CA Watermarks: Watermarks on early British Colonial stamps produced through the Crown Agents (see also). These appear in three formats – Crown CA, multiple Crown CA and multi-script CA.

Cabinet Card: A term to describe a print, usually an albumen print, no more than 6 in (unless it is an imperial cabinet card) mounted on a cardboard back typically measuring 4½ x 6½ (110 x 170 mm). The most common way to display portraits in the late 19th century.

Cachet: (French) “Stamp” or “seal”. On a cover, the cachet is an added design or text – on a sticker, label or printed directly on the cover – often corresponding to the design of the postage stamp, the mailed journey of the cover, or some type of special event. Cachets appear on modern first-day covers, first-flight covers and special-event covers. For postcards, information opposite the stamp area.

CAL: Customer Advertising Label introduced by NZ Post in 2004 as Personalised Advertising Labels.

Calender / Calendering: To treat paper under pressure to impart a finish which may be smooth, dull, glazed, surfaced or polished. It is carried out using chilled steel rollers at the end of the manufacturing process.

Cameo: Term to describe certain stamps bearing embossed effigies which have the appearance of a cameo.

Campaign Cover: Envelope etc. posted by military or naval personnel on active service in wartime.

Cancel / Cancelled / Cancellation: A marking intended to show a stamp has been used and is no longer valid as postage or revenue purposes. Cancels usually include the name of the original mailing location or a nearby sorting facility and the date of mailing. Most cancellations also include a section of lines, bars, text or a design that prints upon the postage stamp to invalidate it. This part of a cancel is called the killer. See also “Date stamp”, “Postmark” and “Postal marking”. Types of cancellations include commemorative, double, fiscal, geometrical type, lettered, machine, manuscript, numbered, pen mark, relief, roller and slogan (see also).

Cancelled: A surcharge or marking that removes the fiduciary value of a stamp, historically used for postal workers’ instruction courses.

Cancelled by Favour: Stamps cancelled in some special manner to oblige the purchaser.

Cancelled on Front (COF): A card that has been postmarked and cancelled, usually on a stamp, on the front.

Cancelled to Order: 

1. Term describing a stamp bearing a postmark applied “by favour” where a postal official would cancel the stamps in sheets or on covers and return them directly to the dealer or collector.
2. Stamps are “cancelled to order” (CTO), usually in full sheets, by many governments. The cancels may be printed on the stamps at the same time that the stamp design is printed. A stamp with a cancel and with full gum is likely a CTO stamp, as CTOs do not see actual postal use. CTO stamps are sold to stamp dealers at large discounts from face value. Most catalogues say whether they price CTO stamps or genuinely used stamps.

Cancellation: The process of invalidating a postage stamp for reuse by applying a mark or imprint. It may be applied by hand or machine and can indicate the sending or receipt of mail. Types include handwritten cancellation and cancellation of convenience.

Capillary Lines: Fine lines on the surface of a stamp caused by cracks in the printing plate.

Cape Triangles: Common name for the triangular Cape of Good Hope stamps of 1853–64, the first stamps printed in triangular format. The distinctive shape helped illiterate postal clerks distinguish letters originating in the colony from those from other colonies.

Captain’s Gratuity: An additional fee over and above the postage rate charged to recompense the ship’s Master of a private vessel for carrying mail.

Carbon Tetrachloride (CCl4): A colourless liquid which will make paper transparent without harming the gum of mint stamps and removes oil or grease from other materials. WARNING: Poisoning by inhalation, ingestion or skin absorption is possible and may be fatal.

Carbon Tissue: Paper-backed sheet of gelatine used in photogravure printing.

Cardboard: Fine quality card of varying thickness used for proofing impressions of stamp dies and plates.

Cardiff Penny: Nickname for imperforate examples of GB 1d red (Plate 116) of 1864 issued in Cardiff in January 1879.

Caritas (Latin): Charity.

Carnet du Timbre (French):  Stamp Booklet.

Carriers’ Stamps: Stamps used by private mail carriers to deliver mail directly to an addressee from the post office. When the postal service was first organized, delivery of mail was from one post office to another post office and not directly to the addressee, creating the need for private mail carriers. In the United States, this specialised category of stamps existed mainly from 1842 to 1860.

Carte-de-visite (CdV): An albumen print 2¼ x 3½ in (55 x 90 mm) upon a cardboard mount 2½ x 4 in (65 x 100 mm). A carte-de-visite was the size of a visiting card and was traded among friends and visitors. By the early 1870s, cartes-de-visite were supplanted by “cabinet cards”.

Carto Philately: The collection and study of stamps incorporating maps in their designs.

Carton Paper: A thick semi-card paper.

Cartouche: Small oval or circle containing a portrait or heraldic device.

Cartridge Paper: A strong rough paper occasionally used for stamps (Trinidad 1d blue of 1853).

Cash on Delivery (COD): Service – mail which collects the cost of postage and the product enclosed from the recipient and forwards it to the mailer.

Cash on Delivery Labels: Labels issued by Post Offices for packets on which trade charges are to be recovered from the addressee.

Cash Postage: Postage paid in cash and represented by a mark or indication that postage has been paid, often “PP”.

Cat.: Abbreviation for catalogue.

Catalogue: A comprehensive book, books or similar compilation with descriptive information to help identify stamps or other items. Many catalogues include values for the listed items. An auction catalogue is published by the auction firm in advance of a planned sale to notify potential customers of the specific items that will be offered.

Catalogue Value: The value of a stamp as listed in a given catalogue [such as Scott Catalogues (in USA), Stanley Gibbons (in the UK), Michel (in Germany), etc.] for the most common condition in which the stamp is collected. Some catalogues list stamps at a retail value, though actual dealer prices may vary substantially for reasons of condition, demand or other market factors. Most catalogues have a set minimum value for the most common stamps. Not to be confused with a true value which may be higher or lower based on market conditions and/or the actual condition of the material in question. Also useful in trading when your trading partner is willing to use the same catalogue and edition to form an agreeable trade as they are often found in libraries.

Catalogue Value (Alternative Definition): An estimated value given by catalogues to help philatelists assess and trade stamps. It may differ considerably from the actual market price.

Catapult Mail: Mail accelerated by a “Ship to Shore” service involving the use of light aircraft catapulted from the decks of ships, when within range of shore.

Catcher Pouch: A mail bag used in conjunction with a mail hook to “catch” mail awaiting pickup from a moving train. Catcher pouches were most often used by railway post offices (q.v.) in the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century.

CC: Crown Colonies. A watermark on very early (mostly Victorian) British Colonial stamps.

CDS: See “Circular date stamp”.

Celluloid: A postcard with decorative additions made from celluloid. Celluloid is a highly flammable synthetic made from nitrocellulose and camphor.

Censor Mark: A manuscript endorsement, rubber stamp impression or printed label applied during wartime to indicate that postal matter has been opened, examined and been passed by service or civilian censors.

Censor Tape: Adhesive paper used to reseal mail which has been opened for censorship purposes.

Censored Mail: A cover bearing a manuscript endorsement, handstamp or label indicating that the envelope has been opened and the contents inspected by a censor.

Census Marking: A diamond-shaped mark applied by machine to all mail posted in Britain during the annual mail census.

Centering: The position of a stamp’s design relative to its margins. Good centering can increase its value.

Centre / Centring: The position of a stamp design in relation to its margins or perforations, e.g. ‘well-centred’ or ‘off-centre’. For example, well-centred implies an equal margin between the edges of the stamp and the design. Assuming a stamp is undamaged, centring is generally a very important factor in determining grade and value.

Centre: Term for the central feature of a stamp design. See also “Vignette”.

Centre Plate: The plate which prints the centre or vignette of a bi-coloured stamp.

Centred: Term applied to stamps to show the position of the perforations in relation to the printed design.

Certificate (of Expertisation): A certificate of a recognised Expert or Expert Committee in their respective field providing an opinion on the genuineness of a philatelic item.

Certificate of Posting: Form supplied with the date of posting and retained by the sender as proof that an item has been posted.

Certified Mail: A service provided by most postal administrations that provides proof of mailing and delivery without indemnity for loss or damage. A receipt is given to the sender and a signature is required from the addressee on delivery.

CFA Franc: (French) Communauté Financière Africaine, “African Financial Community”, stands for the West African CFA franc and the Central African CFA franc, two currencies that, even though separate, are in practice interchangeable and which have a fixed exchange rate to the euro. The CFA franc is used in 14 countries, 12 of which are former French colonies. Initially, the French colonies used currencies linked to the French franc, but after independence, several countries left the franc zone: Tunisia in 1958, Morocco in 1960, Guinea in 1959, Algeria in 1964, Madagascar and Mauritania in 1973.

Chad: Round pieces of paper left after perforation of stamps.

Chain Breakers: Popular name for the 1919 issues of Yugoslavia.

Chain Lines: Prominent vertical lines in the watermark found on laid paper at right angles to the fine lines.

Chairman of Jury: A person selected by the exhibition organising committee and approved by the body under whose patronage the exhibition is being held (whether at International or National level). The Chairman is involved in the selection and effective management of members of the jury and the jury secretariat.

Chalk Surface / Chalk-surfaced: Surface coated with a suspension of various minerals. Applied to stamp paper either to improve the print’s appearance or for security reasons. Papers so treated show a black mark when the surface is rubbed with silver.

Chalky Paper: A chalk-surfaced paper for printing stamps. Any attempt to remove the cancel on a used chalky-paper stamp will also remove the design. Immersion of such stamps in water will cause the design to lift off. Touching chalky paper with silver will leave a discernible, pencil-like mark and is a means of distinguishing chalky paper.

Chalon Head: The name given to the first NZ stamp issue and other early British Colonial stamps, so called because it bore a portrait of Queen Victoria originally painted by the artist A. E. Chalon.

Chambon Perforation: The (double) H-shaped comb perforations of NZ definitives printed by De la Rue. Chambon was the manufacturer of all reel-fed printing presses used by the French State Printers at Boulevard Brun in Paris.

Change of Address Postcards: NZ post-free postage cards, made available since 1956 at post offices to notify others of a change of address. In the period from the mid-1980s to around 2007, they had various pictorial designs, but in the periods before and after that the cards were small and not pictorial.

Changeling: A stamp whose colour has been changed—intentionally or unintentionally—by contact with a chemical or exposure to light.

Charge Marks and Labels: Handstruck marks and adhesive labels applied to unpaid or underpaid mail to explain the reason for the deficiency and the amount to be paid.

Charity Labels (or Seals): Labels of no postal validity sold by various charities to raise funds and affixed by their purchasers to letters or cards.

Charity Stamps: Postage stamps whose primary purpose is postal in nature, but whose value is increased to benefit charitable causes. The purchaser therefore pays an additional sum on top of the normal postal rate. Usually recognised by the presence of two (often different) values, separated by a “+” sign, on a single stamp. (Also see “Semi-postal”.)

Charity Surcharge: Addition to the postage value of a stamp for a charity donation.

Check Letters: Letters in the lower corners of British Stamps (1840) and on later issues repeated but in reverse order in the upper corners. See also “Alphabet”.

Checklist: Complete listings of all the cards within a certain set, subject or publisher. Checklists usually give the title and serial number, if any, to identify the cards, but could also include descriptions of the picture side.

Cheque Stamps: Embossed fiscal stamps applied to cheques from 1855 to 1971 to denote stamp duty payable on them; also the nickname for postage stamps of Nyasaland issued in 1898.

Cherifien Posts: Local service of Morocco organised by the Cherifien Administration in 1911 linking most of the main towns.

Cherry Blossoms: Name for Japanese stamps of 1872–1874.

Chief Post Office: The principal post office in a postal district.

Chiffre Taxe: (French) Postage Due.

China Paper: A waterleaf paper imported from China.

Chinese Treaty Ports: Seaports on the coast of China which were opened to British trade as a result of the Treaty of Nanking in 1842.

Chops: Seals or handstamps bearing ideographs or Japanese characters.

Christmas Charity Post Stamps: Stamps issued by Scout, Youth and Church groups in Britain since 1981, since when it is permitted for charities to deliver Christmas and New Year cards between 25 November and 1 January.

Christmas Mail: Scheme operated by the British Post Office whereby mail could be posted in advance for delivery on Christmas Day. In use from 1902 to 1904.

Christmas Seals: Invented by Einar Holboell, these are labels placed on mail during the Christmas season to raise funds and awareness for charitable programs. They have become particularly associated with lung diseases such as tuberculosis, and with child welfare. Christmas seals are regarded as a form of Cinderella in contrast with Christmas stamps used for postage.

Chrome Postcards: (American term) Any card after 1939 with a shiny paper surface. The term is derived from Kodachrome. These are modern glossy cards. Chrome refers to a process used to make the cards. The chrome cards were first published in the 1940s and continue to be published today.

Chromolithography / Chromo / Chromo Litho: A printing method, the first capable of producing multi-colour prints, which prevailed on postcards published in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Based on lithography, it used print blocks (originally stone slabs) onto which an image was drawn using an oil-based medium. There was one block (or stone) for each colour. A chemical process etched away the oil-free parts of the block, leaving the image part for the given colour raised above the surface. The card would be printed in multiple impressions, each block adding another colour layer. The best examples were developed by German printers. There were no ‘dots’ on the image as the colour was applied in solid blocks. The cards have a rich, deep colour with a shiny surface. Not to be confused with Chrome postcards, which refers to glossy Kodachrome postcards.

Cigarette Paper: Very thin paper meant for rolling cigarettes but used by Latvia for a stamp issue in 1919.

Cigarette Tax Stamps: Revenue stamps indicating a Government tax on cigarettes.

Cinderella: A stamp-like label without an official postal value or use. Cinderellas include seals, local post issues and other similar items but are not generally considered to be bogus or fake stamps; they fall more into the category of “Artistamps”.

Cinderella Exhibit: A National (non-FIP) class of exhibit comprised primarily of “Cinderellas” (see also).

Circular Date Stamp (CDS): A form of postmark produced by a single or combined circle incorporating the date and place of posting.

Circular Delivery Companies: Operating in Great Britain between 1865 and 1869, these private companies undertook local delivery of circulars and printed matter at rates which were lower than the Post Office.

Circular Delivery Stamps: Stamps issued by circular delivery companies.

Classic: An early issue, often with a connotation of rarity, although classic stamps are not necessarily rare. A particularly scarce recent item may be referred to as a modern classic.

Classic (Alternative Definition): Stamps from the classical philatelic period, generally 1840–1900, although some collectors apply a narrower definition.

Cleaned Plate: A cleaned printing surface. Alkaline solutions are used to clean plates to produce stamps with sharper impressions.

Cleaned Stamp: A stamp from which a postal or fiscal marking or a blemish has been removed.

Cleaning (Stamps): Soiled or stained stamps are sometimes cleaned with chemicals or by erasing. The cleaning is usually done to improve the appearance of a stamp. A cleaned stamp can also mean one from which a cancellation has been removed, making a used stamp appear unused.

Cliché: A single electrotype, the individual unit consisting of the design of a single stamp, combined with others to make up the complete printing plate (e.g. ½d Newspaper stamp). Individual designs on modern one-piece printing plates are referred to as subjects.

Clipped Transfer: In lithography, the transfers are of paper and may require trimming before laying on the stone. If trimmed too close on one or more sides, a clipped transfer will result.

CMF: Central Mediterranean Force, World War II.

Coated Paper: Any paper with a mineral composition deposited on its surface after manufacture.

COD: Cash on Delivery.

Coded Postal Obliterators: Postmarks with an encoded number, letter or letters, or a combination of these, to identify the post office of origin. They were introduced in the UK in 1843. In many countries, various systems developed where the obliterator had a code often enclosed within a design of dots, rays, bars or concentric circles or ovals to ensure the effective cancellation of the stamp. Similar designs without an enclosed code are known as dumb or mute cancellations (q.v.).

Coffee House Mail: For over 150 years, coffee houses acted as important mail exchange centres.

Cogwheel Cancel: Circular numbered obliteration used by Bavaria 1850–69, so called on account of the ratchet projections surrounding the numerals.

Coil Dispenser Box: A retail ‘box’ containing a single roll of self-adhesive stamps.

Coil Join: Pair of coil stamps linked by a narrow strip of marginal paper or tab, the coil being made up of rows from sheets.

Coil Leader: Strip of paper at the beginning of a coil of stamps that facilitates the loading of a stamp vending machine.

Coil Stamps: Gummed and self-adhesive stamps processed in a long single row and prepared for sale in rolls, often for dispensing from stamp-vending and affixing machines. Some coils have a straight edge on two parallel sides and perforations on the remaining two parallel sides. Some coils are back-printed with sequence or counting numbers. Stamps from a roll of stamps are generally collected in pairs or strips. See also “Line pairs”, “Plate number coils”, “Counter coil”, “Coil dispenser box”, “Counter machine” and “Stamp vending machine”.

Coil Trailer: A piece of paper adhering to the edge of the last stamp on a roll.

Coin Daté: (French) Date of printing found on corner blocks of stamps from complete sheets.

Coin Machine: See “Stamp vending machine”.

Co-incidental Re-entry: When a re-entry is carried out, a co-incidental re-entry occurs when the new impression coincides with the old. The evidence of a co-incidental re-entry is provided by a general strengthening and thickening of the design. See “Re-entry”.

Colis Postaux: (French) “Parcel post”. A category of international mail that includes packages of merchandise or any other articles not required to be mailed at letter postage rate.

Collateral Material: Any supportive or explanatory material relating to a given stamp or philatelic topic. The material may be either directly postal in nature (post office news releases, rate schedules, souvenir cards, promotional items) or non-postal (maps, photos of scenes appearing on stamps).

College Stamps: Name for issues made by Oxford and Cambridge colleges for their messenger services in the 1870s and 1880s.

Collotype: A photo-mechanically printed image made from a photographic image using gelatine images of photographs. This process produced an extremely fine and delicate grain, and was favoured by publishers who wanted a means of reproduction that emulated the appearance of an actual photograph.

Colonial Treasurer’s Department Frank: Free postage “Government Department printed frank” (see also). Three versions of similar design used 1873–1883, while a fourth different design was introduced in 1884.

Colophon: A publisher’s emblem or trademark.

Colour: The characteristics which give rise to the visual sensation of hue and brightness. There are three attributes to colour: “hue or tone”, “saturation” and “luminosity” (see also).

Colour Changeling: The original colour has been changed accidentally or deliberately by the action of light, water or chemicals.

Colour Guide: Usual form is a folding card on which the philatelic colours as used in a stamp catalogue are shown.

Colour of Stamps: Different denominations of stamps are generally printed in different colours as postal clerks often distinguish the colour more readily than the value. The actual colour of a stamp may vary, and while collectors will pay high prices for rare shades, it may not be easy to tell those apart from variations caused by age, light, chemicals, and other factors. Stamp colours are routinely described by colour name rather than with any sort of numerical system like CMYK (refers to the four inks used in some colour printing: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key [black]); several colour guides showing a selection of colours have been produced.

Colour Missing: Usually denotes an error in the printing process. It might be a completely missing step or the accidental stoppage of ink in a fountain on a multicolour press.

Colour Postmark: Postmark applied in a colour other than black.

Colour Proof: Proofs made in the adopted colour or colours.

Colour Separation: Separating the stamp by colours to make negatives and plates for colour printing. The four-colour process requires four separations: cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK).

Colour Shift: Where the design of the stamp has more than one colour and these are applied at different times in the process of printing, the positioning of the colours is incorrect in relation to the intended design.

Colour Trials: Proof impressions in various colours submitted by the printer to enable the selection of a suitable colour.

Coloured Cancellation: A cancellation printed on stamps in any ink other than black.

Coloured Paper: Paper which is coloured right through during the manufacturing process.

Coloured Roulette: Lines of slits between rouletted stamps in colour from printing on the notched rules between the clichés.

Column: The vertical line of stamps in a sheet as distinguished from a horizontal row.

Comb Drilling: Perforations arranged in a comb-like pattern, as opposed to straight drilling.

Comb Perforation: In a comb machine, the parts are similar to those in a line machine but, in addition to the long row of pins and holes, there are short rows at right angles to the long rows. A comb machine perforates three sides of each stamp in a row at each operation. It is usual for the holes in the short rows to be in alignment with holes in the long rows, thus producing a characteristic of the corners of stamps to be distinguished from that of a line machine. 

Combination Cover: Cover bearing the stamps of more than one country when separate postal charges are paid for the transport of a cover by each country. Also stamps of the same country cancelled at two different times on the same cover as a souvenir.

Combined Stamp: Circular date stamp combining an obliterating element with the name and date of posting.

Comic: A humorous postcard.

Commatology: Specialized collecting of postmarks. This term was invented before World War II to describe postmark collecting. It is rarely used. Usually, collectors refer to postmark collecting or marcophily.

Commemorative: A stamp issued to commemorate a person, achievement, event or anniversary and sold for a limited period. The 1½d pictorial of 1900 and the Penny Universal were associated with events but were on sale for long periods during which they were the only stamps of those values. Hence, they are classed as “definitive” (see also).

Commemorative: A stamp issued to celebrate an anniversary, commemorate an event, or pay tribute to a notable person, usually available for a limited time.

Commemorative Issue: Postage stamps or postal stationery issued to commemorate a particular event, famous person, or important occasion, generally circulated for a short period.

Commemorative Cancel / Cancellation: A postmark either hand-struck or applied by machine with a special inscription to indicate that it is associated with the commemoration of an event.

Commissioner: A person appointed for a country, whose primary task is to obtain exhibits from exhibitors living in that country and transport them to and from the exhibition, and to be the point of contact between those exhibitors and the exhibition organising committee. At FIP and Continental Federation exhibitions, the commissioner’s duties are defined in the “GREX” (see also), and each country is likely to have specific requirements for any Commissioners they appoint.

Commissioner-General: A person appointed by an exhibition organising committee with the responsibility of providing the contact between the committee and the commissioners appointed by invited countries; facilitating arrangements for the commissioners within the host country (e.g. transport, accommodation, customs, etc.); and managing the commissioners’ official duties at the exhibition.

Community Post Envelopes: Community Post is a community investment programme for NZ Post. Postage-included envelopes and other NZ Post services are donated to not-for-profit organisations for use with projects and activities.

Compartment Lines: Irregular lines outside the printed area of stamps occurring in letterpress plates where extraneous metal (flashing) has not been removed in the manufacturing process and therefore picks up ink during printing.

Composite:

1. A series of postcards which, when assembled together, form a larger picture. More commonly called an “instalment set”.
2. A photograph with two separate images printed on the same card (photo paper).

Composite Die: Block of metal bearing part of a stamp design with a space for insertion of a separate piece of metal carrying the remainder.

Composite Sheet: A sheet of stamps made up of different values, designs or a normal sheet overprinted or surcharged in a similar way, enabling a complete set of stamps to be obtained from a single sheet.

Compound Envelopes: Stationery bearing more than one kind of stamp embossed thereon.

Compound Perforations: These result when two line or rotary machines are used on the same sheet. However, in practice the name compound is applied only when the machines used in combination have different gauges. The most usual combination is for one machine to be used for the horizontal perforations and the other for the vertical. These are sometimes described as “irregular compound perforations”.

Compound Plates: Printing plates each bearing only part of the design which are cut in such a way that they can be inked separately.

Compound Postage: A collection of stamps of different values used because no single stamp covers the required postage or because the sender deliberately chooses multiple stamps.

Compulsory Postage Stamps: See “Postal tax stamp”.

Compulsory Registration: A practice used by many postal authorities when coins, jewellery or other valuables are sent through the post.

Computer Generated Stamps: Labels whose design and text are entirely produced by a printer from a computer.

Concentration Camp Mail: Most often seen from the concentration camps established by the Nazi regime in Germany and occupied Europe; these are distinguished by special postmarks, stationery and stamps.

Concessionary Parcel Stamps: Stamps issued by Italy since 1953 and used by carriers and freight companies operating local parcel delivery services at rates lower than the Government service.

Concordance: A term to describe a state or condition of agreement or harmony. In philately, concordance is most commonly used in maximaphily to describe the desirable relationship between the image on the postcard, the stamp and the postmark.

Condition – Postcards: Refers to the physical condition of the postcard. Terms used are Mint, Near Mint, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor.

Condition – Philatelic: Positive condition factors include fresh full colour, full original gum on unused stamps, and so on. Damage such as creases, tears, thinned paper, short perforation teeth, toning and so on negatively affects condition.

Condominium: A territory over which there is joint rule by two Powers. An example of this is the Anglo-French New Hebrides Condominium whose stamps are inscribed in English and French.

Confetti Variety: Stamp with a circular uncoloured patch in the design. Usually only on a random single stamp.

Constant Variety: A variety which appears in the same position on every sheet.

Consular Fee Stamps: Fiscal issues to pay fees levied for various consular services, e.g. passport renewals.

Consular Mail: Mail sent from Consulates acting as postal agencies, often using a distinctive cancellation.

Consular Post Offices: Post Offices maintained in foreign embassies and consulates by various European powers.

Consultant: See also “Co-ordinator”.

Continental Federation: FIP country members are divided into three Continental Federations which are classed as Associate Members of FIP – Europe (see “Federation of European Philatelic Associations” [FEPA]), Americas (see “Federación Interamericana de Filatelia” [FIAF]) and Asia (see “Federation of Inter-Asia Philately” [FIAP]).

Continental Size: A postcard size of approximately 4 x 6 in (100 x 150 mm).

Continuous Impression Machine: Postmarking machine which made a running pattern of town-date marks interrupted by wavy lines obliterating right across the top of the envelope.

Continuous Overprint: An overall overprint applied without regard to positioning on the individual stamps in a sheet.

Contract Mailing: A procedure where mail posted in a country is air-freighted to another country for sorting and onward despatch.

Control Letters: Letters inscribed in the sheet margins of some British stamps as an accountancy measure.

Control Marks: Security endorsement by overprint etc. to curb theft.

Control Numbers: Numerals engraved in the margins of plates used for the production of stamps in certain countries.

Control Overprints: Overprints applied to stamps as a precaution in cases of fraud or theft.

Controlled Mail: A system in which the mailer selects philatelically desirable issues for outgoing mail, arranges for a specific manner of cancellation and secures the stamps’ return by the addressee. In some cases, such controlled mail operations may provide rare examples of specific rate fulfilment or other similar postal use.

Convention States: Indian States formerly in convention with the Indian Empire.

Co-ordinator or Consultant: A person appointed by the body under whose patronage the exhibition is being held (whether at International or National level) whose role is to provide guidance and, where required, approval to ensure the exhibition is run in compliance with the overarching rules governing it (in the case of FIP exhibitions, the “GREX”; in NZ, the “Approved Regulations for National Philatelic Exhibitions”).

Copper Plate Engraving: Alternative name for the intaglio process, so called because copper plates were mainly used.

Copy: A single stamp.

Copyright Block: Block of four or more US stamps with the copyright notice marginal marking of the USPS. The copyright marking was introduced in 1978 and replaced the Mail Early marking.

Cordials and Wines Stamp: Stamp indicating collection of tax on such products.

Cork Cancel: Corks, often with various fancy designs cut into their surface (see “fancy cancels”), used to obliterate postage stamps.

Corner Block: Four or more stamps from the corner of a sheet with selvedge attached.

Corner Card: An imprinted return address, generally in the upper-left corner of an envelope, from a commercial, institutional or private source, similar to business card or letterhead imprints.

Cotton Reels: The first (1850) circular typeset issues of British Guiana.

Counter Appliance: A machine with compartments to hold rolls of stamps and used by post office counter clerks. The appliance made it easier and quicker to remove a small number of stamps (often only a single copy) from a roll rather than from a block.

Counter-coil: Stamps from normal sheets made up in coil form and sold from post office counter appliances. A sequential number was printed on the selvedge at the end of each row or column of stamps that enabled the counter clerks to easily determine the number of stamps left in the appliance.

Counterfeit: Any stamp, cancellation or cover created for deception or imitation, intended to be accepted by others as genuine. A counterfeit stamp is designed to deceive postal authorities.

Counterfeiting: Imitation of a stamp, overprint, or postmark intended to deceive postal services or philatelists.

Counterfoil: Stamps with counterfoils as distinct from coupons.

Country Issues: Term used by Royal Mail to describe the distinctive definitives issued in different parts of the UK. See also “Regional Stamps”.

Coupon: An attachment to a stamp which conveys additional information.

Courier Services: Special services operated by various governments for the transmission of official correspondence and armed forces’ mail or mail of commercial enterprises.

Court Card: Between 1894 and 1899 British postcards were ‘court sized’. British postal authorities, limited by law, required the size of privately published postcards to be similar to that of those they published (and smaller than the cards published by other European nations). Court-sized cards were 4½ × 3½ in (115 × 90 mm).

Cover: Usually refers to an envelope of postal stationery but also to other forms of outer material in which mail has been enclosed for conveyance by post (excluding bags and hampers) and including a letter sheet (see also) bearing postal markings.

Cowan Paper: Alex Cowan & Sons Ltd, paper makers, supplied various types of paper, both watermarked and un-watermarked, for stamps printed at the Government Printing Office.

Cowries: Nickname for the first stamps of Uganda (1895).

CP: See “Colis Postaux”.

Cracked Plate: Printing plate showing cracks caused by pressure in manufacture, during operation or general deterioration after long usage. Consequently, a term used to describe stamps which show evidence that the plate from which they were printed was cracked.

Crash Cover: A cover that has been salvaged from the crash of an airplane, train, ship or other vehicle. Such covers often carry a postal marking explaining damage or delay in delivery.

Crazing: These are the tiny cracks and fractures you many times see in the emulsion or the top layer of a card.

Crease: A noticeable weakening of the paper of a stamp or cover, caused by its being folded or bent at some point. Creases substantially lower a stamp’s value. Creases particularly affect cover values when they extend through the attached stamp or a postal marking. Stamp creases are visible in watermark fluid.

Creased Stamps: Stamps with a crease which depreciates their value.

Creased Transfer: Lithographed stamp with an incomplete or distorted design caused by a defect in the transfer paper when the design was applied to the stone.

Credit Line: This term refers to the information giving the publisher’s name and location, serial number or any other information which gives details about the card. Process information such as Oilette used by Tuck & Sons, series numbers, titles and dates may be included in the credit line. This information is usually seen at the left edge, centre or bottom of the address side.

Credit Stamps: Revenue stamps issued to denote some monetary or fiscal credit in favour of the purchaser, his principal or assignee. See also “Tax stamps” and “Fee stamps”.

Critique: The written report containing the jury’s analysis and assessment of an exhibit against the criteria described in the SREVs for the appropriate exhibit class.

Critique at the Frame: A verbal critique given by a juror to the exhibitor in front of their exhibit. This enables expansion on the written “critique” (see also) by showing specific examples and suggestions on how the exhibit might be improved.

Cross Hatching: Crossed lines incised in intaglio to create shaded areas.

Cross Post: When the postal service was organised in Great Britain, all routes went via London, but to avoid delay direct cross-country routes were adopted and were known as Cross Posts.

Crown Agents: An entity which acted for Governments of many territories including the production and sale of stamps.

Crown Watermark: Watermark in the form of a crown.

Crowned Circle: A type of marking issued by the British Post Office to colonial offices and used to indicate that postal charges had been paid and the country or postal area of origin. The marking was in the form of a broken circle with a crown let in at the top.

CTO: Cancelled to order.

CTO or Cancelled To Order: An English term for stamps sold by countries directly to retailers without having been used for postal purposes. They bear artificial cancellations and usually retain their adhesive.

Culler Facer Canceller: A machine used in sorting offices for segregating different classes of mail, facing them the right way up and automatically cancelling the postage stamps.

Currency Stamps: Postage stamps used as units of currency during shortages of coinage, sometimes deliberately printed on card for this purpose.

Current: A stamp issued in large quantities for regular postage use.

Current Issues: Stamps at present in use.

Current Numbers: Numbers inserted in the plate margins by some British and early colonial stamps to indicate the order in which the plates were made.

Current Use Stamps: These are postage stamps put on sale for an indefinite period and whose printing is done as needed.

Customer Advertising Label: See “CAL”.

Customised Smilers Sheets: See “Smilers Sheets”.

Customs Stamps: Fiscal issues made to denote payment of customs duty.

Cut Cancellation: A cancellation that intentionally slices into the stamp paper. Often a wedge-shaped section is cut away. On many issues, such cancellations indicate use of postage stamps as fiscals (revenues) or telegraph stamps rather than as postage. Cut cancellations were used experimentally on early US postage stamps to prevent reuse.

Cut Edge Variety: Denotes a stamp printed from a cliché from which a portion has been accidentally cut away in trimming.

Cut Out: A non-adhesive stamp cut from postal stationery. The postal regulations permitted uncancelled copies to be fixed to mail. A stamp cut from a registered envelope was restricted to a registered article.

Cut Square: A neatly trimmed rectangular or square section from a stamped envelope that includes the imprinted postage stamp with ample margin. Collectors generally prefer to collect stationery as entire pieces rather than as cut squares. Some older stationery is available only in cut squares.

Cut-to-register: The cutting of watermarked paper in order that the design of the watermark falls into the correct position in each sheet of stamps.

Cut-to-shape: A nonrectangular stamp or postal stationery imprint cut to the shape of the design, rather than cut square. Cut-to-shape stamps and stationery generally have lower value than those cut square. One of the world’s most valuable stamps, the unique 1856 British Guiana “Penny Magenta”, is a cut-to-shape stamp.

Cyclostyle: Apparatus for printing copies of a design which has occasionally been used for stamp production. A stencil is cut over which an ink roller is passed, leaving an impression on the printing paper below.

Cylinder: The printing base used in the production of stamps by the rotary photogravure process.

Cylinder Block: See “Plate block”.

Cylinder Flaw: Repetitive blemish in a stamp’s design caused by a defect in the printing cylinder from which the stamp was printed.

Cylinder Marking: Includes a figure, letter or combination of the two used to identify a printing cylinder, the printer’s imprint, registration mark, bar or arrow.

Cylinder Number: Letters/numerals in sheet margins identifying printing cylinders. Normally collected in a ‘Cylinder block’. See ‘Plate number’.

Cylinder Plate: The part of a printing press to which a plate is attached and which transfers the inked image to either a rubber blanket (as in offset lithography) or directly to the substrate itself (as in letterpress).

Cyrillic Alphabet: Official alphabet of Russia which has been used with modifications on all Russian issues and has appeared also on stamps of various Slav countries.

Collection: A set of stamps chosen for their beauty, rarity, curiosity, documentary value, or price.

Color Chart: A chart showing colors commonly used in postage stamps, helping collectors identify colors and variations within an issue.