A Glossary of Terms for the Collector of United States Stamps
S
S - prefix letter used by Stamp Venturers (until 1998) in front of the plate number on its modern postage stamp production. Since 1998 the S prefix has been used by Sennett Security Products.
SIPEX - see Sixth International Philatelic Exhibition
S20 - marginal marking on certain rotary press plates indicating the plate was made from a die with an experimental variation in the depth of the frame line.
S30 - marginal marking on certain rotary press plates indicating the plate was made from a die with an experimental variation in the depth of the frame line.
S40 - marginal marking on certain rotary press plates indicating the plate was made from a die with an experimental variation in the depth of the frame line.
Sanitary Fair Stamps - labels sold at post offices at special fairs held to raise money for the medical care of soldiers in the Civil War. The labels were issued by the government- chartered United States Sanitary Commission, but were not valid for postage. Scott WV.
Savings Stamps - stamps issued by the Post Office Department that were redeemable in the form of US Savings Bonds. Sale of Savings Stamps was discontinued in 1970. Scott numbers begin with S and PS.
Schermack Perforations - perforations privately applied to imperforate flat plate stamps by the Schermack Mailing Machine Company, which later became the Mailometer Co., for use in its affixing machines.
Scott Specialized Catalogue of U.S. Stamps & Covers - the most authoritative and comprehensive catalogue of United States philatelic material.
Scratchboard - stamp production technique that resembles traditional line engraving.
Screened Tagging - tagging that is made up of thin lines, or dot patterns that appear as lines, when viewed with low magnification. Example: 1998 32¢ Remember Maine (Scott 3192).
Seal - 1.) a label applied by the Post Office to "seal" mail, which was opened either intentionally, or by accident. 2.) a label such as a Christmas Seal.
*Second Bureau Issue - the second set of definitive postage stamps issued by the BEP. The Second Bureau Issue appeared in 1902. Scott numbers begin with 300.
Second Class Mail - class of mail for newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals. This class of mail is now known as Periodicals-Class Mail.
Second Day Cover - a cover postmarked on the day following the official release of a stamp. Such covers were popular from the 1920s through the 1940s when stamps were placed on sale at the Philatelic Agency in Washington on the day after being issued elsewhere.
*Secret Mark - marks added to dies by the Continental Banknote Company in order to distinguish their stamps from stamps previously produced from the same dies by the National Bank Note Company.
Sectional Center Facility - place where mail is processed for post offices in a specified geographic area.
*Self Adhesive Stamp - a stamp that employs pressure-sensitive adhesive, as opposed to water-activated gum.
*Semi-Postal - a postage stamp sold for more than its face value, with a portion of the difference between face value and sale price donated to a specified charitable activity. The first semi-postal (Breast Cancer Awareness) appeared in 1998. Scott numbers begin with B.
Sennett Security Products - private printer of modern postage stamps. Example: 1998 Wisconsin Statehood (Scott 3206).
*Separated Perforations - perforations between stamps in a block or other multiple that are no longer intact.
Series of 1894 - see First Bureau Issue.
Series of 1902 - see Second Bureau Issue.
Series of 1908 - see Washington-Franklins.
Series of 1922 - see Fourth Bureau Issue.
Series of 1938 - see Presidential Series.
Service Indicators - see Service Inscribed Stamps.
*Service Inscribed Stamps - stamps that include wording in their design indicating the mail handling service for which the stamps were issued, as, for example, "Presorted First-Class." Stamps inscribed Air Mail, Special Delivery, etc. may also be considered Service Inscribed Stamps.
*Se-Tenant - two or more stamps of different designs printed adjacent to one another on a pane. Earliest example: 1964 Christmas issue, Scott 1254-1257.
Set-off - 1.) the result of ink from a newly printed sheet leaving an impression on the back of the sheet placed on top of it; 2.) the result of ink accidentally applied to the roller of a printing press being picked up by the next sheet to be printed. These freaks are sometimes misleadingly called offsets.
7-1-71 - the date of issue for the 1971 US Postal Service stamp, Scott 1396. This stamp was issued at every post office in the country, thus creating a specialty in the field of First Day Cover collecting.
Shade - a minor variation in color.
Shanghai - see Offices in China.
*Sheet - a unit of sheet stamps as produced on a printing press that is subdivided into panes. A sheet contains two or more panes. Early sheets contained two panes. Most 20th century sheets contained four panes. Modern sheets may contain six or more panes. Although there are exceptions, sheet stamps are generally sold to the public only in pane format, not in sheet format. In popular usage the term "sheet" is incorrectly used for a "pane."
Sheet-fed - the process of printing on individual sheets of paper, as opposed to printing on a continuous web of paper.
*Sheet Stamp - a stamp produced in sheet format and intended for sale in individual panes, as opposed to a stamp issued in coil or booklet pane format.
Sheet Waste - odd-sized remnants of the web of rotary press sheet stamps that were salvaged and perforated gauge 11, an economy measure that created very rare stamps. Example: Scott 596. Not to be confused with Coil Waste.
Shifted Transfer - a faulty impression created on an engraved plate when too much pressure is applied to a transfer roll, causing the plate to move slightly forward in the transfer press. As a result, the subsequent rocking-in of the transfer roll will not match exactly with the first impression and the lines are doubled at the forward edge of the design.
Ship Postmark - a marking that indicates that a letter arrived on a private ship, that is, not one under government contract to carry mail. Such letters were delivered to the post office at the ship's port of entry.
Short Paid - see Underfranked.
Short Transfer - an impression on an engraved plate on which one edge, or two opposite edges, are weak, incomplete, or missing because the siderographer did not rock the transfer roll far enough in one or both directions. Example: 1983 Brooklyn Bridge, UL2 (position 2 of the upper left pane)
Show Cancel - a cancel, unusually decorative and commemorative in nature, applied to covers at a stamp show.
Siderographer - an employee of the BEP who created engraved printing plates from a transfer roll.
Siderographer Initials - a marginal marking; the initials of the siderographer who created the plate, located in the lower left corner of the plate. This marginal marking first appeared in 1905.
Siderography - the process of creating an engraved plate from a transfer roll.
Silk Paper - paper containing silk threads, used to produce some revenue stamps. Example: Scott R135.
Silkote Paper - a very white and smooth special paper used experimentally by the BEP to produce a small number of the 2¢ Jefferson sheet stamps in the Liberty Series (Scott 1033a).
Silver Tax Stamp - revenue stamp used to pay a tax on profits from transactions in silver. Some older documentary stamps were overprinted "Silver Tax" prior to stamps being printed that were designed specifically for payment of the silver tax. Scott numbers begin with RG.
*Single Line Watermark - a watermark in which the initials USPS are composed with a single line. Example: Scott 374.
Sinkage - the outline, or impression, created by a die, found on most large die proofs.
Sixth Bureau Issue - see Liberty Series.
Sixth International Philatelic Exhibition - one in a series of once-per-decade international stamp shows hosted in the U.S. Held in Washington, DC in 1966. A stamp and souvenir sheet were issued in conjunction with this show. (Scott 1310 & 1311.)
Sleeve - a seamless cylindrical plate used to print intaglio stamps on a rotary press.
Slogan Cancel - a cancel that contains words or graphics that promote or celebrate some cause or event.
Slug - a removable piece of metal, used in the postmark die or cancellation die of a cancelling machine. The slug contains changeable information, such as date and time.
Small Banknotes - nickname for the series of postage stamps produced in 1890-93 by the American Bank Note Co. (Scott 219-229). This nickname helps distinguish these stamps from the Large Banknotes that preceded them.
Small Die Proof - a die proof, often printed on a piece of India paper, which is significantly smaller than a large die proof.
Socked-on-the-nose - see Bullseye.
Solid Tagging - see Even Tagging.
Southgate Memorial Trophy - prestigious award given at the annual meeting of the United States Stamp Society, for the best exhibit of 19th century material by a USSS member.
Souvenir Card - a philatelic card, not valid for postage, often depicting the design of one or more stamps. Scott numbers begin with SC.
Souvenir Pages - post office announcement bulletins of new postage stamps that include text and an illustration of the postage stamp to be issued. Prior to the first souvenir pages in 1960 new issues were for a time announced to customers by postal card. Scott SP.
Souvenir Sheet - a small sheet of one or more stamps, valid for postage, usually issued in conjunction with a philatelic exposition.
Special Delivery Stamps - stamps issued for use on Special Delivery mail. Scott numbers begins with E.
Special Handling - service for a fee that expedites parcel post mail as though it were First Class mail. Such mail does not have the protection against examination given to First Class mail. When this service was first offered in 1925, mailers of live animals such as bees, chicks and alligators were required to use it.
Special Handling Stamps - stamps issued to pay the Special Handling fee. Scott numbers begin with QE.
Special Printing - reissue of a stamp for a special purpose.
Specimen - a sample stamp, not valid for postage, generally overprinted "Specimen."
Speedy - a nickname for a Special Delivery letter.
Splice - a repair made to the web where it has been torn or cut. The web is reconnected, often with a piece of paper. On older rotary stamps this will usually result in a double paper variety.
Split Grill - a stamp showing portions of two or more grills.
Sprayed-on marking - cancellation or other marking sprayed-on a cover by the Postal Service in a dot-matrix pattern.
Squash-effect doubling - a freak caused when a printing plate contacts the paper with too much pressure, creating a doubling effect of the design. This is not a double impression.
*Stamp - a piece of printed security paper, usually gummed and perforated, printed under controlled and secure conditions, generally sold to the public to represent payment of a fee for service or a tax. see Postage Stamp, Local Stamp, Telegraph Stamp and Revenue Stamp.
Stamp Decoder - a device marketed by USPS; used to observe hidden images on certain modern postage stamps.
Stamp Venturers - private contractor for postage stamps in partnership with other companies. An example of its work: 29¢ Desert Shield/Desert Storm sheet stamp (Scott 2551).
*Stamped Envelope - an envelope with a stamp-like indicium evidencing payment of postage.
Stampless Letter - a letter that does not have a postage stamp affixed. Generally used to refer to letters from before the introduction of postage stamps, or from the time when prepayment of postage by the sender was not required.
Stamp.com - first company approved by the USPS to sell postage online.
Standard Mail - bulk-rate mail previously known as Third Class Mail.
Star Plates - flat plates, containing a star in the margin. Stars were used on some Fourth Bureau plates to indicate an increased spacing between stamps (when compared to earlier similar plates that had less space between stamps). The purpose of the star was to alert workers that adjustments needed to be made in perforating these sheets.
Star Route - a route along which a contractor carries mail, as opposed to a route along which a postal employee carries mail. Sometimes mail was also collected and delivered along a star route.
Station Cancel - a cancellation that identifies the post office branch where the cancelling was done.
Sterling Sommer - subcontractor to Ashton-Potter (USA) LTD for printing the 1995 Carousel Horses postage stamps (Scott2976-79).
Stevens Security Press - subcontractor to Ashton-Potter (USA) LTD for printing the 1997 Marshall Plan Anniversary stamps (Scott 3141).
Stickney Press - intaglio, webfed, rotary press developed by BEP employee Benjamin Stickney. The first one became operational in 1914. The last one was decommissioned in 1962.
Stock Transfer Stamp - a revenue stamp used to pay a federal tax on transfers of stock ownership. Scott numbers begin with RD.
*Straight Edge - a sheet stamp on which one side (edge), or two adjacent sides (edges), are without perforations. This is the way many early and some recent stamps were issued. A straight edge is a normal result of the production process.
Strike - 1.) the postal marking made on a cover by a cancellation or postmarking device, sometimes described with words like, "clear" or "illegible". 2.) the action of making a mark on a cover, usually with a hand-held device.
Strip - three or more stamps in a vertical or horizontal format.
Stripe Tagging - see Band Tagging.
Strippers - "fingers" used in the perforating process to free the perforated sheets from the perforating pins.
Stripper marks - small marks of ink between the perforation holes of stamps caused by the accumulation of ink on strippers.
Stuffer - a piece of card placed in a cover of philatelic origin in an attempt to enable the cover to go through the mailstream without damage and/or to improve the quality of any postal markings placed on the face of the cover.
Supplementary Mail - mail dispatched to a particular ship or train after the normal Closing of the Mail.
Supplementary Mail Marking - postal marking indicating a cover received Supplementary Mail service.
Surcharge - an overprint that changes the face value of a stamp or item of postal stationery. Example: Postal Cards of 1917 surcharged in 1952 (Scott UX31-UX35).
Surface Mail - international mail that does not travel by air.
Surface Printing - see Lithography
Survey Flight - a flight made to lay out a new air mail route, or to acquaint a crew with a new air mail route.
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