Championship Stamp Supply Definitions of Philatelic Terms

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General Issues	Postage stamps released for general use, which include definitives and commemoratives.
Generalist	One who collects the stamps of many different countries, or a collector who does not have a particular specialist.
Germania	A specific series of stamps and postal stationery released between 1900-21 by Germany. The woman's figure, based on opera singer Anna von Stratz-Fuhring, was created by Paul Waldraff, and is supposed to represent the German Empire.
Glassine	A special, resilient, glazed paper that is nearly transparent. The glazing prevents easy passage of air, grease, and moisture. As a result, this has been the paper of choice for special envelopes used to store and protect postage stamps. These envelopes are referred to as glassine's by collectors. Glassine paper should not be confused with waxed paper, which can harm stamps. Glassine also is the paper used to manufacture stamp hinges.
Goat's Eye	Popular nickname for the second general issue of Brazil, from 1844-66. These stamps resemble the much scarcer Bull's-Eye issues of 1843, but are smaller.
Goldbeaters' Skin	A thin, tough, nearly transparent form of paper. For those issues that have been printed on goldbeater's paper, such as U.S. essays and 1886 stamps of Prussia, the stamp is printed prior to gumming on the inside of the paper, with the adhesive applied over the top of the ink, as a security feature.
Granite Paper	Granite paper is a form of paper that contains numerous colored fibers. In most cases, granite paper has been produced as a form of security device to deter postal counterfeits.
Graphite Lines	During the late 1950's, Great Britain began experimenting with marking stamps to expedite mail handling. One such experiment involved the placement of backs of stamps, which could be sensed by automated equipment. Although the practice was discontinued after a relatively short time, a number of British Wilding series stamps are known with these experimental, and collectible, lines.
Gravure	See Photogravure.
Grill	A network of lines, waffle patterns, or other forms that are embossed into the stamp paper after printing. As a security device, a grill's purpose is to break the paper fibers so that the paper readily absorbs the cancellation ink. This is intended to preclude the removal of cancellations for illegal reuse of previously used stamps. The embossing is done with a metal roll with tiny points. If applied from the back, the grill is said to be "points up," because they show from the front, and if the grill is applied from the front, it is said to be "points down," because they appear on the back. Grills, used on numerous 19th century U.S. stamps from 1867-71, are no longer in use.
Gripper Crack	A form of plate variety that occurs along the top or bottom row of stamp subjects on a printing plate. Tension cracks occur on printing plates most frequently where the grippers hold the curved plate to the cylinder. These cracks collect ink and deposit it on the printed stamps. Gripper cracks look just like a crack, jagged line, or series of lines running through the stamp design.
Groundwork	The background of a stamp upon which the primary stamp subject is shown. Groundwork may consist of solid or muted colors, designs, or other graphics.
Guide Dots or Lines	When a printing plate is created, markings to aid perforating and trimming are added. In most cases, these markings are trimmed off, but some finished stamps show these lines and dots. U.S. sheet stamps of the early 20th century frequently feature guide lines and arrows extending through the pane. These markings are usually collected in blocks.
Guillotine Perforator	A single-row stroke perforator that received its name from the execution tool of the same name. The term describes the action of the perforator, which perforates in only one direction. Guillotine perforators are commonly used to perforate webs of coil stamps before they are slit into individual rows that form coils.
Gum	The adhesive found on most stamps. The term is derived from gum arabic, an early type of adhesive.
Gum Breakers	Ridges or impressions that appear across the back of sheets or panes of stamps. They are created by special rollers that impress the stamp paper. The intention of the gum breakers was to break the pattern of the gum so that finished sheets and panes of stamps won't curl so severely in changing humidity conditions.
Gutter	The space left between panes on a printing sheet to provide the margin for cutting panes without damaging stamps. Gutters may be intentionally left, such as those found on press sheets, or they may occur in error as a result of a miscut.
Gutter Snipe	A freak created by improper trimming of sheets into post office panes, referring to any internal marginal selvage that is trimmed in a manner so that it is perforated on all sides. Gutter snipes are fairly inexpensive, but a pair of stamps with an unintentional full gutter between them is worth considerably more.

H

Halftone	In photogravure, offset, or letterpress printing, a halftone screen is formed when the image is broken down into small dots in varying concentrations, allowing the eye to see all tonal gradations between black and white.
Hammarskjold Invert	In 1962, the United States released a commemorative shortly after the untimely death of United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold. Within a few days of release, collectors began finding a few panes of stamps with the yellow color inverted in relation to the rest of the design. The U.S. Post Office Department immediately sent the stamp back to press and intentionally printed millions of error stamps in an attempt to destroy the value of the originals, angering thousands of collectors and setting the stage for a landmark court battle preventing the post office from intentionally creating special printings of stamps to destroy collector value. (See also Thatcher Ferry Bridge Error)
Hand Drawn	Cachets (usually on first-day covers) that have been completely drawn by hand. Such covers may either be black and white or painted.
Hand Painted	Although similar to hand drawn, hand painted also includes those cachets that have been reproduced by mechanical means (printing or photocopying) and then painted to provide color. Generally, such covers are worth less than hand drawn and painted covers, but more than mass-produced printed covers.
Hand Stamp	Application on a cover, usually with inked rubber stamp of such postal markings as postmarks, registry, and other special-service markings or auxiliary marking phrases, like "Held For Postage," "Advertised," and "Not Called For." Hand stamp can apply to any marking that is hand-stamped on a cover, but generally refers specifically to markings applied by an inked steel or rubberstamp device by hand. The term also refers to the device itself.
	The process of perforation that applies perforations to an entire printing sheet of stamps at once in a single stroke. Because of the nature of this type of perforation, virtually any shape of perforation can be created, ranging from round to elliptical, square, diamond, star, and many others. Harrow perforations are usually crisp and clean, with no distortion of shape.
Head Plate	See Key Plate.
Heliogravure	An early form of the photogravure process for printing stamps. (See also Photogravure)
Herringbone Cancellation	A form of cancellation that disfigures the stamp. A cut (sometimes inked), in the regular repeating pattern of a herringbone, not only ties the stamp to the document, but also effectively prevents illegal reuse of the revenue stamp involved. Because of the damage to the stamp, herringbone cancels generally make a stamp worth considerably less than inked cancels.
Hi-Brite	A collector term given to papers that contain optical brighteners or other fluorescent material that make a stamp glow brightly under longwave ultraviolet light. Hi-Brite effects on stamps are unintentional.
Hinge	Perhaps the most basic and enduring form of stamp supply available. A stamp hinge is a small, gummed piece of glassine (folded or unfolded) used to mount stamps on album pages. The gummed side of the hinge is lightly moistened and placed on the back of a stamp, folded down and placed on an album page. When properly used, a hinge will allow the viewing of a stamp's back side by merely lifting it slightly from the page. The best type of stamp hinge is one that is fully peelable; that is, it does not ruin a stamp when removed. Stamp hinges are now used primarily for canceled stamps, so that the gum of mint stamps is not affected.
Hologram	A stamp or stamp item that features a form of specially treated thin foil that appears three-dimensional to the viewer. This illusion is created by recording, on a photosensitive surface, the pattern of interference formed by a split laser beam. The pattern can be illuminated by either natural or artificial light, giving the illusion of a 3-D image. A hologram, a 3-D stamp, has a slightly silvery appearance to it, with some perceived color visible. Stamp items that include holographic images first began in the late 1980s. Small pieces of holographic plasticized foil are applied to the stamp paper, or are windowed into stamp envelopes. As with any new technology, holography on stamps gave birth to a new major error: missing holograms. Holograms printed on silver foil have been used as part of the stamped design on U.S. stamped envelopes released in 1989, 1990, 1992, and, for the first time on postage stamps, in the year 2000.
Holograph	Any document (such as a letter) that is written entirely by the person whose signature it bears.
Horizontal Pair, Imperforate Vertically	A horizontal pair of stamps lacking vertical perforations between stamps and with vertical straight edges at either side. Perforations are present at top and bottom. Such items should not be confused with imperforate between, which refers to a pair with perforations on all sides, but not between stamps.
Hotel Stamp	A form of an adhesive (sometimes hand-stamped marking) used to show the prepayment of postage from a hotel to the nearest post office. Hotel stamps were most commonly used throughout parts of Europe during the latter part of the 19th century. The fee collected by hotels for this service was above the postage required for governmental delivery to the recipient. Hotel stamps, and covers bearing them, are prized by collectors.
HPO	Abbreviation for Highway Post Office, a mobile form of post office that sorted and canceled mail on the road. The service began in the United States in 1941 and was discontinued in the early 1970s.
HS	Abbreviation for hand stamp.
Humidor (or Sweat Box)	A device used to remove stamps from paper (or those stuck together) without seriously disturbing the gum. Affected stamps are placed on a shelf or platform above water, and then are sealed in a container. The resulting humidity eventually loosens the stamp for removal. This technique also is preferred for removing stamps with fugitive inks from paper.
Hunting Permit Stamp	See Duck Stamp.
Hydrogen Peroxide	A cleaning chemical used by collectors to counteract the effects of oxidation on stamps printed with ink containing iron. Hydrogen peroxide also can be used to clean slightly yellowed paper. In both cases, this type of cleaning is acceptable, because it does not damage or alter a stamp in any negative way; however, peroxide should be used only on stamps with no gum, because it will remove the gum from mint stamps.
Hyphen-Hole Perfs	Dash-like perforations where tiny rectangular holes are punched in the paper, rather than the more standard round holes. Because of the nature of their appearance, scarcer hyphen-hole perforations frequently are confused with roulettes. (See also Roulettes)

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Definitions taken from © Copyright All About Stamps, written by Wayne L. Youngblood, used with permission. Championship Stamp Supply wishes to thank Wayne L. Youngblood and Krause Publications for their kind support and permission in using © Copyright All About Stamps for our online definitions of philatelic terms.