Rocket Service: four labels for Moon Mail, Planet Post, Star Service and Sun Service made by Broadway Approvals, Ltd., London, 1961
Soldatenbriefmarken: (Ger.) postage free stamps for military servicemen
Soldater Frimaerke: (Dan.) inscription/overprint for military mail, Denmark. 1917
Soldi: currency unit in Austrian Office in Lombardy Venetia, Tuscany, Montenegro, 1858
Soldiers’ and Sailors’ mail: Postmaster General Burleson ordered mail sent be servicemen, signed by a field officer, could be sent to a U.S. address without prepayment of postage, only the single rate of postage was to be collected upon delivery, 1914
Soldier’s Letter: 1: inscription on letters used by members of the American Expeditionary Forces who were overseas during World War I. 2: general term for mail posted by a active duty soldier
Soldiers’ Letter Stamps: several countries issued special stamps for their armed forces; franking their mail free of charge
Soldiers mail: armed forces inscription for no postage necessary; also known as free frank
Soldier’s Rate cover: Canadian ruling (c1868) permitting soldiers to send or receive prepaid personal letters, not exceeding ½ ounce in weight at the postal rate of 2¢
Soldier’s stamps: used for the soldiers in the Swiss army who received free stamps; each battalion had its own stamp design, usually with insignias. Other “stamps” for this use were also issued by France, Germany, Italy and New Caledonia
Sold to the Book: auctioneer’s term meaning that the lot has been sold to an absentee bidder represented by the auction firm
Solferino: a 1871 stamp from Greece with an error of color (Solferino means dark red in Italian)
Solidarität in der Nothilfe für Hochwasseropfer 2002: (Ger.) (Solidarity in Aid for the 2002 Flood Victims) special slogan cancel, Germany
Solidarité Francaise: (Fr.) French Colonies semipostal, 1943-44
Solidarité 1947: (Fr.) semipostal of Tunisia
Solidarté: (Fr.) special tax for drought victims; French Colonies revenue inscription
Solikamsk: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1887-1915
Sollum/ 14 IX 40: overprint on stamps of Libya privately applied
Solomon Islands: West Pacific island group, aka British Solomon Islands; currency: 12 pence = 12 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 cents = 1 dollar (1966) 1893: became British protectorate, 1896: used New South Wales stamps, 1907, Feb. 14: No.1, ½ penny ultramarine, first stamps “British Solomon Islands Protectorate,” 1907: February 14: first stamps of “British Solomon Islands protectorate,” 1913: changed to “British Solomon Islands,” 1939: invaded by Japan, stamps taken to Fiji, 1940, Sept.1: first postage due stamps, 1975, Aug.4: became Solomon Islands, 1976, Jan. 2: became a self-government as Solomon Islands, 1978, July 7: became independent, 1982, May 3: first semipostal stamps, 1984, May 4: rejoined the U.P.U
Solot: currency unit in Siam (Thailand)
Solothurn: local airmail; Switzerland, 1913
Solo Use Cover: all the postage and fees are paid by a single stamp
Solyom, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built around 1880s, for middle Danube lines
Som: currency unit in Kyrgyzstan
Solvent smear: remainder of solvent used to clean the printing presses creating a smear
Sølv: (Nor.) silver (metallic color)
Sølvgrå: (Nor.) silver-grey (metallic color)
Somalia: overprint/inscription on stamps of Italy; 1922-23
Somalia Italiana Meridionale: overprint on stamps of Italy, Somalia postage dues, 1906-08
Somalia: eastern Africa on Indian Ocean, aka Somali Democratic Republic, Italian Somaliland, Benadir; currency: 4 besas = 1 anna, 16 annas = 1 rupee, 100 centesimi = 1 lira (1905), 100 besas = 1 rupee (1922),100 centesimi = 1 lira (1925),100 centesimi = 1 somalo (1950) shilling = 100 centesimos (1961) 1903, Oct. 12: No.1, 1 besas brown, first stamp, stamps overprinted / inscribed “Poste Italiane” and “Benadir,” 1906: first postage due stamp, 1916: first semipostal stamp, 1917: first parcel post stamp, 1922: stamps of Italy surcharged/overprinted “Somalia Italiana,” 1923, July 16: first special delivery stamp, 1934, Oct.: first air mail stamp, 1934, Nov. 5: first air mail semipostal and air mail semipostal official stamp, 1934, Nov. 11: first air mail official stamp, 1936, June 1-1941: stamps valid in Italian East Africa, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Oltre Giuba absorbed into Italian East Africa, stamps of Somalia still used, 1938-41: used stamps of Italian East Africa, 1939: first authorized delivery stamp, 1941-49: under British military administration, 1943, Jan 15: No. 1, 1 penny vermillion; British stamps overprinted “E.A.F.” (East Africa Forces), 1948, May 27: British stamps overprinted “B.M.A.Somalia” (British Military Administration Somalia), 1950, Jan. 2: British stamps overprinted “B.A. Somalia” (British Administration Somalia) when British troops withdrew, 1950, March 24: Italian Trusteeship took over, stamps inscribed “Somalia,” 1958, Oct. 4: first air mail special delivery stamp, 1960, April 1: first stamps replaced those under Italian and British administrations, 1960, July 1: former Italian colony merged with British Somaliland Protectorate to form independent Republic of Somalia, 1973: stamps inscribed “Jum. Dim.(J.D.) Somaliya” (Far Somali), Djibouti, Obock, Italian East Africa, Italian Somaliland and Somaliland Protectorate
Somalia: overprint / inscription on stamps of Italy; 1922-23
Somalia, Central States of: cinderella, part of Somalia
Somalia Italiana: Italian Somaliland
Somalia Italiana Meridionale: overprint on stamps of Italy, Somalia postage dues, 1906-08
Somali Coast: northeast Africa, Côte Français des Somalis (Fr.), aka Djibouti; currency: 100 centimes = 1 franc 1862: port of Obock, on Gulf of Aden, acquired by French, 1888: port of Djibouti constructed by French, 1891: named area Somali Coast Protectorate, 1892-94: port of Obock issued stamps, 1894: No.1, 5 centimes green and red, first stamps as Obock and Djibouti, 1902: used stamps of Somali Coast, 1915: first semi-postal, postage due stamp issued, 1931: first stamps issued, 1940-42: controlled by the Vichy regime of France, 1943: inscription “Cote Français des Somalis,” 1944: first air mail stamp issued, 1964, Aug. 28: first air mail semi-postal stamp, 1959, April 1: joined the U.P.U., 1967, March 19: stamps discontinued, became the French Territory of Afars and Issas, 1977, June 27: territory became Republic of Djibouti, Djibouti, Obock, Somaliland Protectorate
Somali Democratic Republic: formed from Italian Somaliland and the Somaliland Protectorate; 1839-post: colonial powers created French Somaliland, Italian Somaliland and the British Somaliland Protectorate; 1940, Aug. 6: Italian forces occupied the British Protectorate, 1941: British drove Italians out, took over Italian Somaliland, 1943: stamps of Great Britain overprinted “E.A.F.” (East Africa Forces), 1948: stamps of Great Britain overprinted “B.M.A. Somalia.” (British Military Administration), 1948, Oct. 1: stamps of Great Britain overprinted “B.A. Somalia” (British Administration) when troops withdrew, 1950, April 1: Italians, with ten year United Nations mandate, ran Italian Somaliland, 1960, July 1: became independent as the Republic of Somalia, 1969: revolutionary group took over, changed name to Somali Democratic Republic
Somalikusten: (Swed.) Somali Coast
Somalikyst: (Dan., Nor.) Somali Coast
Somaliland Britannique: (Fr.) British Somaliland
Somaliland, British: south of Obock; 1884: created by Great Britain, 1903: first stamps, 1960: stamps of Somalia
Somaliland, French: now Afars and Issas. 1957: first commemorative stamp issued 1962: first airmail stamp issued; Obock
Somaliland, Italian: originally called Benadir, 1889: created by Italy, 1924: Oltre Giuba, south of Italian Somaliland, conceded to Italy by Britain, 1926: Italy combined Oltre Giuba into Italian Somaliland, 1936: Italy combined Italian Somaliland and Eritrea with Ethiopia to form Italian East Africa, 1945: Italian Somaliland became the United Nations Trust Territory of Somalia, 1960, July 1: Somaliland Protectorate and U.N. Trust Territory of Somalia merged to become Somali Republic, 1970: name changed to Democratic Republic of Somalia, 1991, May 17: rebels in northern part of country founded the Somaliland Republic, issued stamps inscribed “Somaliland Republic” and the “Republic of Somaliland.” Oltre Giuba, Italian East Africa
Somaliland Protectorate: eastern Africa, on the Gulf of Aden; currency: 16 annas = 1 rupee, 100 cents = 1 shilling (1951) 1885: became British Protectorate, administered by Indian government as a dependency of Aden, 1898: territory run by British Foreign Office, 1903: No.1, ½ anna light green, stamps of India overprinted “British Somaliland,” 1903, June: 1: first official stamp issued, 1904: inscription “Somaliland Protectorate” issued on British definitive stamps, 1905: British Colonial Office took over, 1940: occupied by Italy, recaptured by British forces in 1941 1960, July 1: became part of Somalia, now the Somali Democratic Republic, 1991, May 18: Somaliland declared its independence from Republic of Somalia
Somaliland Protectorate: 1: Not Looted overprint, unissued Great Britain cinderella by David Horry, 2001. 2: British Colonial Royal Wedding frames from book Surreal Stamps and Unreal Stickers
Somalis: Somali Coast, 1902-67
Somaliya: Somalia, 1973
Sommaroanna S.S. Co.: Finland local 1895
Sommerset & Dorset Joint Line: British railway local post
Somola(o): currency unit in Somalia
Somon: (Rom.) salmon (color), Roz-somon
Somoni: currency unit in Tajikistan
Som Ubesorget Aabnet af Post Departmentet: (Nor.) “Return to Sender” inscription on stamps of Norway
Som Uindlost Aabnet af Post Departmentet: “Return to Sender-Not Called For” inscription on stamps of Norway
SON: Socked on the nose
Søndag: (Dan., Nor.) Sunday
Söndag: (Swed.) Sunday
Søndagsbrev: (Dan.) Danish postal marking on letters mailed with an extra fee paid for Sunday delivery
Sonderausgabe: (Ger.) commemorative or special issue
Sonderdruck: (Ger.) special printing such as black prints used for stamp exhibitions
Sondermarkenblock: (Ger.) souvenir sheet
Sonderpostamt: (Ger.) special post office
Sonderpostschalter: (Ger.) special post office counter
Sonderpoststempel: (Ger.) special post office cancellation
Sonderstempel: (Ger.) special cancellation
Soneja: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, forces, 1937
Sonne: bogus, no information available
Sonntagsmarke: (Ger.) Sunday stamp with tablet regarding Sunday delivery
Sonora: state of Mexico; 1: “Constitutionalist” inscription on revenue issues of Sonora, Mexico, Civil War issue, 1914-16. 2: fantasy label for Mexican state
Sons of Philatelia: created in the U.S. in Oct. 1890 by Robert M. Miller who felt that the American Philatelic Association (now APS) dues were too high, dissolved Sept. 1903
Soomaaliya: (Afrikaans) Somalia Democratic Republic
Soomaaliyeed: (Afrikaans) Somalia
Sophie C: mailboat delivers mail to islands in Lake Winnesaukee, N. H
Sophie, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built around 1850s, for lower Danube lines
Sopraprezzo: (It.) surcharge
Soprestampa: (It.) Surcharge
Sopron: city in Hungary, local post, overprint on stamps of Hungary, civil uprising, 1956-57
Sor: (Hung.) set (of stamps)
Sør: (Nor.) south
Sorbas: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Sorfogazat: (Hung.) line perforation
Sorgfaltig: (Ger.) exact or correct
Soroki: city in Russia; local post, Zemstvo, 1878-98
Sorozat: (Hung.) set (of stamps)
Sort: 1: (Dan.) black (color). 2: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Sortieranlage: (Ger.) automated sorting machine
Soruth: India Feudatory State, aka Junagarh, Saurashtra, Sorath; 1864, Nov.: No.1, 1 anna black bluish, first local stamps were hand-stamped as Junagarh, 1923: name changed to Sourashtra, 1929: name changed to Saurashtra, issued first official stamps with overprint “Sarkari,” 1947, Nov. 9: became part of the Indian Union, 1948, Feb. 15: United States of Saurashtra formed from 217 states, including stamps issuing entities of Soruth, Jasden, Morvi, Nowanugger, and Wadhwan, 1949: issued overprint stamp for “U.S.S. Revenue & Postage Saurashtra” (United States of Saurashtra), 1950, Apr. 30: stamps discontinued, uses stamps of Republic of India; Jasdan, Morvi, Nawanagar and Wadhwan
SOS: Stamps on Stamps Collectors Club
SOS Delivery Service: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Sosnowice: (Pol.) local post; Poland, 1916
SOS To Canada: marking “Shipped Off Service” indicating that the recipient was no longer needed and had been sent home
Sötet: (Hung.) dark (as referencing the color of a postage stamp)
Sötétbarna: (Hung.) dark brown (color)
Sötétibolya: (Hung.) dark lilac, dark violet (color)
Sötétkék: (Hung.) dark blue (color)
Sötétkvörös: (Hung.) dark red (color)
Sötétnarancs: (Hung.) dark orange, deep orange (color)
Sötétsárga: (Hung.) dark yellow, golden-yellow (color)
Sötétzöld: (Hung.) dark green (color)
SOTN: Socked on the nose
Sottile: (It.) thin
Soudan: 1: overprint on stamps of Egypt; Sudan, 1897. 2: overprint on stamps of French Colonies; Sudan 1894. 3: overprint on stamps of Upper Senegal and Niger; Sudan, 1921-30
Soudan Fais: (Fr.) overprint on stamps of French colonies for use in French Sudan, 1894
Soudan Francais: (Fr.) inscription on stamps of French Sudan
Soudan, French: (Fr.) Sudan overprint on stamps of Egypt, French Colonies, Niger, Upper South Celebes: local overprint; Japanese occupation, Naval Control Area; 1942-45
Souillure: (Fr.) smear
Soukromy Upomínkovy Arsík: (Czech.) private souvenir sheet
Soule, Dr. E.L. & Co.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Soumi: (Fin.) Finland
Sourashtra: Soruth
Sous condition: (Fr.) on approval
South Africa: Southern Africa, Republic of South Africa; official name of postal administration: South African Post Office currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 cents = 1 rand (1961) 1794: British control, 1800s: controlled by the Batavian Republic, 1869: stamps of Transvaal, South African Republic, 1877, April: annexed by British, 1880, Dec. 16: South African Republic proclaimed again, 1884: annexed by British, 1893, Jan. 1: joined the U.P.U., 1902: incorporated into Cape of Good Hope colony, 1909: Union of South Africa created; combined the four former colonies of the Cape of Good Hope; Natal, Transvaal and the Orange Free State, which became provinces, 1910, Aug.18: government authorized use of valid postage and revenue stamps of each province throughout the Union, 1910, Nov. 4: No.1, 2½ deep blue, 1914: first postage due stamp, 1925, Feb. 26: first air mail stamp, 1926: stamps issued in both English and Afrikaans versions; first official stamp, 1933: first semipostal stamp, 1938, Jan. 1: pre-Union of South Africa stamps demonetized, 1952: stamps inscribed in both languages, 1961, May 31: withdrew from British Commonwealth, became Republic of South Africa, 1967: stamps are inscribed “RSA,” 1994, Aug. 22: rejoined the U.P.U
South Africa: many labels exist for various Red Cross, Comforts Fund, Medical Aid for Russia, patriotic, including a stamp auction by Ashbey’s Galleries
South Africa, Homelands of: 1959: South African government established “Bantustans” or homelands, 1977: Transkei and Bophuthatswana issued own stamps, 1979: Venda issued its own stamps, 1981: Ciskei issued its own stamps;see Basutoland, Bophuthatswana, Ciskei, Transvaal, Venda
South African Republic: South Africa
South America: consists of Argentina, Bolovia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, the Guianas, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela
Southampton 1971 Strike: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Southampton Priv.P.S.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
South Arabia, Federation of: Southern Arabia; currency: 100 cents = 1 shilling, 1,000 fils = 1 dinar (1965) 1959, Feb. 11: sheikdoms formed Federation of Arab Emirates of the South, used stamps of Aden, 1960: four more sheikdoms joined federation, 1963, Jan. 18: Aden Colony joined for a total of 14 states, 1963, Nov. 25: No.1, 15¢ black and red, first stamp as South Arabian Federation, 1963-67: issued stamps to fill any void in area’s postal administrations, 1965, April: first definitives replaced the stamps of Aden, 1967, Nov. 30: federation became independent, became People’s Republic of Southern Yemen
South Australia: central portion of southern Australia; currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound 1836: formed as a British settlement, 1852-55, 1859: served by P & O steamers to Britain and Europe, 1855, Jan.1: No.1, 1 penny dark green, 1855-60: used oval with bars as postmark, 1868: first official stamp with overprints for individual departments, 1891: joined the U.P.U., 1901: joined with five other colonies to form Commonwealth of Australia; the stamps of the various colonies continued being used, 1913: first all-Australian definitives, Australia
South Australia Railway: Australia railway that printed stamps for mail carried on their trains to post offices
South Borneo: Japanese occupation issue, 1943
South Bulgaria: originally Eastern Rumelia; currency: 40 paras = 1 piaster 1885: Eastern Rumelia united with Bulgaria to form South Bulgaria, 1885, Sept. 22: used stamps of Eastern Rumelia, 1886: stamps of Bulgaria used; Eastern Rumelia
South Carolina: first federal issue revenue of U.S., July 1, 1798-Feb. 28, 1801
South China: China, regional issues
South China Sea Islands Federation: islands in South China Sea that claimed independence
South Dakota: U.S. state Nov. 2,1889; part of Dakota Territory, Dakota
Southeast Asia: consists of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
Southern Cameroons: 1960, Oct. 1: first stamps issued, inscription U.K.T.T. (United Kingdom Trust Territory), 1961, Sept. Southern Cameroons joined Cameroun via a plebiscite, Cameroons
Southern Rhodesia: Southern Rhodesia postage due overprint on stamps of Great Britain, 1951
Southern Yemen: check Yemen People’s Democratic Republic 1-64 overprint on stamps of South Arabia for Yemen, People’s Democratic Republic. 1968, April 1: first stamp
South Devon Emerg. Post: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Southern District: Germany, 1852-66: issued own stamps, replacing those of Thurn & Taxis
South Eastern & Chatham Railway: British railway local post
South Eastern Post Sv.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Southern Express Co., Montgomery, Ala.: operated in the Southern states during the American Civil War, used corner cards, stamps and labels, 1861-1918
Southern Express Mail: operated during the Civil War exchanging shipments carried by Adams Express Co.; regular Confederate postage was required
Southern letter unpaid: 1861 civil war marking on unfranked letters and letters franked with invalid U.S. stamps to addresses in the U.S.; Abutshi
Southern Marketing: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Southern Nigeria: Nigeria, Southern
Southern Rhodesia: southeastern Africa; currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound 1923-pre: administered by the British South Africa Company 1913-April 30, 1924: used stamps of Rhodesia, 1923, Oct. 1: made a self-governing colony by the British government, 1924, April 1: No.1, ½ penny dark green, stamps inscribed Southern Rhodesia issued, 1951, Oct. 1: first postage due stamps, overprinted “Southern Rhodesia,” 1953: joined with Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, 1954: stamps inscribed “Rhodesia and Nyasaland,” 1963: federation dissolved, 1964, May: own stamps “Rhodesia,” 1965, Nov. 11: Rhodesia declared itself independent, 1980, April18: became independent within the Commonwealth, 1980: first pictorial stamp as Zimbabwe; Rhodesia; Rhodesia, Northern; Zimbabwe
Southern Route: first successful transcontinental mail from San Antonio to San Diego, also known as the Texas Route; ran for three years, starting July 1857
South Georgia and the South Sandwich (Islands): Falkland Islands Dependencies. 1986, Apr. 21: No.1, 10 pence multi, 1992, June 20: first semipostal stamp
South Georgia, Dependency of: island in the South Atlantic; part of the Falkland Island Dependencies; currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 pence = 1 pound (1971) 1944-pre: stamps of the Falkland Islands used, 1944, April 3: No.1, ½ pence green and black, first Dependencies issue, overprint on stamps of Falkland Islands, 1963, July: No.1, ½ penny dull red, first stamp, 1982: seized by Argentines in occupation of the Falkland Islands, 1985: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands became a separate colony, 1986, April 21: first stamps, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, 1992, June 20: first semipostal stamps; Falkland Island Dependencies
Southill and Norwood: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
South Kasai: portion of the Republic of Zaire; 1960, Aug. 8-Oct. 2, 1962: maintained autonomy, 1961, June 20: declared its independence, issued two stamp issues, 1961, Oct. : stamps withdrawn, stamps of Congo overprinted “Sud Kasai” sold in Brussels, never issued in Africa, 1962, Oct.: rejoined the Congo Democratic Republic, later the Republic of Zaire
South Letter unpaid: marking applied on mail addressed to the North from the South with postage due during the American Civil War, used June 27-July 11, 1861
South Liao-ning: “South Liao-ning Post” local post, northeast China; 1948
South Lithuania: Lithuania, South
South Lithuania: 1919: stamps of Russia overprinted and surcharged during Russian occupation of Grodno
South Moluccas: entity in the Moluccas or Spice Islands; 1945: controlled by Indonesia from what was the Dutch East Indies, 1950: declared independence, 1951-74: bogus issues, Republik Maluku Selatan
South Orkneys Dependency of: 1944, Feb. 21: overprint on stamps of Falkland Islands, 1963: part of the British Antarctic Territory; Falkland Island Dependencies
South Osetia: bogus Georgia, Russia label, not valid for postage
Southport: (Star Taxis Southport) local strike post, Great Britain, 1971
South Russia: southern Russia bordering on the Caspian and Black Seas; currency: 100 kopecks = 1 ruble provisional government established by Gen. Denikin, 1918: stamps of Russian surcharged by Kuban government, known as the Ekaterinodar Issues, 1918: No.1, 25 kopecks on 1 kopeck dull orange-yellow, Don Government, Rostov Issue, 1919: stamps used for both postage and currency
South Sandwich, Dependency of: 1985: became a separate colony; Falkland Island Dependencies, South Georgia, Dependency of
South Shetlands Dependency of: 1944, Feb. 21: overprint on stamps of Falkland Islands Dependencies; 1963: part of the British Antarctic Territory; Falkland Island Dependencies
South Viet Nam: Vietnam, South
South West Africa: southwestern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean, aka Namibia; currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 cents = 1 rand (1961) 1884: German protectorate, 1897: stamps of Germany overprinted “Deutsch-Südwest-Afrika,” German South West Africa, 1900: German colonial designs used, 1914, Sept.: used stamps of South Africa to Dec. 31,1922, with overprints “S.W.A., SWA, South West Africa, Suidwes-Afrika, Zuidwest Afrika,” 1915: German colony surrendered to the Union of South Africa forces, 1923, Jan. 2: No.1, ½ penny green, first pair of stamps under South African occupation were South African stamps overprinted “South West / Africa” on every other stamps and “Zuid-West Afrika” on the rest, or initials “S.W.A.,” 1923: first postage due stamps, 1927: first official stamps, overprinted “Official, Offisieel,” 1930: first air mail stamps, 1931: own stamps, inscribed “Sudwest Afrika,” 1935: first semipostal stamps, 1953: all stamps bilingually described, 1968: stamps inscribed “SWA,” 1970: United Nations made area’s official name Namibia, 1990, Mar. 20: became Namibia; Namibia
South West Africa: overprint on stamps of South Africa, for South West Africa, 1923-26
South West & Midland Railway Company: British railway local post
Southwest China: Southwest China Liberation Area included the provinces of Kwechow, Sinkang, Szechwan, Tibet and Yunikan; issued stamps Dec. 1949
South West Essex P.S.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
South-west Kiangsi: (Chinese Red Post) 1930-31
Southwest Road Show & School: poster stamp promoting school in Kansas
Southwest Territory: U.S. territory May 26, 1790, became Tennessee
Southwold Railway: British railway local post
Southwoods Exeter P.S.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Soutisk: (Czech.) se-tenant
Souv.: abbreviation for souvenir
Souvenir card: card, not valid for postage, issued by the U.S. Post Office or the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, in conjunction with a stamp exhibition or some other special occasion, started in 1954
Souvenir cover: 1: unofficially flown cover, usually carried by pilot or crew member, or for commercial or promotional purpose. 2: term for a philatelic or non-commercial cover. 3: cover created for special occasions such a a stamp show, post office anniversary, community events, etc
Souvenir historical: flown souvenirs from important events which contributed to the development fo aviation
Souvenir page: an 8½ x 11 sheet bearing one or more of the stamps described and cancelled with the first day of issue postmark, issued by the USPS; new issue poster
Souvenir panel: USPS product, engraved card with text relating to a stamp issue; usually with a mint block of four; sold to collectors
Souvenir program: ceremony program
Souvenir sheet (SS): 1: sheet of a stamp or stamps, surrounded with a paper margin issued for a specific event or purpose. 2: first U.S. SS is the White Plains pane of 25 stamps for an international stamp exhibition, held Oct. 16-23, 1926. 3: gedenkblock (Ger.); bloc feuillet (Fr.); foglietto (It.); hoja blocque (Sp.)
Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM): the smallest “stamp” issuing authority in the world. The SMOM was founded in1048 as the Knights Hospitalers of St. John of Jerusalem with the goal of building a hospital to serve pilgrims from the Holy Land. By the late 1980s the organization had 3,000 Italian members and 2,000 Americans. It has issued more than 300 “stamps” that chronicle the order’s history of military and charitable works
Sovetsky Svaz: (Czech.) Soviet Union (USSR)
Soviet Union: Russia
Sovjetunionen: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Soviet Union
Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta: Sovereign Military Order of Malta, unrecognized local issue
Sovrapprezzo: (It.) surcharge
Sower: French stamp design first issued in 1903 illustrating a woman in flowing gown spreading seeds
Sowjetische Besatzungs Zone: overprint on stamps of Germany for Soviet Zone of Occupation, East Germany, July 3, 1948, Berlin, Germany
Sowjetunion: (Ger.) Soviet Union
Soyaniquilpam: overprint on stamps of Mexico for this district, 1856-1883
SP: 1: Short Perf. 2: Surface Printed. 3: auction abbreviation for topical sports and olympics. 4: Surface phosphor paper. 5: Service Publique (official usage) overprint on stamps of Luxembourg, 1881-99. 6: secteur postal (Fr.) field post number. 8: intertwined as a monogram, Colombia, Cauca Department
SPA: Samuel P. Abbott, BEP employee’s initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
S.P.A.: Society of Philatelic Americans, organized 1894
Space cover: a cover commemorating an event that is related to a space or astro event
Space filler: 1: a poor copy of a stamp used to fill the space in an album until a betterexample is found. 2: a common stamp of little value. 3: a facsimile of a stamp used to fill a blank space in an album
Spagna: (It.) Spain
Späher: (Ger.) scout
Spain: southwestern European country; official name of postal administration: Correos y Telégrafos currency: 32 maravedis = 8 cuartos = 1 real, 1000 milesimas = 1– centimos = 1 escudo (1866), 100 milesimas = 1 real, 4 reales = 1 peseta, 100 centimos = peseta (ptas) (1872), 100 cents = 1 euro (2002) 1850, Jan. 1: No.1, 6 cuartos black, first stamps lithographed, some had inscription “Certificado” for registered mail, 1854, July 1: first official stamps, 1868-70: provisional government, issued stamps for various provinces, 1869: first franchise stamps to Diego Castell to distribute his publications on Spanish postal history, 1872, April 21 – July 1, 1873: stamps of France used on mail from provinces under Carlist rule, 1873-76: King Carlos VII issued own stamps in the provinces of Alava, Biscay, Guipuzcoa, Navarre, Catalonia and Valencia, banned in1876; 1874, Jan. 1: first war tax stamps, 1875, July 1: joined the U.P.U., 1905: first special delivery stamps, 1920, April 4: first air mail stamps, 1926, Sept. 15: first semipostal, air mail semipostal and semipostal special delivery stamps, 1930: first air mail special delivery stamp, 1931: named a republic, first air mail official and delivery tax stamps, 1936: stamps issued by Gen. Franco Nationalist Revolutionary Government, provisional stamps in Burgeos, Cadiz, Canary Islands, Orense, San Sebastian, Seville, issued by Nationalist and Republican forces, 1931-39: first Republic stamps, 1936-75: named a state, 1937, Dec. 23: first postal tax stamps, 1940, Dec. 23: first postal tax air mail stamps, 1948: first postal tax semipostal stamps
Spandau: city in Germany, local post, (Stadtbrief-Beförderung Courier), 1897-1900
Spandrel: the triangular space between the border and circle or oval center of a stamp
Spanelsko: (Czech.) Spain,
Spanelsky: (Czech.) Spanish
Spania: (Nor.) Spain
Spanien: (Dan., Ger., Swed.) Spain
Spaniol: (Rom) Spanish (adj.)
Spanish Administration of Andorra: Andorra
Spanish Dominion of Cuba: first stamps in1855, some also used in the Philippines and Puerto Rico; Cuba
Spanish Dominion of the Mariana Islands: Sept. 1899: stamps of the Philippines handstamped “Marianas Españas.”
Spanish frank stamps: two Spanish authors, Diego Castell Fernandes (1869) and A.F. Duro (1881), wrote historical philatelic books and received a free frank stamp to mail these works
Spanish Guinea: western Africa, bordering on the Gulf of Guinea; currency: 100 centimos = 1 pesata 1885, Jan. 9: made a Spanish protectorate, 1902: No.1, 5 centimos dark green, first stamp issued, used only in Rio Muni, 1909: stamps inscribed “Territorios Españoles del Golfo de Guinea,” used in Spanish Guinea, and islands of Fernando Poo and Elobey, Annobon and Corisco (which had previously had their own stamps), 1926: first semipostal stamp, 1941: first air mail stamp, 1951: first special delivery stamp, 1959, July 30: Annobon and Fernando Po detached, 1959, Nov. 23: last issue inscribed “Guinea Española,” 1960: stamps inscribed Rio Muni; Fernando Po has its own stamps, 1968: Fernando Po and Rio Muni united to form the Republic of Equatorial Guinea; Fernando Po, Rio Muni
Spanish Morocco: northwest coast of Africa, former Spanish protectorate; currency: 100 centimos – 1 peseta 1860: used stamps of Spain as a Spanish province, 1874-1903: stamps of Spain used, without overprint, 1903: No.1, 1/4 centimo blue-green, 1908: stamps of Spanish Offices in Morocco handstamped “Tetuan,” 1909: stamps overprinted “Correo Español Marruecos” used in Morocco until 1914, 1912: Spanish Morocco formed with French permission and British approval, 1914: Spanish stamps overprinted “Correo Español Marreucos,” used only in Tangier post office, 1914: first special delivery stamps, 1914, July 22: first stamps issued, withdrawn April 7, 1956. 1915: Spanish stamps overprinted “Protectorado Español en Maruecos” for use in the Spanish zone, all Spanish post offices closed except in Tangier, 1924: first stamps, 1926: first semipostal and semipostal special delivery stamps, 1929: stamps of Spain overprinted “Tanger,” “Correo Espanol Tanger,” and “Correo Tanger” for use in Tanger, also issued semipostals, air mail, special delivery stamps, 1936: first air mail semipostal stamp, 1937: first postal tax stamp, 1938: first air mail stamp, 1956: became independent with French and Tangier zones of Morocco; as Morocco, 1958: values in Spanish currency discontinued; Morocco
Spanish Philippines: stamps issued as Spanish Dominion of the Philippines
Spanish Sahara: northwest AThursday, 2/17/2005frica on the Atlantic Ocean, aka Spanish Western Sahara;currency: 100 centimos = 1 peseta 1924-pre: known as Rio de Oro, subdivision of Spanish West Africa and Spanish Western Sahara, province of Spain, 1924: No.1, 5 centimos blue green, first stamps for use in La Guera and Rio de Oro, inscribed “Posesiones Españolas del Sahara Occidental,” 1926: inscription “Sahara Español”, first semipostal stamp, 1942: “Sahara Español” overprint on air mail stamps of Spain, 1943: first air mail and special delivery stamps, 1958: became on overseas territory of Spain, 1960-75: inscription “España Sahara,” 1976, April 14: Morocco annexed two-thirds of Spanish Sahara, Mauritania took rest, turned over to Morocco, United Nations refers to area as Western Sahara; Rio de Oro, Spanish West Africa
Spanish Tangier: Tangier, Spanish
Spanish War Provisional Revenues: July 1, 1898 U.S. revenue law authorized provisional stamps overprinted “I.R.” at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Spanish West Africa: northwest Africa on the Atlantic Ocean; 1949, Oct. 9: Spain combined Spanish Sahara, Ifni and Southern Morocco, 1949: No.1, 4 pesetas dark gray green, first stamp inscribed “Africa Occidental Española,” for use in Rio de Oro, Ifni, Saguiet el Hamra, and Spanish Sahara, 1949, Nov. 23: first air mail stamp, 1951, Mar. 1: first special delivery stamp, 1951:, Spanish West Africa dissolved; Ifni and Spanish Sahara issued their own stamps; Spanish Sahara
Spanish Western Sahara: includes Cabe Juby, La Aguera and Rio de Oro; Spanish Sahara
Spanien: (Dan.) Spain
Spansk: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Spanish
Spanska Guinea: (Swed.) Spanish Guinea
Spanska Marocko: (Swed.) Spanish Morocco
Spanska Västafrika: (Swed.) Spanish West Africa
Spanska Vastindien: (Swed.) Spanish West Indies
Spanska Västligsahara: (Swed.) Spanish Western Sahara
Spanska Vestafrika: (Dan., Nor.) Spanish West Africa
Spanska Vestindien: (Dan., Nor.) Spanish West Indies
Spanske skeppspost: (Swed.) Spanish ship mail (ship post)
Spanske skibspost: (Dan.) Spanish ship mail (ship post)
Spanske skipspost: (Nor.) Spanish ship mail (ship post)
Spansk Vestafrika: (Dan.) Spanish West Africa
Spansk Vestindien: (Dan.) Spanish West Indies
Spanyol: (Hung.) Spanish
Spanyol Guinea: (Hung.) Spanish Guinea
Spanyol Marokko: (Hung.) Spanish Morocco
Spanyolország: (Hung.) Spain
Spanyol Szahara: (Hung.) Spanish Sahara
Spargummi: (Ger.) Economy gum
Spark’s Post Office: U.S. local post handstamp, New York, N.Y., 1848
Sparta, Ga. Paid 5: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Spartanburg, S. C. 5: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Spassk: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1883-1913
Spatial: (Fr.) space
Spaulding’s Penny Post: U.S. local post handstamp, Buffalo, N.Y., 1848-49
SPB: Saint Petersburg, city in Russia, local overprint on stamps of Russia, 1992
SPBS: small parcel and bundle sorter, a private mark applied to mail being routed internally for various in-house office departments
Spec: specimen
Special Courier Mail: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Special Delivery: 1: established Oct. 1, 1885 with first stamp issued Oct. 1, 1885. 2: Eilzustellung (Ger.); Par Exprés (Fr.); Per Espresso (It.); Urgente (Sp.) 3: preferential handling of mail in dispatch, transportation, and expedited delivery at destination; which may include Sunday and holiday delivery
Special Delivery: overprint, 1901; Bahamas
Special Delivery stamps: stamps issued for the immediate delivery of mail at the receiving post office, not valid for payment of regular postage
Special event cancel: a postmark used in connection with a special event of a temporary nature
Special Event Souvenir Sheet: SES
Special Expres: “Special Delivery” Canada
Special Fee stamp: payment of a fee in addition to the postage for a special purpose; such as late fee, special delivery, etc
Special Handling stamps: a special fee stamp used in addition to parcel postage so that package would be handled as first class mail; U. S. issued April 1, 1925
Special issue stamp: stamp printed for a particular mailing requirement as Christmas or the Love stamp
Specialist: a stamp collector who has made a study of a limited field of collecting such as a topic or a country
Spécialiste: (Fr.) a stamp collector who has made a study of a limited field of collecting such as a topic or a country
Spécialités Pharmaceutiques: (Fr.) pharmaceuticals; French Colonies revenue inscription
Specialized U. S. catalogue: the Scott Catalogue devoted solely to U. S. stamps
Special mail agents: accompanied mail on board steamers and in railroad cars
Special Mess. (Lacey’s): United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Special Mission Courier: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Special printing: current design stamps printed on a better grade of paper and in brilliant colors; used during the Centennial in Philadelphia in1876 and in 1935; Farley’s Follies
Special Reply Service: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Special request envelope: term used for envelopes with imprint of sender in upper left-hand corner, requesting return if undeliverable
Specialstämpel: (Swed.) special cancel
Specialstämpelsamlinjgar: (Swed.) special collections
Special Stamp in Memory of First day of Invasion: ungummed printed by Germany WW II
Special stamps: regular stamps that are not within the traditional commemorative or definitive issues; consist of holiday and love stamps
Specialty cover: cover that is more creative than the mass produced covers; may be multi autographed or canceled
Specie Daler: currency unit in Norway
Specimen: 1: an individual collectable stamp. 2: muster (Ger.); spécimen (Fr.); saggio (It.); muestra (Sp.)
Specimen: 1: overprint on stamps that are distributed to members of the Universal Postal Union for identification purposes; started in 1879; the USA discontinued this practice in 1904. 3: an overprint used on special prints of the U. S. department stamps sold to the public at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition
Specimen envelopes: sample envelopes provided by the Post Office to prospective manufacturers as samples
Specimen stamps: collectors consider these as the overprinted stamps of 1851-95
Speculation: buying philatelic material in the hope that demand will make it more valuable and provide a profit when sold
Speculative: stamps that are issued for sale to collectors, not for a legitimate postal use
Speculisland: Swiss origin fantasy
Spedire: (It.) forward
Speed Mail: a USPOD “fax” service for inter-agency mail that lasted for six weeks in 1960
Speedy: nickname for US special delivery service
Speedy Letter Service: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Speiderguttpost: (Nor.) boy scout mail
Spellatura: (It.) thin spot
Spellman Museum of Stamps: Regis College, 235 Wellesley St., Weston, Mass
Spence & Brown Express Post: U. S. local post and handstamp, Philadelphia, Pa., 1847-48
Spendenmarke: (Ger.) charity stamp
Sperati reproduction: Jean de Sperati, well-known forger, who was so proud of his work that he stamped the back of some stamps, along with a manuscript number
Spesné známky: (Czech.) special delivery stamps
Spezialalbum: (Ger.) specialized album
Spezialsammler: (Ger.) specialist collector
SPIDAM FRAMCAOS: French Sudan
Spidsbergen: Spitzbergen
Spifs: 1: Stamps perforated (with the) Initials (of) Firms, Societies, etc. 2: British term for perfins, perforated initials; private or official perforated initials or designs punched into stamps to prevent misuse of stamps
Spinning Top Post Sv.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Spit line: too much saliva applied to a mount when affixing it to the album page, residue adheres to the gum of the stamp, creating a “mild gum disturbance.”
Spitsbergen: (also Spitzbergen, Spidsbergen) archipeligo in the Arctic Ocean ca. 360 miles N of Norway coast; part of the Svalbard Island group. Granted by a 1920 treaty to Norway, and officially taken as a possession in 1925 (Spitzbergen is the Dutch name for the territory, and to Norwegians, the territory is known as Svalbard). Local post established by a shipping company-owned hotel in the mining settlement at Advent Bay to prepay postage on mails carried by company boats to Hammerfest, on Norway’s mainland; set-of-2 “Spidsbergen” surface printed on white wove paper local stamps depicting a polar bear attacking a hunter issued in May 1896. Additional polar-theme pictorials issued through 1911
Spitzertype: relief printing process invented by Edmund Spitzer in 1901; whereby a copper plate, coated with glue, is exposed to light and then etched with iron perchloride to control the degree of etching; after cleaning, this becomes the printing base
Splice: a taped joint connecting two pieces of a roll of printed stamp paper; used to repair broken webs or extend the length of a roll
Split: old term for a stamp divided into two or more sections and postally used at a fraction of its face value
Split-Backs: postcard where card is halved; one side for messages, other side for the address
Split grill: a stamp showing parts of two or more grills caused by a sheet being misfed while in the process of the grill being applied
Split stamp: fragments of stamps used to prepay postage in relation to the fragment; if split in two, called a bisect stamp
S.P.M.: St. Pierre & Miquelon; overprint on stamps of French Colonies, 1885-91
Spojené Státy: (Czech.) United States
Spojené Státy Americké: (Czech.) the United States of America
Spojené Státy Brazílie: (Czech.) the United States of Brazil
Spojené Státy Kolombie: (Czech.) the United States of Colombia
Spojené Typy: (Czech.) different stamp types joined as pairs or other multiples
Spojka Svislá: (Czech.) vertical se-tenant gutter
Spojka Vodorovná: (Czech.) horizontal se-tenant gutter
Sponsor: individual or organization that commissioned a cachetmaker to prepare a special design for a particular issue
Spoon: British duplex cancellation, in which the date portion is oval, Dec. 1843
Spoorwegen Chemins de Fer: (Flemish / Fr.) “trackway or “railroad;” overprint/inscription on stamps of Belgium, parcel post
Sports: common design on stamps of Portugal and Colonies, 1962
Sporvei: (Nor.) street car route, tram route
Sporvognpost: (Nor.) street car mail, tram post
Spot: toning or rust spot
Spotter: personnel employed by the auction firm to point out any active bidder who may have been overlooked by the auctioneer
Spray-on postmark: ink-jet line cancel applied by USPS
Spremberg: city in Germany, local post, “Express-Packet” 1897-1905
Spratly Islands: South China Sea, between Viet Nam and the Philippines; various islands occupied by China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Viet Nam
Spray watermark: nickname for a British watermark depicts a rose bloom the “Spray or Rose” on a two-leaved stem; 1867-73
Springfalz: (Ger.) peelable hinge
Springer Handbooks: U.S. based catalogs of non-Scott listed U.S. revenue issues
Springside Post Office: S. Allan Taylor label, 1865
Sprukket plate: (Nor.) cracked plate
Spud Papers: series of articles on forgeries that appeared in the periodical The Philatelist, starting in 1871
Spur die: variety of the 1-cent 1887 series of stamped envelopes with a spur projecting downward from the bottom of the bust
Spurious stamps: stamps that have been produced or altered to cheat collectors or postal administrations
Sprung: (Ger.) primary crack or flaw in the German Rosette design stamp
Sputnik: (Rus.) satellite
S Q: precedes the European postal code on addresses in Slovakia, such as SQ-812 11, Bratislava
SQAY: Great Britain local carriage label
S.Q. Trsta Vuja: Yugoslavia Zone B, Trieste
S.Q. Trsta Zracna P: Yugoslavia, Trieste Zone B, air mail issue
Squared circle: cancellation that is circle, containing city and date, within a square; used mainly in Canada, Great Britain and Italy; acted as a duplex canceler
Square pair: refers to two triangular stamps that are joined on the long side of the triangle to form a square
Squire & Co. City Letter Dispatch: U. S. local post, St. Louis, Mo., 1859-60
Squire’s City Express Post: S. Allan Taylor label
SQN: Squadron
Srbsko: (Czech.) Serbia,
Srbsky: (Czech.) Serbian
Srbsko a Cerna Hora: (Czech.) Serbia and Montenegro
SR CDS: Single-Ring Circular Date Stamp
Sremsko Barbanjska District: Serbian district, Croatia local post, 1995
Sri Lanka: Indian Ocean off the southern tip of India, formerly Ceylon; currency: 100 cents = 1 rupee 1857: first stamp, the Pence issue, 1872: decimal currency, based on the rupee started, 1948: as Ceylon became a member of the British Commonwealth, 1972, May 22: No.1, 15 cents blue and multi, first stamp as Sri Lanka, 1949, July 13: joined the U.P.U., 1998: first postal-fiscal stamps; Ceylon
Sri Lanka: Kandy, Madirigiriya, Sigirya, inscriptions, unissued Great Britain cinderellas by David Horry, 2001
S.R.M.: “Skilling Reichs Munze” currency unit in the German States
Srpen: (Czech.) August (month)
Srodkwa Lit(v)wa Poczta: (Pol.) overprint / inscription on stamps for Central Lithuania Mail, 1920; Central Lithuania
Srpska: Bosnian Serb Administration issue
SS: 1: Steam Ship (carried mail) 2: auction abbreviation for topical stamps on stamps. 3: (Sp.) San Sebastian (Spain) pre-adhesive postmark. 4: abbreviation for Souvenir sheet
SSM: Scott Stamp Monthly (USA)
S.S.P.: Suisse Service Postal (Fr., Swiss.) Switzerland postal service
SSR: Soviet Socialist Republic
SSS: overprint for “on Sirmoor State Service.”
SSS Emergency Mail Serv.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
SSSR: forgery by Germany on British stamp of the 1 ½ d 1937 Coronation issue
SSSS: Society for Suppression of Speculative Stamps
Sst., Sonderstempel: (Ger.) special cancel
SSVTA: Sel-Service Value Ticket Automans; vending machines, Switzerland
SSW: overprint on U.S. revenue stamps for Samuel S. White
ST: 1: ST, (without country name) currency unit in Thailand (Siam). 2: Superintendent of Telegraph, South Australia official overprint, 1868-74. 3: abbreviation for street, Saint. 4: Sorting Tender, on railway postmarks
Staats Marke: (Ger.) German States-Wurttemberg; official use
Staatsvertrag 1955: overprint on stamp of Austria commemorating the signing of the 1955 State treaty ending the Allied military occupation
S.T.A.B.: in oval frame, cancel for mail on Finnish steamships, 1880s
Stabbing: the process where a lithographer affixes transfers in position by pushing a needle point through the superimposed transfer and base sheet
Stabler’s Local Post: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Stade-Brief-Beforderung: (Ger.) city of Colmar, local post, Germany, 1896-98
Stadt Berlin: (Ger.) city of Berlin; Soviet occupation, 1948-49
Stadtbriefbeforderung Courier: (Ger.) city of Dusseldorf, local post, Germany, 1894-96
Städteausgabe: (Ger.) local issue
Stående: (Nor.) upright (position)
Stadt-Güter-Verkehr Berlin: (Ger.) city of Berlin, local post, Germany 1944-45
Stadt Pest, S.S.: steamship marking the Danube Steam Navigation Company for Middle Danube Lines, build around 1860s.Stadtpost: (Ger.) local post stamps
Stadt Post Amt: (Ger.) “City Post Bremen” German States
Stadt Post Basle: (Ger.) “City Post Basel” Canton of Basel, Switzerland, 1845
Stadt Post Berlin: (Ger.) “City Post Berlin,” issued after Allied occupation, 1945
Stadtpost Study Group: Germany Philatelic Society focuses on private mail systems in late 1800s
Stadt Pest, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built around 1860s, for middle Danube lines
Stadt Storkow: (Ger.) city in Germany; WWII local issue
Stadt Strausberg: (Ger.) city in Germany, WWII local issue
Staemple: newspaper stamps, Austria
Staffa: Great Britain local carriage label, 1969
Staftpostmarke: (Ger.) city post stamp
Staggered perforation: our of alignment comb perforation due to movement of the paper between descents of the pins
Staging cachet: handstamp cachet applied to all mail on certain flights; such as “Deutsche Luftpost Europa-Sudamerika” cachet on on all Zeppelin flights from Europe to South America
Staining: a discoloration in the paper of a stamp
Stait’s Despatch Post: U.S. local post handstamp, Philadelphia, Pa., 1850-55
Stalag: (Ger.) camp
Stålblå: (Nor.) steel-blue (metallic color)
Stålgrå: (Nor.) steel-grey (metallic color)
Stålgravyrtryck: (Swed.) steel-engraving recess printing
Stalingrad: now known as Volgograd, Russia
Stålstempel: (Nor.) steel die (cancellation)
Ståltrykk: (Nor.) Trykk – Stål
Stambul, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built in 1839 for Levant lines
Stamford Mercury: British postmark with a curved name panel instead of the circular date
Stammbaum: (Ger.) provenance, ancestry
Stamp: 1: in stamp collecting, a term for an adhesive label for postal purposes. 2: a hard substance mounted on a handle for making an impression on postal stamps. 3: an impression made by the hard substance on postal stamps. 4: Tibet official
Stampa: (It.) printing
Stamp Act: 1: refers to English Stamp Act of 1765-66 to be applied to newspapers, almanacs, advertisements, playing cards, etc.; embossed stamps were die sunk with a heraldic design. 2: British Parliament Act of 1765, repealed in 1766, imposing a duty on various types of paper used in the American colonies; have word “America” in the design; also known as “Tea Tax”
Stamp agency package stamp: seals issued in 1875 to place on packages opened on handling during postal handling
Stamp album: book designed to hold stamps
Stampalia: Dodecanese Island of Atypalia, Aegean Sea 1912, pre: used stamps of Turkey, 1912: No.1, 2 centesimi orange brown, 1916: first stamps without overprints, 1920: Turkey ceded group to Italy, 1943, Sept.: became part of Greece, 1943: reoccupied by German forces, 1945: liberated by Allied forces, 1945, June 18: British post offices opened, stamps of Britain overprinted “M.E.F.” (Middle East Forces), when islands transferred to Greece, 1947, Mar. 30: British post offices closed; stamps of Greece overprinted ‘S.D.D.” (Dodecanese Military Occupation), 1947, summer: stamps of Greece used; Astipalaia
Stamp, American Foreign Service: U.S. consular fee stamps as payment of fee for services, attached to documents or receipts
Stampa Rotativa: (Sp.) rotary printing
Stamp Art: term used by USPS to denote stamp designs being offered as works of art
Stamp Automat: device for vending U. S. postage stamps, first used Sept. 2, 1938, accepted coins only
Stamp, baseball card: first issued by St. Vincent in the size of a baseball trading card and printed on cardboard
Stamp, boating: Boating stamp
Stamp, Bypost: By Post stamp
Stamp canceling machine: earliest known date in the U.S. was at the Boston, Mass. post office, 1876
Stampcard: 1: produced by Ottmar Zieher of Munich, Germany in late 1890s, for various countries, with “Made in Germany” on the reverse, copies exist that were made in the USA. 2: North Korea issued Stampcards in 1993, in the size of credit cards
Stamp, carrier: Carrier stamp
Stamp, Cigarette Tube: Cigarette Tube Stamp
Stamp, cinderella: Cinderella stamp
Stamp, circular: first issued by the Indian district of Scinde in 1852
Stamp club: a group formed by stamp collectors tfor the mutual enjoyment of the hobby
Stamp, coil: Coil stamp
Stamp collecting: hobby devoted to the collecting and study of philatelic material
Stamp Collecting Month: sponsored by the UPU and postal administrations throughout the world, celebrated every October since 1981
Stamp collector: briefmarkensammler (Ger.); collectionneur de timbre-poste (Fr.); filatelico (It.); filatelista (Sp.)
Stamp.com: first firm approved by the USPS to sell postage online
Stamp, commemorative: Commemorative stamp
Stamp, Consular Service Fee: Consular Service Fee Stamp
Stamp, cordials: Cordial stamps
Stamp currency: during period of shortage of coins, unused postage stampshave bene authorized to be used as coins; usually covered with casing of celluloid or metal; used during American Civil War, British South Africa Co., 1900; Russia, etc
Stamp dealer: one who buys and sells philatelic material as a business to earn a profit
Stamp decoder: clear acrylic lens formerly sold by the USPS to encoded imagery on some stamps; such as letters “USAF” on the 1997 Department of the Air Force commemorative
Stamp, definitive: Definitive
Stamp, department: Departmentals
Stamp design error: examples are a canoe moving in the water without a sailor, a ship’s flag waving in one direction while the ship is moving in another direction, a man with six fingers or the incorrect picture of a celebrity
Stamp, diamond: first issued by Nova Scotia in 1851, first U.S. in 1978
Stamp Distribution Office: a regional USPS site that distributes postal items to various postal facilities
Stamp, documentary: Documentary stamps
Stamp, Duck: Duck stamps
Stamp duty: 1: inscription on stamps of the British Empire when used for revenue purposes only, many used as postage stamps when required due to a shortage of stamps. 2: stempelsteur (Ger.); droit d’timbre (Fr.); tassa di bollo (It.); impuesto del timbre (Sp.)
Stamped envelope: an envelope with a preprinted and/or embossed postage imprint, aka postal stationery
Stamp edging: paper surrounding a sheet of stamps; known as te sheet margin
Stamped paper: general term for envelopes, cards which are impressed by a postal design for revenue purposes
Stamped Stationery: Letter Sheets
Stämpel: (Swed.) cancellation, postmark
Stämpelmärken samlingar: (Swed.) revenues collections
Stämpelsamlingar: (Swed.) cancellation collections
Stamp, embroidered: Switzerland issued an embroidered stamp in 2001
Stampex ’86: 1986 Aitutaki overprint for stamp exhibition
Stamp folio: USPS product issued in early 1990s with block of four 29¢ stamps
Stamp for Specialty, United States Internal Revenue: taxpaid revenue stamp taxed on an activity rather than a product being sold
Stamp, free-form: first issued by Sierra Leone in 1964 in shape of map of Sierra Leone
Stamp Fulfillment Center: mail order center of USPS, located in Kansas City, MO
Stamp, hologram: Austria issued the world’s first hologram stamp in 1988
Stamp identification: knowing the name of the country and other information regarding the stamp
Stampigliare: (It.) overprint
Stampila prima zi: (Rom.) first day cancellation
Stampit: software system used in Germany in 2001 to produce postage stamps printed by computer and sold online
Stamp, largest: the honor goes to China for its 1913-14 issue measuring 248mm by 77mm
Stample: (Ger.) “Stamp” newspaper stamps, Austria
Stampless cover: 1: mail sent by post prior to the start of the prepaid postage stamp. 2: Altbrief (Ger.); Lettre Prephilatélique (Fr.); Busta Prefilatelica (It.); Sobre Prefilatélico (Sp.)
Stamp Lift: device used to remove stamps from paper without soaking. Stamps are placed on a shelf above the water, then covered with humidity slowly loosening the paper
Stamp Lover: British philatelic journal
Stamp money: unused postage stamps used as currency during shortages
Stamp News: inscription on stamp labels produced by A.C. Roessler as a copy of the 1929 2¢ Sullivan Expedition stamp
Stamp, octagon: first issued by Great Britain in 1847
Stamp on aluminum foil: Hungary printed aluminum foil stamps in 1955
Stamp on cloth: Hungary printed stamps on a linen-finish paper in 1958
Stamp on gold foil: Tonga started this craze when its issued a circular gold foil stamp in1963
Stamp on plastic: Bhutan put a three-dimensional image with a plastic overlay in 1967
Stamp-on-stamp: stamp designs that feature other stamp(s)
Stamp on steel: Bhutan issued a stamp, honoring steel production on steel in 1969
Stamp on tin: U.S. issued tobacco revenue stamps printed on tin foil in the 1860s
Stamp on wood: Djibouti printed two souvenir sheets on wood in1985 in honor of John Audubon.
Stamp position: system whereby every stamp on a sheet has a number; the numbering starts with the upper left stamp is #1, continuing the count along the top row, and if the sheet has ten stamps per row, then the last stamp in the top row is #10, and the second row would begin with stamp # 11
Stamp out Naked Mail: rubber stamp, privately applied, to promote the use of stamps on mail
Stamp Out Want: seal used as scrip among the unemployed during the U.S. depression
Stamp position code: European term for angle of stamp placement on mail as a message
Stamp press: device for drying a wet stamp quickly
Stamp printed on both sides: a positive impression printed on the back in addition to the front of the stamp paper
Stamp, recording: Bhutan issued a stamp shaped like a phonograph record in 1973 that actually played the nation’s national anthem
Stamp Reproduction: uncanceled U.S. stamps reproduced in authentic colors must be shown either at less than 75% or more than 150% of actual size
Stamps by Mail: a service in which the customer uses a self-mailer order form or by telephone and pays by check or credit card for postage stamps that are delivered with the customer’s regular mail
Stamps, Customs Fee: Customs Fee stamps
Stamp show: a show sponsored by a stamp club to exhibit stamp collections
Stamp size: the size of the stamp design, measured in mm
Stamp, smallest: the 13¢ Indian Head penny definitive of 1978 measures 17mm by 20 mm, larger than the Bolivar, Colombia which issued a stamp in 1863-66 measuring 8mm by 9.55mm
Stamp, smell: Bhutan issue of 1973 smell like roses
Stamps-on-Stamps: a topical collecting specialty that includes stamps, letters, postal markings on stamps
Stamp, stereo: Finland issued a pair of stamps, both of which show a flask and the molecular structure of camphor, and produce a 3-dimensional effect when viewed together, also Italy’s 3-D stamp of December 1956
Stamps to go: customer purchases of postage stamps at consignment outlets such as grocery stores, or via ATM machines that dispense stamps
Stamp stores: a Postal Retail Outlet located as part of a postal facility
Stamp, trapezoid: first issued by Malaysia in 1967
Stamp, triangle: first issued in 1853 by the Cape of good Hope; first U.S. was issued in 1997 for the Pacific 97 exhibition
Stamp Twins: Two stamps with similar designs that were issued due to a coincidence and not an agreement between postal authorities to honor the same subject
Stamp vending machine: a vending machine that has several modules that dispense varying quantities of stamps from a coil in each module
Stamp Venturers: private contractor for printing postage stamps in combination with other firms
St. Albans Postal Serv.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
St. Andrew’s Cross Labels: blank spaces on sheets of stamps to bring the sheet values to even amounts; in Austria these spaces were filled with diagonal lines known as St. Andrew’s crosses; in stamp booklets, these blank spaces are used for advertising
St. Andrew’s Cross postmark: British penny black cancel, Edinburgh, with two lines or rows of crosses with the office number (131) in between
Standardganzsachen: (Ger.) commonly used postal stationery.Standard Mail: USPS term for merger of third-class and fourth-class mail as one term under Classification Reform act of July 1, 1996; formerly advertising mail
Standard Mail A: USPS term for advertising mail
Standard Mail B: USPS term for parcel post
Standard Match Company: Private die match proprietary stamps
Standing Helvetia: refers to the 1882-1907 Switzerland issue, which depicts the standing figure of Helvetia, instead of the seated figure used on previous issues
Standort: (Ger.) location at a stamp show
St. Andrew’s Cross: crosses printed on the four blank spaces left in the panes of the early stamps of Austria and British stamp booklets to prevent forgeries from using gummed stamp paper
Stanislav Issue: the 1919 Austrian stamps, overprinted and surcharged, of the Western Ukraine
Stanley Gibbons: British based stamp catalogs of the world, and also the name of a prominent dealer and auction house
Stanleyville: now known as Kisangani, Zaire
Staplehurst Deliv. Sv.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Star: 1: badge of Islam, on many stamps of Moslem countries. 2: star, numeral, overprint on stamps of Ethiopia for semi-postal. 3: British 1854-57 perforated, line-engraved issues with check letters in bottom corners and stars in upper corners
Star and Crescent: 1: with colorless crescent on stamps of Turkey semi-postal. 2: Star and Crescent: overprint on stamps of Algeria semi-postal. 3: six-pointed Hebrew star was mistakenly used in an overprint by Turkey and rapidly corrected. 4: stamps of India 1937-43 were overprinted for use in Bahawalpur. 5: issue of Pakistan 1948, showing moon facing right (known as a decrescent) instead of left; corrected in 1949 issues
Staraya Russa: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1881
Star cancel: incorporates a star or other similar geometric feature
Star Die: U.S. postal stationery series of 1860 where stars appear on each side of the oval design
Star Flag cancels: produced by the American Hand Power Cancelling Machine, early 1890s
Stark schwankende farbtonungen auf glatten oder rauhem papier: (Ger.) smooth or rough paper with heavy fluctuation in shading
Star Match: Private die match proprietary stamps
Starobyelsk: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1876-95
Star, open: some of the Washington-Franklin plate blocks has an open star after the imprint and before the plate number in the margin. The star means that stamps printed from plates with 3 mm of spacing, instead of 2 mm, between the six outer vertical rows on each side of the plate
Star plates: U.S. plates with a star in the imprint or near the plate number to indicate an experimental spacing of the subjects, tested in 1908 and 1925
Star Route: (obsolete) routes carrying mail between post offices while Rural Free Delivery was being established, designated with three stars on routes, other than railroad or steamboat; the stars officially represent “celerity, certainty, security.”
Starr’s Emergency P.S.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Star solid: plate 4980 and 4988 of the Washington-Franklin series have a solid star to indicate the 3 mm wider spacing. The 2¢ Lincoln issue of 1909 also has a solid star
Starting bid: minimum bid
Star watermark: paper used in 1879 with a five pointed star added to thewatermark to distinguish it from pervious watermark
State Bedding Stamps: labels with name of state and department with the state government that is involved in the regulation of bedding products
State, Dept. of: U. S.: officials, high values were used for foreign usage
Stated-to-catalog: a large lot of stamps, put up for auction, where the auctioneer accepts the vendor’s estimate of the catalog value, without checking it
State Envelopes: inscription of front of envelopes, 1863, with name of state and its counties of front, Post Office chart and location map on back
State Hunting Permit Stamps: issued by individual U.S. states, usually sold for less than face value after period of validity
Staten Island: island off the coast of Tierra del Fuego, had a post office 1890 – 1902
Staten Island Express Post: U. S. local post, Staten Island, N.Y., 1849
State of North Borneo: North Borneo, British rule
State of Oman: unauthorized labels; Sultanate of Oman
State of Rainbow Creek: label for Australian successionist state
State of Singapore: Singapore
Stamp Planet: publication that existed from May 1923 to Dec. 1924; merged with Stamp Topics
Statens Järnvägar: (abbr. SJ) (Swed.) Swedish National Railways
State Post: Vermont created a post office for the State in Feb.1784 and established five post offices
State revenue stamps: issued by the states rather than federal authority; most common are mattress stamps
States of Jersey: inscription for a revenue issue from the Channel island of Jersey; overprinted “Specimen” to preclude their use
States of the Church: Roman States
Statesville, N. C. Paid 5: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Stationarius: postmaster, Roman imperial postal system, about 250 BC
Station cancel: cancellation applied at a temporary postal station established for a convention, exhibition or other special event
Stati Parm(ensi): (It.) “States of Parma” first issue of the Italian state of Parma, Parma
Stati Uniti: (It.) United States
Stato di conservazione: (It.) Condition
Stato di Conservazione Vario: (It.) a sound copy, not good, if used, not too heavily postmarked
Stato Pontificao: (It.) Papal States
Stats ministeriet: (Dan.) “State Minitsry,” identifies government mail
Statue of Liberty: whereby the floor bidder participant never lowers the bidding paddle during the entire calling of the bidding increments
Stavropol: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1894-1912
St. Bilena: British Colonial Royal Wedding frames from book Surreal Stamps and Unreal Stickers
S.T.C.: Stated-to-catalog, total or other, based on catalog prices
St. Christopher: island in the West Indies; currency:12 pence = 1 shilling 1789: first postmark introduced, 1858-60: used British stamps, 1870, April 1: No.1, 1 penny dull rose, first stamp issued, 1890, Oct. 31: St. Christopher stamps superseded by those of the Leeward Islands, 1903: used the stamps of St. Kitts-Nevis
St. Christopher-Nevis, Anguilla: islands of the British West Indies; 1952, June14: first stamp, 1956-pre: used stamps of Leeward Island concurrently with own, 1967, Feb.: Anguilla declared independence, but name appeared on stamps until 1980, however not accepted as valid in Anguilla after 1969, 1980, June: stamps issued for St. Kitts and Nevis separately; first official stamp, 1988, Jan. 11: joined the U.P.U.; St. Christopher, St. Kitts-Nevis
St. Ciaia: British Colonial Royal Wedding frames from book Surreal Stamps and Unreal Stickers
Ste: USPS abbreviation in address for street
Steam: marking on mail carried by a steam boat applied at the receiving post office, when the cover entered the U.S. Post Office Department mail system
Steamboat: 1: handstamp used on letters entering New York and Providence in 1823, Philadelphia in1824. 2: applied at post offices to letters turned in at ports of call of boast that had no mail carrying contract
Steamboat mail: first steamboat to carry mail across the Atlantic Ocean was the SS Royal William in 1833; authorized by an Act of Congress, Feb. 27, 1813, for contracts for carrying mail on steamboats
Steamboat marking: used on inland or coastal steamship that had no contract to carry U.S. mails
Steamer rate: indicates a fee for the carriage of mails by sea
Steamers Letter Box: used in port of Shanghai for paquebot
Steam-Ship: marking on blockade run letters from Europe to the Confederate States during the American Civil War
Steamway: marking applied at post offices ro letters handed to contract carriers along the way on a route, whether by land or water; 19th and early 20th-century
Stecher: (Ger.) engraver
Stedsstempel : (Nor.) circular datestamp (cds) cancellation
St. Edward’s Crown: 1955: watermark design used on British stamps, replaced the Tudor Crown, 1956: same watermark with initials “CA,” Crown Agents
Steel blue: color changeling on the 24¢ stamp in the 1861 series
Steel engraving: engraving stamp designs on steel dies that are then hardened to produce printing plates
Steep Holm: island off Somerset; Great Britain local carriage label
Stein: Donald Evans issue; Holland; Evans, Donald
Steindruck: (Ger.) printed on face of paper, lithography
Steinmeyer’s City Post: 1859, Charleston, S.C.; Carriers” Stamps
Steintrykk: (Nor.) Trykk – Stein
Stella clavisque maris indici: “The star and key of the Indian Ocean”; on stamps of Mauritius
Stellaland: protectorate in the Transvaal, South Africa currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling 1883: formed by land grants to volunteers during war in 1879-79 1884, Feb.1: No.1, 1 penny red, first stamps issued as local post, inscribed “Republiek Stellaland,” 1885, Sept. 30: annexed by British and became part of British Bechuanaland, 1885, Dec. 2: stamps of Cape of Good Hope overprinted “British Bechuanaland” used
Ste. Marie de Madagascar: island off east coast of Madagascar; currency: 100 centimes = 1 franc 1894: No.1, 1 centime black on lilac blue, French Colonial Navigation and Commerce key type stamps issued, 1896: became part of Madagascar
Stemma: (It.) coat of arms
Stempel: 1: (Ger.) stamp. 2: (Dan., Ger.) cancel, postmark. 3: (with “cents”); Austria, Lombardy-Venetia, 1850. 4: (with “kreuzers”); Austria, 1850. 5: “Stamp” newspaper stamp; Austria, 1851-63
Stempelmarke: (Ger.) fiscal stamp
Stempelsteuer: (Ger.) stamp duty
Stempel (Zeitungs): (Ger.) newspaper stamps, Austria
Stemplet: (Dan.) used, cancelled
Stenkjaer: > (also Steinkjer, Stenkjer) town and seat of Nord-Trøndelag county, N Central Norway, N of Levanger and at the head of the Trondheim Fjord ca. 275 mile N of Oslo. Local post established by W. B. Bough (see Hammerfest), with set-of-4 “Stenkjær / By Post” lithographed local stamps depicting a bear in the wild issued 20 July 1888. The local post ceased operations at the end of 1888
Stentryck: (Swed.) lithography
Stereogram: first used by Canada Post for a hologram containing a 60-frame “moving” image
Stereoscopic stamps: design of Italian stamps consisted of globes in red and green, that when seen through special glasses, have a three-dimensional effect; Dec. 29, 1956
Stereotype: design copying using metal cast in a mold or plaster of paris to produce printing bases for relief printing
Sterk Fiolett: (Nor.) stong violet, deep violet (color)
Sterk Uktramarin: (Nor.) stong ultramarine, deep ultramarine (color)
Sterling Sommer: subcontractor to Ashton-Potter for printing U.S. stamps
Stern Parcel Service: local, Canada postal strike, 1968
Stettin: city in Germany, local post, 1: Privatstadbrief-Beförderung, 1887-88 2: Stadtbrief-Beförderung, 1887-88. 3: now known as Szczecin, Poland
Steuer Kasse Erste: (Ger.) cancel for tax cash (office) first
Steuermarke: (Ger.) tax or fiscal stamp
Steven’s: catalog of Mexican revenues
Stevens, H. R.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Stevens Security Press: subcontractor to Ashton-Potter for printing U.S. stamps
St. Evis-Nevik: British Colonial Royal Wedding frames from book Surreal Stamps and Unreal Stickers
Stewart’s: Mrs. Stewart’s
STG: Thailand 1932-43
St.G.: St. Georges, Bermuda
St. Gothard: Switzerland hotel post, 1882-87
St. Helena: island in the South Atlantic Ocean; home of Napoleon’s exile; currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 pence = 1 pound sterling (1971) 1815-post: mail connections were via Cape Town, 1856, Jan.: No.1, 6 pence blue, British colony issued first stamp, 1912-pre: stamps used are usually found with fancy cork cancellations, 1916: first war tax stamp, 1961, Oct. 12: first semipostal, withdrawn from sale Oct. 19, 1961 1986, June 9: first postage due stamp; Ascension
St. Helena: sinking ship design, unissued Great Britain cinderella by David Horry, 2001
S. Thome e Principe: inscription for St. Thomas and Price Islands to 1914; S. Tome after 1914
S. Tiago: (Sp.) Santiago (Chile) pre-adhesive postamark
Stich: (Ger.) engraving
Stichtiefdruk: (Ger.) recess printed pates have raised image; Recess printed
Stichzähnung: (Ger.) pin perforation
Sticker: usually die-cut adhesives, decorative in nature; may be considered a cinderella
Stickney Press: BEP intaglio, webfed, rotary press developed by Benjamin Stickney, 1914
Stick ‘N Tic: experimental Canadian label to speed up automatic sorting during the 1983 Christmas season
Stiffener: piece of card placed inside an envelope to prevent it from being creased or damaged by mail handling equipment
Stiftung Deutsche Jugendmarke: (Ger.) “German Youth Foundation,” semi-postal
Stiftung zur Forderung der Philatelie und Postgeschcichte: (Ger.) Foundation for the Promotion of Philately and Postal History, recipient of semi-postal sales funds in Germany
Still, John H.: carrier in San Francisco, about 1851, had circle handstamp “Mailed at Still’s N. Y. Bookstore, San Francisco
Stillehavet: (Dan.) Pacific Ocean
Stimpilmerki: (Ice.) documentary revenue stamps
Stitch watermark: straight or zig-zag lines watermark caused by the stitching together of the ends of cloth aprons on which the pulp is assembled in the paper making process, appears as a row of short parallel lines
Stkbk: abbreviation for stockbook
St. Kilda: 1: Great Britain local carriage label, Outer Herbrides, 1968. 2: island, 100 miles off the coast of Scotland, with labels bearing its name
St. Kilda “toy mail boat”: mail was sealed in a tin can that was placed in a hollow block of wood carved as a toy boat; then covered by a block of wood inscribed “St. Kilda-Please open.” The boat would float out with the tide. Hopefully, they were picked up by passing vessels. Island evacuated in 1930. In 1957, the British Army established a base on the island, and mail is taken by Army helicopter
St. Kitts: oldest British colony in West Indies, currency: 100 cents = 1 dollar 1858-60: used stamps of Great Britain, 1870, April 1: issued its first stamp as St. Christopher, 1890, Oct.: used stamps of the Leeward Islands, 1903: No.1, ½ penny green and violet, stamps for the combined colony of St. Kitts and Nevis were used, along with general issues of Leeward Islands, 1916: first war tax stamp issued, 1952: stamps with names of the St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla used, 1956: St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla became separate colony, 1967, Feb. became an Associated State of the British Commonwealth, Anguilla went on its own, 1980, June 23: No.1, 5 cents multi, St. Kitts and Nevis had separate stamps, first official stamps; St. Christopher, St. Kitts-Nevis
St. Kitts-Nevis: aka St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla, British West Indies; currency:12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 cents = 1 dollar (1951) 1858-60: first stamps were British, 1861-90: Nevis first stamp, 1870-90: St. Christopher first stamp, 1882: St. Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla became a presidency of Leeward islands, 1890: Leeward Islands stamps replaced those of St Kitts and Nevis, 1903: No.1, ½ pence green & violet, first combined issue for St. Kitts-Nevis appeared, Leeward Islands issues also valid until 1956, 1916: first war tax stamp, 1938: Anguilla overprint on a map stamp of St. Kitts-Nevis, 1952, June 14: St. Kitts-Nevis stamps replaced by St. Christopher, Nevis, Anguilla, 1956: Leeward Islands stamps no longer used, St. Kitts-Nevis became its own colony, 1967: Britain granted internal self-government, 1980: first official stamp; Anguilla, St. Christopher, St. Kitts-Nevis
St. Leelena: British Colonial Royal Wedding frames from book Surreal Stamps and Unreal Stickers
St. Louis Bears: nickname for the postmaster provisional stamps issued in Nov.1846 by the postmaster of St. Louis, Mo. The design features the Missouri coat of arms which includes two bears
St. Louis City Delivery Company: U. S. local post, St. Louis, Mo., 1883
St. Lucia: British West Indies island, one of the Windward Group; official name of postal administration: Saint Lucia Postal Services currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 100 cents = 1 dollar (1949) 1803: occupied by Great Britain, 1844-60: British stamps used at Castries with “A 11” cancel for overseas mail, 1860, Dec. 18: No.1, 1 penny rose red, first issue, 1880s: individual villages used internal post with index letters in the postmarks, 1881: joined the U.P.U., 1916: first war tax stamp, 1931: first postage due stamp, 1956-62: became member of the British Caribbean Federation, 1967, Mar.1: achieved Associated Statehood, first air mail stamp, 1979, Feb. 22: became independent within the Commonwealth, 1980, July 10: rejoined the U.P.U., 1983: Oct. 13: first official stamp
St. Lucia: Horrabin, Pip Squeak & Wilford, Pop; inscriptions, unissued Great Britain cinderellas by David Horry, 2001
St. Lucia Steam Conveyance Cy. Limited: used within the island,1882; in 1869 used for the prepayment of letters between Castries and towns along the coast of St. Lucia
St. Luclu: British Colonial Royal Wedding frames from book Surreal Stamps and Unreal Stickers
St. Marron: Swiss origin label
St. Moritz: 1: Switzerland hotel post, 1892, Hotel Neues Stahlbad. 2: Switzerland hotel post, 1892-1904, Engadinerhof Hotel. 3: Switzerland hotel post, 1897, Privat Hotel Tognoni
STMP: auction abbreviation for stamp
STN: station
St. Nalena: British Colonial Royal Wedding frames from book Surreal Stamps and Unreal Stickers
Stochastic screening printing method: printing based on dots in an apparently random position
Stock book: a book with pockets designed to hold stamps; also available in card size and individual sheets
Stock Exchange Forgery: The British 1/- 1867 stamp were sold at the London Stock Exchange to pay the postage on telegraph forms. In 1898, an alert dealer saw that they were blurry in appearance and some of the corner letters were in combinations that should not have existed. An investigation found that were forgeries and the culprits were never found
Stockholm: Seaport city, capital of Sweden, and seat of Stockholm province; largest city in Sweden; the largest city in Sweden, and its cultural, commercial, and financial center. Two local posts operated through the 1920s, to include Aktiebolager Stadsposten and Stockholms Privata Lokalpost (q.v. individual Stockholm Local Post entries)
Stockholm – Aktiebolaget Stadsposten: Local post established under the direction of Anders Jeurling, beginning operations on 5 December 1887. The local post was purchased by the Swedish Post Office Dept. effective 10 September 1889, and ceased operations on 1 October 1889. First set-of-6 “Stockholms Statdspost” lithographed local stamps depicting a king caricature and values as “öre” issued 5 December 1887, with similar set with values as “øre” issued later, also in 1887, and a final similar-design set-of-2 issued 7 August 1888 (3 öre rose-colored) and 1 January 1889 (4 öre gold & blue)
Stockholm – Stockholms Privata Lokalpost: Local post registered by R. W. Lindhe on 21 November 1925, and beginning operations on 14 December of the same year. The company was reorganized in 1926, but entered liquidation on 4 June 1927. Lindhe organized the Göteborg Privata Local Post (q.v.), having remaining stocks of their triangular stamps, which were overprinted for the new enterprise, and which were issued 14 December 1925. Other different-design stamps were issued through the end of 1926
Stockport & Manchester: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Stock transfer stamps: tax of stock transfers and certificates; used by federal and state authorities; 1918-52
Stoke-On-Trent Private: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
S. Tome e Principe: (Port.) St. Thomas & Prince Islands
Stone’s City Post: U.S. local post handstamp, New York, N.Y., 1858-59
Stoos: Switzerland hotel post, 1871-95, Hotel Pension Stoos
Stop: known to printers as a period; British term for a period
Stora Comoro: (Swed.) the Comoro Islands
Storbritannien: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Great Britain, Britisk (Dan., Nor.), Britiskk (Swed.)
Storfurstendömet: (Swed.) Grand Duchy
Storia Postale: (It.) postal history
Storkow: city in Germany, local post, 1946
Storlek: (Swed.) size
Stormramp Nederland: (Dut.) “Flood Relief in Netherlands,” overprint on stamps of Surinam
Størrelse: (Dan.) size
Största: (Swed.) largest
Största enhet: (Swed.) largest unit
Stothhkh, Stotinki: currency unit in Bulgaria
Stotinki: currency unit in Bulgaria
ST.P.A.: Stadt Post Amt (Ger.) town post office
St. Petersburg: known as Leningrad, USSR
St. Pierre and Miquelon: two group of islands south of Newfoundland; currency:100 centimes = 1 French franc, 100 cents = 1 euro (2002) 1859: first stamps were French colonial handstamped with a surcharge “25/SPM” and overprint, 1885, Jan. 5: No.1, 5 centimes on 40¢ vermilion, first stamp; overprint “St. Pierre M-on” on French Colonies postage due issues, 1892: first postage due stamp,1901: first parcel post stamp, 1915: first semipostal stamp, 1942, Aug.17: first air mail stamp, 1942: stamps overprinted “France Libre / F.N.F.L,” Forces Navales Francaises Libres Free French Naval Forces, 1949: became French Overseas Territory, 1976, July: made a Department of France
St. Pierre et Miquelon: overprint on stamps of the French Colonies for St. Pierre & Miquelon
St. Pierre M-ON: overprint on stamps of French Colonies; St. Pierre & Miquelon; 1891-92
Stpl., Stempel: (Ger.) cancellation
Str: abbreviation for strip
Strå: (Nor.) straw (color)
Strada: (Czech.) Wednesday
Strafporto: (Den.) “Penalty postage” Denmark postage due
Strågul: (Nor.) straw-yellow (color)
Straight edge (SE): a stamp which naturally lacks perforations
Straight line cancel: refers to a marking in which the basic postmark information, such as city and state, appear in a straight line, with no deviations
Straight Line Perforator: BEP machine that utilized a set of perforating pins and a center cutting wheel, created perforations and cut the sheet in half
Strain: (Rom.) foreign
Strainatate: (Rom.) foreign countries
Straits Settlements: Malay Peninsula, consisted of Malacca, Penang, and Singapore; currency 100 cents = 1 dollar 1826: Malacca, Singapore and Penang incorporated into one government, 1854, Oct. 22-March 31, 1867: stamps of India used, 1867-pre: stamps of British India in use without overprint 1867, Sept.1: No.1, 1 ½¢ on ½ anna blue, overprinted stamps of India with a crown and surcharge, 1876, April 1: stamps of Straights Settlements overprinted for Johore, 1877, April 1: joined the U.P.U., 1906-11: Straits Settlements overprint on stamps of Labuan; 1917: first semipostal stamp, 1924: first postage due stamp, 1936-41: Singapore became separate colony, issues inscribed “Malaya,” 1942, March 16 – 1945: stamps of Straits Settlements overprinted under
Japanese occupation, 1946: colony dissolved, Malacca and Penang became part of the Malayan Union, which then became the Federation of Malaya (1948); Labuan transferred to British North Borneo, Singapore is a self-governing state, Christmas Island administrated by Australia; Malaya (Federated Malay States)
Straordinario: (It.) Tuscany newspaper tax, full inscription reads “Bollo Straordinario Per Le Poste” and delivered by express messenger, 1854
Strappato: (It.) torn
Strappe: (It.) tear
Strapper: (Brit.) part-time postal employee usually hired during holiday season
Strausberg: city in Germany, local post; 1: Private-Brief-Verkehr/Privatpost; 1886-1900 2: Privat-Post Hansa; 1892-98 3: Stadt Strausberg; 1945-46
Straw: U.S. Navy mail code name during WW II for Samoa
Strawberry variety: flaw in U.S. Lake Placid stamp indicates spot of red near skier
Strawboard: U.S. Navy mail code name during WW II for Wallis Island
Strawhat: U.S. Navy mail code name during WW II for Upolu, Samoa
Street car letter boxes: U.S. ordinary letter boxes attached to front or rear of street cars running on regular schedules
Street car mail service: systems were operating in 13 major U.S. cities between 1893 and the 1920s; Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh, Rochester, St. Louis, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington. In 1899, the mail services were transferred from the Railway Mail Service to the postmasters of the concerned cities
Streif-(franko)band: (Ger.) wrapper
Streife: (Ger.) strip (of stamps)
Streik: (Ger.) strike
Stretta: (It.) cut close
Stribe: (Dan.) strip (of stamps)
Stríbrná: (Czech.) silver (metallic color)
Stríbrnosedá: (Czech.) silver-grey (color)
Strike: a machine or handstamp cancel on a stamp or cover
Strike Back E.L.S.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Strike post: stamps and handstamps used by private carriers when the official post office is on strike
Strike Post ’71: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Strike Post (Atsral): United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Strike Post (Inge): United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Stringer & Morton’s City Despatch: 1: U.S. local post, Baltimore, Md., 1850. 2: S. Allan Taylor labels
Strip: 1: three or more stamps that have not been separated. 2: bande (Fr.); streifen (Ger.); striscia (It.); tira (Sp.)
Strippers: equipment used to free the perforated sheets from the perforating pins
Striscia: (It.) strip (of stamps)
Stroke perforator: a perforation device that perforates stamps by an up-and-down stroke motion
Stroma: Great Britain local carriage label, Orkney islands, 1962
Stroma to Huna: bogus Great Britain local post, 1960s
Strubel: Various types of handmade paper used in early Swiss stamps, not limited to the silk thread type
Stryj: city in Poland, local provisional overprint, 1919
St. Thomas and Prince Island: two islands in the Gulf of Guinea; aka Sao Tome and Principe; currency: 1,000 reis = 1 milreis, 100 centavos = 1 escudo (1913), 100 centimos = 1 dobra (1977) 1869: No.1, 5 reis black, first issue, Portuguese colonial key types, 1892: first newspaper stamp, 1904: first postage due stamp, 1925: first postal tax due stamp, 1938 : first air mail stamp, 1951, June 11: islands became an overseas province of Portugal, 1975, July 12: became independent as the republic, 1977, Aug. 22; joined the U.P.U
St. Thomas Foreign Letter Office: private post, 1851-Oct. 1860
St. Thomas-Porto Rico: bogus set of nine values, issued after mail service ceased in 1869 between the two ports; or, prepared for use but not issued
S.T. Trstavuja: Slobodni Teritorija Trsta – Vojna Uprava Jugoslavenske Armije (Serbian) Free Territory of Trieste, Military Administration of Yugoslav Army, Zone B
S.T.T. -V.U.J.A.: Slobodni Teritorija Trsta – Vojna Uprava Jugoslavenske Armije (Serbian) Free Territory of Trieste, Military Administration of Yugoslav National Army, Zone B, 1948-54
S.T.T. VUJ(N)A: overprint on stamps of Yugoslavia for Trieste military government, Zone B, 1948-54
S.T.T. -V.U.J.(N.)A.: Slobodni Terorij Trsta – Vojna Uprava Jugoslavenske Armije (Serbian) Free Territory of Trieste, Military Administration of Yugoslav National Army, Zone B, 1948 – 54
Stuart Vernon Org. Ltd.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Stubbekobing-Nykobing-Nysted Banen: local, Denmark railway parcel post
Stuck: postal employee with more mail than can be completely distributed prior to scheduled dispatch or letter carrier leaving time, as in “go stuck.”
Stück: (Ger.) copy, example, on piece
Study circle: a group of collectors who meet or correspond regarding their mutual interest in a certain area of philately
Stuffer: stiff piece of paper or cardboard used inside a cover to provided stiffness for a clear cancellation and provide protection against bending of the cover while in the mail stream; also called filler
Stummer stempel: (Ger.) cancel without inscription
Stussbrev: (Nor.) Norwegian term for a letter sent from one country to another, which then received additional stamps from the recipient nation
Stuttgart: city in Germany, local post, Privat-Stadtpost, 1886-1900
St. Vincent: island in the West Indies; currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 cents = 1 EC dollar (1949) 1858–60: British stamps used with “A 10” cancel for overseas mail, 1861, May 8: No.1,1 penny rose, first stamp, 1880s: village postmarks issued,1881: joined the U.P.U., 1898: first stamps in British Commonwealth key type, 1916: first War Tax stamp, 1969: associated statehood, 1979: independence; first semipostal stamp, 1982, Nov.: first official stamp,1992, Oct. 28: stamps inscribed St. Vincent and the Grenadines
St. Vincent Grenadines: group of islands south of St. Vincent; includes Bequia, Canouan, Mustique and Union; 1973-pre: used stamps of St. Vincent, 1973, Nov. 14: No.1, 25¢ green and multicolored; first stamp inscribed Grenadines of St.Vincent, 1974: stamps of St. Vincent overprinted “Grenadines of” 1980, Aug. 7: first semipostal stamp, 1982, Oct.11: first official stamp, 1981, Feb. 3: joined the U.P.U., 1984: No.1,1 cent multicolor; first stamp of Bequia (1984) and Union Island (Mar. 29, 1984)
Styria: province of Austria; 1945: stamps of Germany overprinted “Österreich.”
S.U.: 1: Sungei Ujong, Malayan state, overprint on stamps of Straits Settlements; 1878-91. 2: Colombia-Scadta consular overprint sold in Sweden
Suaheliland Protectorate: speculative stamps manufactured by Denhardt Bros. in 1889, listed in Michel catalogue; Wituland, German East Africa
Suakin: city in Egypt;1872-79, Interpostal seals
Subasta: (Sp.) auction
Subject: unit of the design or entire design of a stamp
Submarine mail: 1: postal services operated by submarine in time of war as used in 1916-17 by German Aegean islands subs to and from the U.S. 2: Spanish submarine used to carry mail, with fund raising stamps on the mail, from Barcelona to the island of Menorca, Aug. 12, 1938
Submarino-Correo: (Sp.) submarine mail
Subsidio pro Combatientes: (Sp.) Aid for War Veterans; Spanish Morocco revenue inscription
Substation: terms “substation, station and branch post office” were considered synonymous according to a glossary in the 1879 edition of U. S. Postal Laws and Regulations; they are supplementary post offices established in large cities in area remote from a main post office
Substitute cliché: a single cliché inserted into a printing plate in place of a damaged one; can be identified if it fails to line up exactly with those around it
Substrate: material upon which a stamp is printed; most common is paper, but wood, plastic and other materials have been used
Su busta: (It.) on cover
Succa: city in Spain, local post, Spanish Civil War, Republican forces, 1937
Su-Chung Area: local post, East China, Central Kiangsu, 1942-46
Su-Chung Fifty sub-District: local post, East China, Central Kiangsu, 1942-46
Sucre: currency unit in Ecuador
Sud: (Fr., Rom.) South
Sudáfrica: (Sp.) South Africa
Südafrika: (Ger.) South Africa
Südafrikanischer Bund: (Ger.) Union of South Africa
Südamerika: (Ger.) South America
Sudan: Northeastern Africa, south of Egypt; currency: 10 milliemes = 1 piaster, 100 piasters = 1 Egyptian pound (1992), 10 pounds = 1 dinar 1867: used stamps of Egypt, 1897, March 1: No.1, 1 millieme brown, first stamps, overprints “Soudan” on stamps of Egypt; first postage due stamp, 1898, March 1: Sudan inscription, famous “Camel Post” series started, lasted 50 years, 1901: postage due label, 1902: first official stamp, 1905: first Army official, 1931: first air mail stamp, 1954, Jan. 9: stamps inscribed “Sudan / Self Government 1954,” 1956, Jan.1: became independent republic of Sudan, 1956, July 27: joined the U.P.U., 1956, Sept. 15: first stamps as independent republic; Army Service
Sudan, French: Soudan Français (Fr.); northwest Africa; Currency: 100 centimes = 1 franc, 1890: French Colonies general issues, 1894, April 12: first stamp, 1899: French Sudan divided among Dahomey, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Senegambia and Niger, 1902: non-military zone became Senegambia and Niger, 1903: French stamps replaced by stamps of Senegambia and Niger, 1904: this then became Upper Senegal and Middle Niger, who did not issue stamps, 1919: colony of Upper Volta created from six of the provinces of Upper Senegal and Niger, and rest returned to the original name of French Sudan, 1921: stamps of Upper Senegal and Niger overprinted for use in French Sudan, 1921, Dec.: first postage due stamp, 1922: Niger became an independent colony, 1933: Upper Volta abolished, some provinces reverted to French Sudan, 1938, Oct. 24: semipostal issue, 1940, Feb. 8: first air mail stamp, 1942, June 22: first air mail semipostal stamp, 1944: used stamps of French West Africa, 1954, April 4: French Sudan joined Senegal to form the Mali Federation; Mali, Federation of
Sudan, 1922: Niger became an independent colony, 1933: Upper Volta abolished, some provinces reverted to FrenchSudan, 1944: used stamps of French West Africa, 1954, April 4: French Sudan joined Senegal to form the Mali Federation
Suden: illegal labels, purporting to be stamps, as per March 15, 2004, Republic of Sudan report to the UPU; depicting Pope John Paul II, not valid for postage
Sudetenland: (Czech., Pol., Sudety) originally the pre-WWII mountainous region comprising the Sudety Mountains on the N borders of Bohemia and Silesia; after the 1938 Czech:German crisis, including all Bohemia and Moravia borderlands inhabited by German-speaking people. Ceded by Czechoslovakia to Germany by 1938 Munich Agreement, and restored to Czechoslovakia in 1945; Celistvosti – Sudety
Sudeten Territory: of Czechoslovakia; 1938, Dec. 2: semi-postal issued for annexation into Germany. 1939: Czech stamps overprinted for use in some Sudetenland cities prior to German takeover. 1945: area restored to Czechoslovakia
Sudety: (Czech., Pol.) Sudetenland
Sud Kasai: overprint on stamps of Congo for South Kasai, sold in Brussels, never issued in Africa
Suedez: (Rom) Swedish (adj.)
Suidwes Afrika: (Afrikaans) overprint of stamps of South Africa for South West Africa, 1926
Sudzha: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1882-90
Suecia: (Sp.) Sweden
Suède: (Fr.) Sweden
Suez: 1: city in Egypt;1864-84, Interpostal seals. 2: French post office opened Nov. 1862, closed Dec. 1888
Suez Canal Company: 1854: concession granted, work started in 1859, 1859-67, mail transported free between Port Said and Suez during construction, 1860-1879: British stamps canceled with canceler “BO2” at Suez, 1868, July 18-Aug. 16, 1868: special charge for the special stamps being used, 1868, Oct.: special stamps stopped: Egyptian government took over the service, used regular postage, 1869, Nov. 17: official opening of the canal for navigation
Su frammento: (It.) on piece (of cover)
Suid Afrika: (Afrikaan) South Africa
Sui-Ning: local post, southwest China, 1950
Suisse: (Fr.) Switzerland
Suiyuan: former province of China; 1946: Communist North China Liberation Area issued stamps for area
Suiza: (Sp.) Switzerland
S. Ujong: overprint on stamps of Straits Settlements; Malaya-Sungei Ujong, 1891-94
Su-kia-fow: local post, east China, 1949
Sul Bollettino: (It.) left half of a two part parcel post stamp of Italy, which was affixed to the waybill that accompanied the parcel, post 1914; Sulla recevuta
Sul Bollettino: (It.) on stamps with star and crescent; Somalia parcel post
Sulina: city on the Danube delta, Romania; French post office opened Nov. 1857, closed Aug. 1879
Sulina, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built around 1860s, for lower Danube lines
Sulla Ricevuta: 1: right half of a two part parcel post stamp of Italy, which was affixed to the receipt given to the sender; Sul Bollettino. 2: (It.) on stamps with star and crescent; Somalia parcel post
Sullivan’s Dispatch Post: U.S. local post, Cincinnati, Ohio 1853
Sullivan’s J. W., Newspaper Office: U.S. local post handstamp, San Francisco, Calif.,1854-55
Sulphuretted: applies to stamps which have become discolored due to gases in the air; also known as oxidized
Sultanat d’Anjouan: overprint on French colonial stamps from 1892 to 1914 for Anjouan
Sultanate of Khayam: Omar Khayam, the tentmaker, George Fabian, Illinois, fantasy
Sultanate of Oman: inscribed State of Oman are labels
Sultepec: overprint on stamps of Mexico for this district, 1856-1883
Sum: currency unit in Uzbekistan
Sumatra: island forms part of the Republic of Indonesia; 1943-44: stamps of Japan issued for Netherland Indies occupation, 1945: first stamps; anti-Dutch nationalists issued own stamps, not recognized
Summer gum: U.S. stamps prepared with “hard” gum intended for use when weather is warm to and not prone to curling as heat and humidity increase; 1904-06
Summer Isles: (Tanera More) island off the coast of Scotland; local carriage label, 1970
Summer Olympics 1984: Aitutaki overprint with winners’ names and events
Summer Olympics 1988: Aitutaki overprint with winners’ names and events
Sumter, S. C. paid 10: Confederate Postmasters’ Provisionals
Sumy: 1: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1868-98 2: local post, Ukrainian; 1993
Sunburst postmark: Hong Kong type, circle and short radials
Sunburst seals: labels with a perimeter of outgoing triangles designed to seal registered letters in Mexico
Sunday Delivery Labels: Bandelette
Sunday delivery stamps: stamps with an added fee for mail to be delivered on Sunday and public holidays; used in Bulgaria, 1925-29, 1942
Sunday labels: attachment of the bottom of Belgian stamps, 1893-1915 with inscription “Do not deliver on Sunday.”
Sunday postmarks: applied to mail arriving in London or Dublin on a Sunday and not delivered until the following day
Sunday stamps: 1: special tax stamps or compulsory use on mail posted on Sundays or public holidays issued by Bulgaria. 2: attachment of the bottom of Belgian stamps, 1893-1915 with inscription “Do not deliver on Sunday.” 3: Holland has a special label for Sunday delivery. 4: used in London to inform postmen to deliver letters before 10 am Sunday
Sunday tax stamp: a post tax stamp was required in Bulgaria on letters to be delivered on Sundays and holidays, with the proceeds going to sanitariums for postal employees
Sungei Ujong: Malayan State; overprint on stamps of Strait Settlements; Malaya; nonfederated state on the Malay Peninsula; (located in Scott Catalogue after Malaya); 1878: Sungei Ujong, “S U” overprints on stamps of the Straits Settlements, 1891-95: S. Ujong inscribed on stamps, 1895: Sungei Ujong stamps withdrawn, Malayan state incorporated in Negri Sembilan; Malayan, Federation of
Sung-Ting: Chinese ceramics label; Evans, Donald
Sun Head Stamps: stamps of Uruguay featuring a head within the sun; 1860
Suomen Taiteilijaseura: (Fin.) Artists Association of Finland, some members make cinderellas
Suomi: Finlan, means “the land of fens and lakes.”
Supeh: Suriname, Japanese occupation, 1941-45
Superb (S, Sup.): perfect, without faults
Superlitho: an exacting printing process that allows for security features to be applied during the printing process
Supplementary flight: flight intended to advance late mails with another transport service
Supplementary mail: signifies the payment of double the letter postage rate in 1863 for overseas destinations posted after the regular scheduled mail closing time to get the mail on board before sailing; usually incorrectly described as “overfranking,” Late fee
Supplements: yearly pre-printed album pages for a country or topic to “supplement” an already existing album page
Supposed liable to customs duty: marking on incoming foreign mail, applied by foreign exchange postal authorities, where contents of mailing may contain taxable items
Supratipar: (Rom.) overprint
Supratipar albastru: (Rom.) blue overprint
Supratipar argintiu: (Rom.) silver overprint
Supratipar aurio: (Rom.) gold overprint
Supratipar dublu: (Rom.) double overprint
Supratipar negru: (Rom.) black overprint
Supratipar rasturnat: (Rom.) reversed overprint
Supratipar rosu: (Rom.) red overprint
Supratipar verde: (Rom.) green overprint
Suraffranchi: (Fr.) overfranked
Surch.: abbreviation for surcharge, overprint
Surcharge: 1: an overprint which changes the denomination of a stamp either up or down. 2: Universal Postal Union language is additional fee. 3: used on Britain and British Colonies issues may mean postage due. 4: can change a regular definitive stamp into a semi-postal stamp, or regular issue to an air mail issue. 5: zuschlag (Ger.)
Surcharge Postage: Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, postage dues
Surete Generale: (Fr.) internal security documents; French Colonies revenue inscription.
Surface Air Support System (SASS): USPS term for system to measure performance and verification of payments for all modes of transportation
Surface colored paper: paper colored on one side after the manufacturing process
Surface mail: international mail, mail that is distributed by any mode other than air
Surface phosphor paper (SP): stamp printing paper treated with a taggant that adheres to the surface of the paper
Surface printed stamp: typographed, a stamp that was printed from the surface of the plate to the paper, applied prior to printing and has a smooth, usually solid appearance when viewed under short-wave ultraviolet light
Surface Rubs: partial removal of ink by abrasion as the chalk-coated papers of Great Britain
Surf Island: fantasy, unknown source, perhaps located in or near Indonesia
Sur fragment: (Fr.) on piece (of cover)
Surgos: Hungary, Fiume, special delivery
Surinam: northeast coast of South America, aka Dutch Guiana; currency: 100 cents = 1 gulden (florin) 1873, Oct. 1: first stamp, William III definitives, 1877, May 1: joined the U.P.U., 1885: No.1, 2½¢ rose, 1886: first postage due stamp, 1922: became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 1927, Aug. 1: first semipostal stamp, 1930, Sept. 3: first air mail stamp, 1934-pre: majority of inland letters carried by water, 1942, Jan. 2: first air mail semipostal stamps, 1954: became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. 1975, Nov. 25: became Republic of Surinam, issued own stamps, 1976, April 20: rejoined the U.P.U
Surprinting: additional process of printing the denomination on a stamp that has no denomination
Surrey Priv. Let. Del.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Surtax: the additional denomination on a semipostal stamp over and above the amount that covers postage; if used as an overprint, it is called a surcharge
Surtaxe: (Fr.) surcharge
Survey flight: flight made to assess th viability of a proposed or projected commercial flight route; usually made prior to the introduction of regular service or a new route
Susanville Express: private mail firm serviced Calif., used a label, year unknown
Susse perforation: perforation gauge 7 unofficially used by Susse Freres, Paris, to French imperforate stamps, 1861
S.UT: (Sp.) Sevilla Utrera (Spain) pre-adhesive postmark
Sussex Postal Deliv.: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Suta: (Rom) hundred (number)
Sutcliffe J. and Son: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Sutherland & Co.: Japan local post stamp
Su-ung: local post, east China, 1949
Suur-Pakri: bogus, Russia area, not valid for postage
Suvalki, Province of: part of Russian Empire bordering on German East Prussia; 1920: divided into Lithuania and Poland, 1940: stamps of Lithuania overprinted “LTSR” by Russian occupiers
Su-Wan Border Area: local post, east China, 1946
Suwarrow Sanctuary: overprint on stamps of Cook Islands; an isolated island in their group, 2001
S V:1: (It.) servizio veloce (speed service) Tuscany pre-adhesive postmark. 2: Stamp Venturers, a stamp contractor
Svært: (Dan.) difficult
Svag: (Swed.) weak
Svagt: (Swed.) weakly (as referencing the color intensity of a postage stamp)
Svájc: (Hung.) Switzerland
Svájci: (Hung.) Swiss
Svalbard: Spitsbergen
Svarkort: (Dan.) reply postal card
Svarkupon: (Dan.) reply coupon
Svarslosen: (Swed.) reply paid stamps
Svart: (Nor., Swed.) black color
Svartakt brun: (Swed.) blackish-brown (color)
Svarta lokalfrimärket : (Swed.) black local stamp (refers to the 1sk [3 öre] Swedish City Postage stamp issued in 1856)
Svartavdrag: (Swed.) black print
Svartavdrag på kartongpapper: (Swed.) black print on carton paper
Svartblå: (Nor.) black-blue (color)
Svartgrå: (Swed.) black-grey (color)
Svart-gråsvart: (Nor., Swed.) black – grey-black (color)
Svartgrønn: (Nor.) black-green (color)
Sváziföld: (Hung.) Swaziland
Svéd: (Hung.) Swedish
Svédország: (Hung.) Sweden
Svedsko: (Czech.) Sweden,
Svedsky: (Czech.) Swedish
Sveits: (Nor.) Switzerland
Sveitsisk: (Nor.) Swiss
Svendborg: Seaport on Fyn Island, Denmark, ca. 95 miles SW of Copenhagen. Local post established, with “Svendborg Bypost og Pakke-Expedition” lithographed local stamps issued 1 December 1887.Svenska Bataljonen-Saar: Swedish military contingent in Saar, 1939
Svendborg Bypost: Denmark local post, 1887
Svenska Bataljonen-Egypten: Swedish military contingent in Egypt 1959-67
Svenske skibspost: (Dan.) Swedish ship mail (ship post)
Sven Hedin: expedition commemorated by stamp issued by China in 1932
Svensk: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Swedish
Svenskegrensen: (Nor.) Swedish frontier, Swedish border areas
Svenske skeppspost: (Swed.) Swedish ship mail (ship post)
Svenske skipspost: (Nor.) Swedish ship mail (ship post)
Svenske Statens Järnvägar: (Swed.) Statens Järnvägar
Svensk-Finland: (Swed.) cinderella issued for Swedes in Finland
Sverige: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Sweden
Svetle: (Czech.) light (as referencing the color of a postage stamp)
Svetle fialová: (Czech.) light violet (color)
Svetle hnedá: (Czech.) light brown (color)
Svetle zelená: (Czech.) light green (color)
Svetlo: (Czech.) light (as referencing the color of a postage stamp)
Svetly: (Czech.) light (as referencing the color of a postage stamp)
Svezi: (Czech.) mint, never hinged; see Nepouzitá svezí bez nálepky.
Svezia: (It.) Sweden
Svisly: (Czech.) vertical
Svisle rastrovany lep: (Czech.) vertical gum ripple, Vodorovne rastrovany lep
Svizzera: (It.) Switzerland
Svobodna Crna Gora: (Cyrillic) Free Montenegro, cinderella issue
Svy Carsko: (Czech.) Switzerland.
Svy Carsky: (Czech.) Swiss (adj.).
S.W.A., SWA: South-West Africa, overprint on stamps of South Africa, 1927; Bantams
Swain, Jas.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Swain, Wm.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Swan: nickname for issues of Western Australia depicting a swan
Swan Island: many label incarnations usually parodying Western Australia stamps; also for radio station off the coast of Honduras
Swan River Settlement: former name for the Australian colony of Western Australia, currently a state of the Australian Commonwealth
Swaps: duplicate stamps used for trading
Swarts’ City Dispatch Post: U. S. local post, New York, N. Y., 1849-53
Swatow: local post, South China Post, 1949
Swazieland: overprint on Vurtheim stamps of South Africa; changed to Zwaziland in 1889 when the South African postal administration ran that nation’s postal system
Swaziland: southeast Africa bordered by Mozambique and South Africa; official name of postal administration: Posts & Telecommunications Corporation currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound, 100 cents = 1 rand (1961), 100 cents = 1 emalangeni (1975) 1889, Oct.18: No.1, ½ penny gray, stamps of South Africa overprinted “Swazieland,” 1894, Nov.7: overprints withdrawn, 1894-1906: administered by Transvaal, 1895-1910: stamps of the Transvaal used, 1906, Dec. 1: Protectorate separated from Transvaal. put under authority of British High Commissioner, 1910: used stamps of the Union of South Africa, 1933, Jan 2: No.1, ½ penny green, first stamp, first postage due stamp, 1934: Swaziland and Bechuanaland Protectorate under British Commissioner for Basutoland, 1967: internal self-government, 1968, Sept. 6: became independent within the Commonwealth, 1969, Nov. 7: joined the U.P.U
Swaziwazi: British Colonial Royal Wedding frames from book Surreal Stamps and Unreal Stickers
Sweatbox: a closed box using humidity to soften the gum on stamps that are stuck together making it easier for separation from each other
Sweated gum: result when stamps are stored under too much heat or pressure, melting the gum into a smooth, shiny condition that may reduce the value
Sweden: on the Baltic Sea, borders Norway; official name of postal administration: Posten Sweden Post currency: 48 skilling banco =1 riksdaler banco, 100 öre =1 riksdaler (1858), 100 öre =1 krona (1874) 1855, July 1: No.1, 3 skilling banco blue green, first stamps inscribed “Sverige,” 1856-62: stamps for city postage issued, 1874: first postage due and official stamps, 1875, July 1: joined the U.P.U., 1905: union with Norway repealed, became separate nation, 1916, Dec. 21: first semi-postal stamp, 1917: first parcel post stamps, 1920, Sept. 17: first air mail stamp
Sweden – 1912 Demonstration Flight Between Eslof and Akarp/Marieholm: Danish aviator Peter Nielsen left Eslof on 1 June 1912 at 7:47 AM, landing at Akarp Gaestgivergaard at 7:53 PM, and returning the following day to Eslof. Nielsen carried ca. 100 cards on the first leg, and ca. 50 cards on the return flight. Both flight legs received a postal cancellation dated 3 June 1912 on redispatch at Eslof. The Eslof to Arkap mails include a three-line ” Svensk Flygpost No. 2 / Eslof / 1912″ cachet, while those on the Arkap to Eslof return flight include a two-line “Svensk Flygpost No. 3 / Marieholm” cachet. Both types of cards also include a “Flygpost No. 3 – Akarp – Estlof 1912 1/2 Juni” circular cachet. The flight to Akarp is credited as being the first postal flight in Sweden
Sweden – 1912 Stockholm-Uppsala Newspaper Air Mail Delivery: Lt. Olle Dahlbeck piloted a “Sommer Monoplane” on 29 August 1912 for the 45-minute flight from Stockholm to Uppsala via Edsviken and Vassunda carrying ca. 2,000 copies of the Dagens Nyheter newspaper. The newspapers were marked with the pilot’s facsimile certification: “This copy was carried by me on the first Swedish newspaper mail by aeroplane, arranged with the Dagens Nyheter August 1912 – O. Dahlbeck”. The flown newspapers are considered the second Swedish airpost despatches
Sweden – 1912 Stockholm-Lidingo Flight: Lt. Olle Dahlbeck flew the Stockholm to Lidingo via Tereberg and Vartan and return route during 22-25 September 1912, this time period also including the “Barnens Day” festivities. He carried ca. 5,000 cards franked with an airmail semi-official stamp valued at 50 øre, and inscribed “BARNENS DAG / 1912 / BARNENS DAG / 1912 // SVERIGES / FORSTA / FLYGPOST”, which were cancelled by double-ring, bridge-type, “SVERIGES / (date) / FORSTA FLYGPOST” cds. These souvenir mails are considered the third Swedish airpost despatches
Sweden – 1914 Kalmar-Oland Island and Return Experimental Flight: Pilot Dr. Enoch Thulin carried ca. 100 special cards cacheted in five lines “Luftpost / ofverfordt pr aeroplan / af dr. Thulin – fran Kalmar till Oland – den 7 eller 8 Febr 1914” from Kalmar to Oland Island on 8 February 1914; the postage was cancelled upon the redispatch. The return flight took place on 12 February, and carried ca. 30 special cards with a similar cachet (except: “- fran Oland till Kalmar -“), also cancelled on redispatch at Kalmar
Sweden – Wasa Rediviva Stamp: The historic Swedish ship Wasa sank in Stockholm Harbor on 10 August 1628. Funds were sought to raise the ship, and to exhibit her in a specially built museum, these efforts being completed in 1961, The Wasa Welfare Committee joined with the Swedish Stamp Dealers Assc. to purchase from the Swedish P.O. 100,000 sets of the 2, 3, and 4 öre 1911 issue stamps, overprinting them with the “Wasa Rediviva” inscription. The stamps were sold at 1 krone 50 øre, but do not have postal significance
Swedish 4-skilling of 1854: cinderella used in movie The Truth About Charlie a remake of Charade
Swett, Dr. G. W.: U.S. private die medicine proprietary stamp
Swiatniki: city in former Austrian-occupied Poland, local post overprint, 1918-20
Swift & Courtney: Private die match proprietary stamps
Swift & Courtney & Beecher Co.: Private die match proprietary stamps
Swindon Stamp Shop Post: United Kingdom postal strike; local post 1971
Swiss Pioneer airmails: stamps issued to inaugurate and frank first flight local mails sold to help Swiss National Military Aviation fund, 1913; officially ruled semi-officials
Swiss Soldier Stamps: issued to the armed forces of Switzerland to be placed on their outgoing mail in lieu of postage; started in 1915, estimated that more than 3,000 different designs exist
Switzerland: central Europe; official name of postal administration: Die Post currency: 100 rappen or centimes = 1 franc (1850) 1843, March 1: cantonal issues for Zurich, valid for postage only within canton, 1843, Sept. 30: cantonal issues for Geneva, valid for postage only within canton, 1845, July 1: cantonal issues for Basle, valid for postage only within canton, 1849-50: transitional cantonal issues inscribed “Poste Local”, issued, 1850, May: No.1, 2½ rappen black and red, confederation, first Federal Administration issue, 1874: first meeting of the General Postal Union held, 1875, July 1: joined the U.P.U., 1878: first postage due stamp, 1911: franchise stamps for institutions and charitable groups, 1913, Dec. 1: first semi-postal stamp, 1918: stamps overprinted for the War Board of Trade, 1919: Switzerland administration of the Liechtenstein Post Office, 1919: first air mail stamp, 1922: overprint for League of Nations and its organizations, 1923: stamps overprinted for the International Labor Bureau, 1938: first official stamp, 1944: stamps overprinted for the International Bureau of Education, 1948: stamps overprinted for the World Health Organization, 1950: stamps overprinted for the International Organization of Refugees, U.N. European Office, 1956: stamps inscribed for the World Meteorological Organization, 1957: stamps inscribed for the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union, 1958: stamps inscribed for the International Telecommunications Union, 1972, Feb. 17: first air mail semipostal stamp, 1982: stamps inscribed for the World Intellectual Property Organization, 2000, Sept. 15: booklet stamps for the International Olympic Committee
SWL: Sidney W. Lawrence, BEP employees initials, 1906-1928; Plate Finisher, Siderographer
Syburi: Thai occupation of Northern States; Kelantan
Syd: (Dan.) south
Sydafrika: (Dan., Nor. Swed.) South Africa
Sydafrikansk: (Dan., Nor. Swed.) South African
Sydafrikansk Republik: (Dan., Swed.) Republic of South Africa
Sydafrikansk Republikk: (Nor.) Republic of South Africa
Sydamerika: (Dan., Nor. Swed.) South America
Sydaustralien: (Dan., Nor. Swed.) South Australia
Sydligrhodesia: (Swed.) Southern Rhodesia
Sydney Tramways: local, Australia New South Wales Government Tramways
Sydnigeria: (Dan., Nor., Swed.) Southern Nigeria
Sydpolen: (Nor.) the South Pole, Antarktis
Sydrhodesia: (Dan., Swed.) Southern Rhodesia
Sydrusland: (Dan.) South Russia
Sydrussland: (Nor.) South Russia
Sydryssland: (Swed.) South Russia
Sydvästafrika: (Swed.) South-West Africa
Sydvestafrika: (Dan., Nor.) South-West Africa
Svetle, Svetlo, Svetly: (Czech.) light (stamp color)
Svetle Fialová: (Czech.) light violet (color)
Svetle Hnedá: (Czech.) light brown (color)
Svetle Zelená: (Czech.) light green (color)
Svezi: (Czech.) mint, never hinged
Svisly: (Czech.) vertical
Svisle Rastrovany Lep: (Czech.) vertical gum ripple
Syli: currency unit in the Republic of Guinea
Syllabic characters: small characters denoting plate numbers on stamps and postal stationery of Japan, 1874-75
Syncopated perforation: an interrupted perforation
Syndicato Condor: private issues of the Condor Company of Brazil for government airmail contract; stamps with this inscription paid the authorized airmail surtax
Synopsis: exhibit page that serves as an introduction of the exhibit to the judges
Synoptic collection: completeness based on a plan; such as one specimen of each type of precancels
Syria: Arab state on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean; currency: 10 milliemes = 1 piaster, 40 paras = 1 piaster (Arabian Gov’t.), 100 centimes = 1 piaster (1920), 100 piasters = a Syrian pound 1883: used stamps of Turkey as part of the Province of Sourya, 1900 or so-1914: part of the Ottoman Empire, 1918: conquered by British and Arab forces; British took Palestine, Syria and Transjordan, 1919: French took Lebanon, Alaouites and Alexandretta; remaining area independent Arab kingdom, Syrian stamps issued, 1919, Nov. 21: No.1, 1 millieme on 1 centime gray, first stamps were French Military Occupation with overprint “T.E.O.” Terriroires Ennemis Occupes Enemy Occupied Territory, later changed to “O.M.F.” Occupation Militaire Française, 1919: British “E.E.F.” stamps of Palestine were handstamped “The Arabian Government” in Arabic, 1920, July: French forces deposed King Faisal; “Syrie” overprints, 1920, March-July: first air mail, postage due stamps, stamps in Syrian currency, 1920: first Arab government postage due stamp, 1922; July: Syria mandated to France, 1923, Sept.-Dec.: mandate stamps valid in Syria and Lebanon, 1924, Jan. 1: stamps of Syria, 1926: first semipostal first air mail semipostal, 1931, May 12: joined the U.P.U., 1934: became partially independent as autonomous republic, 1941, Sept. 27: Syria declared independent by Allies, 1942: military stamps issued overprinted “Force Françaises Libres” Free French Forces, 1942: first military air mail, 1943: first military semipostal stamp, 1945: first postal tax revenue stamp, 1946: issued independence stamps as a republic, 1946, May 15: rejoined the U.P.U., 1958, Feb.-61: Syria and Egypt formed United Arab Republic “UAR,” 1958, April 3: first UAR air mail stamps, 1959, Jan. 2: UAR semipostal stamps, 1961, April 29: first UAR air mail semipostal stamp, 1961, Nov.: Syria split off from Egypt to become Syrian Arab Republic; Lattaquie, Alaouites
Syrie-Grand Liban: overprint on stamps of France for Syria
Syriac gum: gum from the acacia plant, shrub or tree collected in the Syriac district
Syria, Northern: Northern Syria
Syrie (nne): (Fr.) Syria
Sytten: (Dan., Nor.) seventeen (number)
Sytti: (Dan., Nor.) seventy (number)
Syv: (Dan.) seven (number)
Syzran: city in Russia, local post, Zemstvo, 1872
Szakirodalom: (Hung.) (philatelic) literature
Szaud Arábia: (Hung.) Saudi Arabia
Száz: (Hung.) one-hundred (number)
Szechwan: province of China, borders on Tibet; 1933-Oct. 31, 1936: had its own overprinted / surcharged issues of China; withdrawn due to currency devaluation
Szechenyi, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built around 1840s, for lower Danube lines
Szeged: town in Hungary near Yugoslavia border; 1919: Hungarian National Government established by Admiral Horthy, while town was occupied by French forces, Hungarian stamps overprinted “Magyar Nemzet Kormany” (Hungarian National Government) and “Szeged 1919”
Szenegál: (Hung.) Senegal
Szent, S.S.: steamship marking of the Danube Steam Navigation Company built around 1850s, for middle Danube lines
Szeptember: (Hung.) September
Szerb: (Hung.) Serbian
Szerbia: (Hung.) Serbia
Szerda: (Hung.) Wednesday
Szigetek: (Hung.) island
Szingapúr: (Hung.) Singapore
Szíria: (Hung.) Syria
Szkola Podchorazch Artyl: (Pol.) officer’s candidate artillery school cachet, Poland
Szlovák: (Hung.) Slovakian
Szlovákia: (Hung.) Slovakia
Szomália: (Hung.) Somalia
Szomálipart: (Hung.) Somali Coast
Szombat: (Hung.) Saturday
Szovjet: (Hung.) Soviet
Szovjetunió: (Hung.) Soviet Union (USSR)
Szudán: (Hung.) Sudan
Szürke: (Hung.) grey (color)
Szürkésibolya: (Hung.) grey(ish) violet (color)
Szürkéskek: (Hung,) grey(ish) blue (color)
Szürkéslila: (Hung.) grey(ish) lilac, violet, or purple (color)
Szürkéssbarna: (Hung.) drab, grey(ish) brown (color).

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