O usluzi

Word philately implies collecting, storing, exhibiting and studying of postage stamps.

Brief history and basic concepts

The introduction of the term philately is related to the circle of French stamp collectors in the second half of the 19th century.

The word philately quickly entered all the dictionaries and lexicons and became accepted, not only by those who dealt with it, but also in everyday speech and in all the languages of the world. From it, all the words which, as their base have "philatelie", from the Greek word philos - the one who loves:

  • philately - dealing with collecting, storing, exhibiting and studying of postage stamps;
  • philatelist - one who deals with the collection of postage stamps;
  • philatelic - in the sense of belonging to this activity, as well as many other words, but all of them relating to dealing with philately in any form.

Postage stamp is over 170 years old.

On May 6, 1840, the first postage stamp, commonly known as the "black penny" (one penny stamp, in black color, with the image of Queen Victoria), was introduced in Great Britain, which opened the way for this "miraculous little piece of paper” to be used in charging for postal services.

Immediately afterwards, most European and non-European countries accepted the introduction of postage stamps in the following order: Switzerland (Zurich, Geneva) 1843, Brazil 1849, Bavaria 1849, France January 1, 1850, Austria June 1, 1850, Prussia 1851, Russia 1857, and Turkey on January 13, 1863.

The Principality of Serbia opened its first post offices in 1840, which is also when the first postmarks were introduced.

By the Law on Post, which was adopted on May 1, 1866, it was officially stipulated that the State Printing Office prints and issues postage stamps that have officially entered into use as a means of paying the postage.

When it comes to postmarks, they were not created all at once and in one place. Their application was conditioned by the rapid development and modernization of postal services, opening of new post offices, and the increasing number of postal items in traffic. In any case, the postmark was, as the means of postal operations, at the same time the identification element of the time and environment in which it was used.

Postage stamp, sealed with a postmark within the postal system i.e. within the postal system of a specific country, and affixed to any postal item, represented a receipt for paid or unpaid postage for a particular postal service in the transfer of the item from the sender to the recipient.

Due to its widespreadness, collectionist and propaganda attractiveness, the postage stamp outgrew in time its original prepayment purpose. It has become the subject of special attention of postal administrations, both in terms of its graphic and visual design, as well as due to the choice of topics, themes, content, and motifs. In this way, in addition to its basic (prepayment) value, the postage stamp became the national emblem, due to its quality design, the manner of manufacturing, and even more by the choice and display of themes and motifs to the public - both domestic and international - drawing attention to historical, cultural, scientific, artistic, sports, and even economic achievements of a country.


Philatelic Glossary

A

Angles

Angles are made of special transparent self-adhesive plastic and are used for attaching stamps and maximum cards, FDC envelopes, etc.

B

Booklet

Booklet represents one or several interconnected stamps. Covers with commemorative texts, drawings and other illustrations are used for binding.

C

Catalogue of postal stamps - cataloguing

Catalogue represents a list of all postal stamps of one country or a group of countries by first indicating the year when the stamp was issued, possibly the date (day and month), the name of the edition, the author of artistic solution, the manner of manufacturing (printing), the type of paper used, and perforation.

Circulation

Total number of printed postal stamps, regular or commemorative, in one edition

D

Date of issuance of the postal stamp

Date of release of the commemorative postal stamp for sale.

E

Exhibition sheets

Exhibition sheets are made of fine half-cardboard and are used for equipping philatelic exhibits. Size: 210 x 297 mm.

F

First Day Cover

FDC (First Day Cover) is an envelope that appears on the same day as the corresponding commemorative postal stamp or series of stamps. With its motif and the appropriate text, it fully complements the commemorative stamp.

G

There are no terms that start with letter G.

H

Hawid stamp mount

Two-sided foil made of special plasticised colourless material. On the back side it is coated by a layer of glue for easier handling and attaching to the cardboard or some other background, so that postal stamps can be inserted. It ensures safe keeping, good protection and clear visibility of postal stamps, blocks, maximum cards, FDC envelopes, etc.

I

There are no terms that start with letter I.

J

There are no terms that start with letter J.

K

There are no terms that start with letter K.

L

There are no terms that start with letter L.

M

Maximum card

Maximum card is an illustrated postal card, the size of 9 x 14 cm or 10.5 x 15 cm. The postal stamp is pasted onto the face of the maximum card and sealed by the first day seal. According to the definition of the International Philatelic Association (FIPA), the illustration on the card must take up at least 75% of the surface of one side of the card. Also, the illustration must be related to the motif on the stamp, but should by no means be identical to it.

The cancellation seal must be clearly visible. When it comes to "carte maximum" seal, it is positioned on the back of the maximum card. If the maximum card is in whole a postal issue (postcard, stamp and seal), these are known as “postal maximum cards”, however if the maximum card was issued by some other organisation, it is called “philatelic maximum card” or “private maximum card”, in cases when an individual is the issuer.

N

Nominal value of the stamp

Official monetary value of the stamp in national currency.

O

There are no terms that start with letter O.

P

Perforation

Perforation signifies small punctures, of specific size and order, on postal stamps, along their margins, in printing sheets. In this way, postal stamps are easily separated from each other and are not damaged if properly handled. The most common field of testing, at least when it comes to perforation of stamps, are variations that occur when using different tools.

Perforation gauge

It is used to determine the appropriate type and arrangement of perforation. To determine the size of perforation, an internationally accepted measure has been established which determines how many holes (teeth) should be per two centimetres length. The measuring technique is very simple, the stamp is placed onto the perforation gauge and the result is read by simple equalization of stamp teeth with the perforation gauge markings.

Philatelic accessories

Philatelic accessories include tweezers, magnifiers, albums, stock books, perforation gauges, etc.

Philatelic album

Specially designed notebook with hard covers and pages, in which reproductions of postal stamps are printed, and over which original postal stamps are attached to the corresponding pictures.

Philatelic magnifier

It is used for facilitating the noticing of small motifs and textual marks or for easier reading or detecting interesting details on the stamp. The magnifier is used for examining the stamp quality, integrity of the paper, number and condition of the teeth. The most suitable magnifier is the one that has a magnification of four to five times.

Philatelic tweezers

These make up the basic part of philatelic accessories. They are round and blunt on the top, and completely flat on the outside and on the inside, so that the stamp cannot be damaged. There are various sizes and forms of philatelic tweezers, but, by rule, all of them are made of stainless steel. The philatelic rule is: "The stamp should not be touched with fingers but with tweezers".

Philatelic stock book

Map of pages fastened with a tape made of special type of plastic or cellophane in which stamp collectors insert their stamps.

Philatelic stock market

Markets where salesmen, collectors, philatelic associations and publishers, as well as postal administrations, display, sell, and exchange philatelic products, materials and literature.

Photo paper

Photo paper is most commonly dark in colour, suitable for equipping the exhibits, and is used for exhibiting graphic displays, maps, and graphs.

Postal stamp

Postal stamp represents a means of payment for a certain type of postal service for conveyance of postal items from the sender to the recipient.

Promotion of postal stamps

Promotion of new editions of postal stamps and their physical presentation to the public, with accompanying manifestation, explaining the reason for their publication.

Q

There are no terms that start with letter Q.

R

There are no terms that start with letter R.

S

Series

Postal stamps, regular and commemorative, may be published individually or in series. Stamps published in series include more stamps, which can be of the same or different nominal values.

Sheet and Sheetlet

Number of stamps in the printing sheets, which depends on the decision of the postal administration, required format of the stamp, as well as on the theme, motif, and purpose of the edition.

Types of sheets:

  • 25 stamps (5x5);
  • 20 stamps – 4 different motifs, 5 stamps per each motif, with corresponding vignettes in the middle of the sheet, without indicated nominal value. Stamps and vignettes, separately and together, present a specific motif which complements the motif of stamps;
  • 16 stamps – 4 different motifs, 4 stamps per each;
  • 10 stamps (2x5)
  • 8 stamps + 1 (vignette), where in the middle of the sheetlet is a vignette with the corresponding accompanying motif.

Postal administration may also issue a commemorative block, as a special edition which may be in a series, with commemorative stamps, but may also be issued as a single stamp.

T

There are no terms that start with letter T.

U

There are no terms that start with letter U.

V

Vignette

A picture that connects stamps in a sheetlet (one or more) where an adequate accompanying motif is shown and which serves to improve the overall visual and graphic appearance of the sheetlet.

W

There are no terms that start with letter W.

X

There are no terms that start with letter X.

Y

There are no terms that start with letter Y.

Z

There are no terms that start with letter Z.