A Glossary of Terms for the Collector of United States Stamps

B - prefix letter used by Banknote Corporation of America in front of the plate number on its modern postage stamp production.

"B" Press - webfed, three-color, intaglio press used exclusively to print coils and booklet panes from seamless cylindrical sleeves.  Used at the BEP from 1973-1993.

BEP - see Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

BIA - see Bureau Issues Association.

BOB - see Back of the Book.

Baby Zepp - a nick name for 1933 50¢ Century of Progress Flight air mail postage stamp, which portrays the Graf Zeppelin.  Scott C18.

*Back-of-the Book - items listed in the Scott Catalogue following Postage Stamps.  Back-of-the-Book items begin their Scott number with a letter prefix.  For example, catalogue numbers for Air Mail Stamps begin with a "C" and catalogue numbers for revenue stamps begin with an "R".

Backstamp - a postal marking, usually applied to the back of a cover, evidencing either the arrival of a cover at its destination post office or the handling of a cover by a post office facility while the cover was in transit.  Routinely applying a backstamp to First Class Mail upon arrival at the destination post office was a standard procedure that died out by the 1920s.  See Receiving Mark and Transit Mark.

Band Tagging - a continuous narrow band of horizontal or vertical tagging that extends across a pane of stamps.  Example: 1973 8¢ Postal Service stamp, Scott 1489-1498.

Banknote Corporation of America - private printer of modern stamps, beginning with the 1992 29¢ Eagle & Shield, Scott 2595.

*Banknotes - generic nickname for the stamps of 1870-94 produced by the National Bank Note Co., Continental Bank Note Co., and American Bank Note Co.  They are sub-divided into Large Banknotes and Small Banknotes.  Begins with Scott 134.

Barcode - 1.) a machine-readable code typically in the form of parallel lines of variable height or spacing sprayed in a row on the front or back of a cover by the U.S. Postal Service or mailer.  The POSTNET barcode is used to expedite the sorting and delivery of mail.  Other barcodes are used for tracing and tracking mail and are used in indicia for security purposes.  2.) a machine-readable code used by the BEP as part of their Electronic Stamp Inspection process.  Barcodes are sprayed onto the margins of all coil and booklet  stamps to facilitate the identification and removal of defective stamps.  While these bar codes are usually trimmed off in the manufacturing process, booklet panes do exist with a barcode in the selvage tab.

Barry Postal Supply Co. - major manufacturer of cancelling machines in use from the 1890s to the 1910s.

Barton Press - subcontractor to Banknote Corporation of America for printing the 1994 Wonders of the Sea stamps (Scott 2863-2866).

Battleships - nickname for the documentary and proprietary revenue stamps of 1898 depicting the United States Navy battleship Maine.  (Scott R161-172 & RB20-31)

Beer Stamps - revenue stamps (Scott REA) issued 1866 -1951 to pay the federal tax on beer.

Bisect - see Fractional Usages.

Black Hardings - black stamps issued in 1923 to mourn the death of President Warren Harding; Scott 610-613.

*Black Heritage Series - series of commemorative  postage stamps honoring Black Americans; begun in 1978 with the Harriet Tubman stamp (Scott 1744).

Black Jack - nickname for the black 2¢ Andrew Jackson stamps and postal envelopes first issued in 1863.  Examples: Scott 73 and U46.

Blind Perforations - an impression made by perforating pins in a place where perforations were intended, but from which chads were not removed.  These interesting varieties are not imperforate stamps.  Blind perforations are considered freaks, not errors.

*Block - a unit of stamps, generally four or more in number.

Block Tagging - a rectangle of clear phosphor taggant ink applied over a stamp's design, as opposed to taggant covering the entire stamp.

Bluish Paper - paper with 35% rag content used to print certain 1909 postage stamps.  Examples: Scott 357-366.

Boating Stamp - revenue stamp used on applications for motorboats.  Scott RVB.

Body Bag - see Ambulance bag.

*Booklet - a unit of stamps, sold by the post office, comprising one or more booklet panes.  Traditional booklets used cardboard covers stapled or glued together to protect the enclosed booklet panes.  With a few exceptions, traditional booklet panes used water-activated gum.  Contemporary booklets (both convertible booklets and vending booklets) contain self-adhesive stamps and are sold as single panes.  Contemporary booklets do not have separate covers.  The backing paper serves as the cover.

*Booklet Pane - 1.) a unit of stamps produced for use in a traditional booklets (those with cardboard covers).  Such booklet panes usually, but not always, have water activated gum.  Panes in a traditional booklet usually (but not always) have six stamps.  2.) a unit of self-adhesive stamps sold by the post office as a complete booklet that may be folded for the sake of convenience to form a convertible booklet.  3.) a unit of stamps sold as a booklet through a vending machine.

Branch - a retail postal facility that is subordinate to a primary (main) post office.

Brinkerhoff Perforations - perforations privately applied to imperforate  flat plate  postage stamps by The Brinkerhoff Company for use in its vending machines.

Broken Hat - nickname for a plate variety on the 2¢ Columbian of 1893.  Scott 231.

Buffalo Balloon - a disputed 1877 balloon flight in Tennessee that carried mail and for which privately printed stamps were issued.  Scott CL1.

Bulk Mailing - quantity mail that is rated by bulk (aggregate weight), rather than by the piece, although minimum per-piece rates apply.

Bullseye - a stamp on which the postmark is struck directly on the center of the stamp.  Also known as "socked-on-the-nose."

Bureau Issue - a product of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Bureau Issues Association - former name of the United States Stamp Society.

*Bureau of Engraving and Printing - a division of the US Treasury Department with production facilities in Washington DC that produced almost all stamps from 1894 through the 1960s.  Since 1967 the BEP has shared the production of stamps with a wide variety of private companies.

*Bureau Precancel - a stamp with the precancel applied at the BEP, as opposed to a stamp with the precancel applied locally.

Bureau Print - see Bureau Issue.

Bureau Specialist - the monthly journal of the Bureau Issues Association (USSS) from 1930 to 1966 when the journal was renamed The United States Specialist.

Burnish - the process of removing unwanted entries from an engraved printing plate.  Done by a plate finisher.

Butler & Carpenter - printers of the revenue stamps issued from 1862-71.