Glossary of Terms for the Collector of United States Stamps

F - a marginal marking punched on flat plates, usually to the left of the UR plate number, indicating that the plates were hardened and approved for use. Most commonly used in the 1920s and 1930s.

F Grill - one of several types of grills used in the 19th century, about 9 x 13mm in size. Example: Scott 92.

"F" Press - web-fed offset-intaglio press (four color offset, three color intaglio) obtained by the BEP in 1991. The first stamp printed on this press was the 1992 World Columbian Stamp Expo, Scott 2616.

�F� Stamps - nondenominated stamps issued in 1991 with an assigned postage value of 29¢.

Face - the front of a stamp, that is, the side bearing the printed design. Compare: Face Value.

*Face Value - the postage value of a stamp, generally indicated in numerals printed on the face of the stamp.

Facing - the orienting of envelopes by the Postal Service in a consistent manner for subsequent sorting or mail processing operations.

Facing Slip - a piece of paper placed by a postal employee on the top of a bundle of mail as a part of the sorting and distribution process. It was usually postmarked.

Facsimile Mail Service - a service provided briefly by the USPS beginning in 1971 that enabled customers to send fax messages which were then delivered by the post office in specially designed envelopes.

False Franking - use of a stamp, generally on bulk-rate mail, which pays only a portion of the actual cost of mailing the item.

FAM - see Foreign Air Mail Route.

*Famous Americans - series of commemorative postage stamps honoring authors, poets, educators, scientists, composers and artists appearing in 1940. Begins with Scott 859.

Fancy Cancel - a cancel that is pictorial or geometric in nature, produced by a local post office.

*Farley's Follies - a nickname given to a 1935 special printing of stamps (Scott 752-771). Postmaster General James Farley had given selected individuals imperforate, ungummed, uncut sheets of 1933-1934 commemoratives. After protests from collectors similar imperforate sheets were made available to the public at face value.

(The) Farwell Company - a Chicago firm that produced its own private coils for use in Schermack affixing machines.

Farwell Perforations - perforations privately applied to imperforate flat plate postage stamps by the Farwell Company for use in Schermack affixing machines.

Fast Mail - a train which consists exclusively of mail cars. The first one operated between New York and Chicago.

FDOI - see: First Day of Issue.

Feed Lines - lines placed upon certain flat plates as an aid to the proper placement of sheets of paper upon the plate.

Fergusson & Sons (J.W.) - private printer of modern postage stamps. Example: Scott 2454, which is one of the 5¢ Canoe stamps.

Fermented Fruit Juice Stamps - revenue stamps, used in 1933 pending the repeal of prohibition, to pay the federal tax on certain wines and fermented juice products legalized by Congress effective April 7, 1933. Scott numbers are prefixed with REF.

Fifth Bureau Issue - see Presidential Series.

Fifth International Philatelic Exhibition - one in a series of international stamp shows hosted in the U.S. once every ten years. It was held in New York City in 1956. A stamp (Scott 1075)and souvenir sheet (1076) were issued in conjunction with this show.

Finisher Initials - see Plate Finisher Initials.

Finishing - the processing of a web of printed stamps into units ready for sale to customers.

FIPEX - see Fifth International Philatelic Exhibition.

First Bureau Issue - see Series of 1894.

*First Class Mail - the class of mail required for sending letters, post cards, postal cards, invoices, statements and payments. First Class Mail is sealed against inspection, a feature that permits private messages. Priority Mail is a form of First Class mail.

*First Day Cover - a cover cancelled on the day a stamp is issued, in the city in which it is released. Modern First Day Covers may actually be cancelled up to 30 days after the date of issue, and not necessarily in the city whose postmarks they bear. First Day Covers may be addressed or unaddressed, and with or without cachets. See also Unofficial First Day Cover and Second Day Cover.

First Day of Issue - the date on which a stamp is issued.

First Flight Cover - a cover flown on a flight marking the inauguration of a new air mail route, or a new stop on an existing air mail route, or the initial flight of an airline.

First Issue Revenue Stamps - revenue stamps (Scott R1-R102) issued from 1862-1871 to help finance the Civil War.

Flag Cancel - a cancel (generally a machine cancel) that features a flag as part of its design. Flag cancels were common in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, most of them produced by American Postal Machine Co. machines. See also Involute Flag Cancel.

*Flat Plate Press - a press that prints from a flat plate (as opposed to a curved or cylindrical plate). Until 1915 only the Flat Plate Press was used to print stamps.

Flats - Post Office term for large envelopes in the mailstream.

Fleet Post Office - a military post office for Navy and Marine personnel. APOs and FPOs are often referenced together.

Flexography - Letterpress printing that employs a resilient synthetic or rubber composition plate.

Flier - the most enduring cancelling machine ever used by the Post Office; manufactured by International Postal Supply Company. Introduced in 1888, some later versions of the machine were still in service at the beginning of the 21^st century.

*Floating Plate Numbers - numbers on a plate block whose positions vary from pane to pane, thus creating a large number of possible combinations. Example: 1976 13¢ Currier & Ives Christmas stamp, Scott 1703. Plate numbers on most stamp panes do not float.

*Flora & Fauna Series - definitive series of postage stamps begun in 1990. Begins with Scott 2476.

Flown Cover - a cover that has been carried by air mail, and bears evidence of having been flown.

Fluorescence - stamp paper or inks containing fluorescent brighteners that glow brighter while exposed to short or long wave ultraviolet light. There is no afterglow, and fluorescent papers usually glow a bluish-white. Stamp inks containing fluorescent brighteners can glow in a variety of colors.

Flyspecking - the act of seeking, examining, studying or collecting stamps with minor variations.

Folded Letter - a sheet of paper with a message written on one side, and folded in such a way that the name and address of the recipient could be written on the exposed blank side of the paper. Folded letters were gradually made obsolete by the introduction of envelopes.

Foldover (under) - stamp(s) affected during the printing or perforating process by a paperfold, often producing spectacular freaks.

Food Order Stamps - stamps produced by the BEP as part of a subsidy program that enabled low income families to purchase food at grocery stores.

Foreign Air Mail Route - air mail service provided by contract carriers, on established routes, to foreign countries.

Foreign Entry - see Foreign Transfer.

Foreign Transfer - 1) the appearance on a plate (and resulting stamp) of the remnants of a wrong design. This occurs when an incorrect transfer roll is used to enter a design on a plate, and when, upon discovery of the mistake, the incorrect impression is not completely burnished out before the correct one is entered in its place. 2) the intact appearance of an incorrect design on a plate (and resulting stamp), caused by the undetected use of a wrong transfer roll by a siderographer. Classic example: 5¢ rose stamps of 1917 (Scott 467, 485 and 505).

*Forever Stamp - a nondenominated stamp that is always valid for an amount of postage equal to the then current cost of mailing a 1-ounce first class letter.

Forwarding - the service of sending a piece of mail to an address other than the one originally on the cover in order to deliver it to the person to whom it is addressed. This service has, at various times, been provided both with and without additional charge.

Forwarding Agent - a person or entity, usually in a foreign city, who sends a piece of mail entrusted to him on to an addressee in the most expeditious manner. This was a service made obsolete by the formation of the Universal Postal Union.

Four Bar Cancel - a duplex handstamp consisting of a circular postmark and four parallel bars as a cancel.

Fourth Bureau Issue - see Series of 1922.

Fourth Class Mail - obsolete mail classification for packages, also known as parcel post.

FPO - see Fleet Post Office.

Fractional Usages - use of a portion of a stamp. Stamps were sometimes cut in half (or some other fraction) and placed on an envelope in an attempt to pay postage equal to one half (or other fraction) of the face value of the whole stamp. Occasionally an approved practice, sometimes tolerated, especially when there was a shortage of stamps in a needed denomination. Fractional usages are generally collected tied on cover. One half of a stamp is known as a bisect.

Frame - the outer portion of a stamp design, which encloses the central portion (vignette) of the design.

*Frank(ing) - an indication on an envelope (e.g. stamp, meter, PVI, signature, printed message) that the postage has been paid or that the envelope is to be carried without payment of postage.

Franklin-Washington Series - see Washington-Franklin Head Issues.

*Freak - a mistake in production caused by an unusual circumstance not likely to be identically repeated, such as a color shift, perforation shift, inking irregularity or paper fold. A freak is a less severe and less valuable mistake than an error.

"Free" - handstamp marking sometimes used on free franked mail.

Free Frank - the right to send mail without payment of postage. Usually indicated by a signature where a stamp is usually affixed. This privilege has been extended to various individuals at different times, including government officials and military personnel.

French Occupation Issues - see Allied Military Government Stamps.

Front - the front (face) of a cover from which the back panels have been removed. A front is less desirable than an entire.

Fugitive Ink - soluble ink that tends to dissolve when placed in water or watermark fluid. See also Aniline Ink and Pink Backs.

Future Delivery Stamp - revenue stamp issued to pay the tax on a future delivery instrument. All Future Delivery Stamps are overprints of the Documentary Stamps of 1917. Scott numbers are prefixed with RC.

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