A Glossary of Terms for the Collector of United States Stamps

Quantity Mail - bundled business mail that is discounted from the equivalent single-piece rates.  This is an incentive to the mailer to precancel, presort, barcode or otherwise reduce the required processing by the Postal Service.  First Class quantity mailings are discounted at reduced per-piece rates.  Third Class  (Standard Mail) quantity mailings are discounted at bulk rates.

R.F. - a postal marking authorized by the US Fleet Post Office during World War II for correspondence to the United States and Canada from French naval personnel.  Scott numbers begin with CM.

RFD - see Rural Free Delivery.

RMS - see Railway Mail Service.

RPO - see Railway Post Office.

Railway Mail Service - a division of the Post Office established in 1882.  In 1949 the Railway Mail Service was consolidated into the Postal Transportation Service, which was itself discontinued in 1977.

Railway Post Office - a postal facility on trains, steamships and streetcars for processing mail in transit.

Rate - the amount of money charged for a postal service.

Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson - printers of first stamps, issued in 1847 (Scott 1 and 2).

Reay, George H. - manufacturer of 19th century stamped envelopes and wrappers.

Receiving Mark - a postmark applied to a cover (generally on the back), by the receiving post office as opposed to the originating post office.

Rectification Tax Stamps - revenue stamps issued in 1946 to pay the tax on distilled spirits that were condensed and purified for additional blending through repeated distillations.  Scott RZ.

Recut - see re-engraved.

Recycled Paper - paper used in the manufacture of stamped envelopes.  Recycled paper replaced watermarked paper beginning in 1992.

Reds - a nickname for 1.) the red commemorative  postage stamps of the 1920s.  2.) the red documentary revenue stamps of 1940-1958.

Re-engraved - a transfer roll or plate on which the original design is altered.  Stamps produced from such re-engraving are distinguishable from stamps printed before the re-engraving.

Re-entry - a second entry on a plate position, made by carefully re-rocking the transfer roll over the initial impression.  If not done carefully, a double entry may result.  This procedure was used to fix defective entries or to extend the lives of worn plates.

*Registered Mail - the most secure service provided by the Postal Service, which closely controls and records the movement of mail given this service.

Registration - 1.) the alignment of colors on a stamp.  A stamp's colors can be described as properly registered or misregistered.  2.) see also Registered Mail.

Registration Stamp - a stamp, issued in 1911, to pay the fee for registered mail.  Scott F1.

Regular Stamp - see Definitive.

Re-issue - an official reprinting of an obsolete stamp.

Relief - the design of a stamp raised up (as opposed to recessed) on a transfer roll.

Relief Break - the breaking away of portions of the relief on a transfer roll.  The end result of this process is stamps that have a blank space where an engraved line was intended.  Relief breaks can be progressive, that is, they can become worse as the transfer roll continues in use.  Progressive relief breaks can result in stamps that show the progressive deterioration of the transfer roll.  A classic example of this is the 5¢ Huguenot-Walloon of 1924 (Scott 616).

Relief Printing - see Letterpress.

Reply Postal Card - see Paid Reply Postal Card.

Representative Number - see Plate Number.

Reprint - an additional printing of a stamp that is still in stock by the Post Office, generally done to meet public demand.

Reproductions - official imitations.  Examples: Scott 3 and 4.

Restricted Delivery - service for a fee, which provides for the delivery of an item of mail only to the addressee or addressee's agent.

Retouch - a repair of a damaged die or plate made in such a way that a minor variation results.

Return Receipt - service for fee (though once provided at no fee) that provides the sender with evidence of delivery.

Return Receipt Demanded - see Return Receipt

Return Receipt Requested - see Return Receipt

*Revenue Stamp - a piece of printed security paper, usually gummed, produced by the BEP or other authorized printer under controlled and secure conditions, sold to evidence payment of a tax, duty, or a fee other than postage.  Revenue stamps can be divided into numerous categories, for example, documentary and proprietary.

Revenue Stamped Paper - a taxable document such as a stock certificate or check, with a revenue stamp-like image printed directly on the document.  Scott numbers begin with RN.

Rocking - the process of using a transfer roll to create a printing plate for the production of engraved stamps.

Rodgers Aerial Post - a 1911 cross-country airplane flight that carried mail and for which privately printed stamps were issued.  Scott CL2

Roller Cancel - a device that applies a continuous cancellation and repeating circular postmark from its cylindrical roller.  Often used to cancel large pieces of flat mail.  Roller cancels are applied both by machine and by hand.

Roosevelt Presentation Albums - albums presented to dignitaries in 1903 containing small die proofs of stamps issued through 1902.

Rossback Perforation - a 12½ gauge perforation used by the BEP in 1919 on offset printed 1¢ stamps (Scott 536).

Rosette Crack - a cluster of fine cracks on an engraved  plate, radiating from a central point.

Rotary Plate - the curved plate used on a rotary press.

*Rotary Press - a press that prints from curved plates fastened around a cylinder.  First used in 1914 to print an imperforate  coil stamp (Scott 459).

Roughly Opened Envelope - a cover opened in such a way that the top or side is torn in an uneven or jagged pattern.  Such a cover is less desirable than one that is neatly opened.

Roulette - the slitting of paper between stamps to make their separation easier.  No paper is actually removed in the rouletting process.

Round The Word Flight - flight of the Graf Zeppelin around the world, from Lakehurst, N.J. to Lakehurst, N.J., August 8 - September 1, 1929.  The flight was made with the cooperation of a number of postal administrations, including that of the United States.

Route Agent - a postal agent who accompanied and processed mail in transit.  This position became obsolete in 1882 with the establishment of the Railway Post Office.

*Rural Free Delivery - service of the post office, begun October 1, 1896, that provides mail delivery to rural homes.