An adhesive printed or embossed stamp or label indicating the prepayment of a fee for the conveyance of letters, postcards, parcels etc. The first postage stamps were issued in England in the 1840s, but soon became a global phenomenon. Definitive stamps are those which are normally available for purchase, while commemorative stamps are issued periodically to mark special occasions. The latter in particular have become a design specialism.
Usually a small paper rectangle that is attached to an envelope, the postage stamp signifies that the person sending the letter or package may have either fully, or perhaps partly, pre-paid for delivery. Using postage stamps is the most popular alternative to using a prepaid-postage envelope.Stamps have been issued in other shapes besides the usual square or rectangle, including circular, triangular and pentagonal. Sierra Leone and Tonga have issued self-adhesive stamps in the shape of fruit; the United States produced one made of plastic, and the German Democratic Republic once issued a stamp made entirely of synthetic chemicals.
History
The adhesive postage stamp and the uniform postage rate were devised in Great Britain by James Chalmers around 1834. Later, the concept of the adhesive postage stamp was published by Rowland Hill, in Postal Reform: its Importance and Practibility in 1837.
Three months later the first prepaid-postage stamp, known as the Penny Black, was issued with the profile of Queen Victoria printed on it. Because the United Kingdom issued the first stamps, the Universal Postal Union (U.P.U.) grants it an exemption from its rule that the identification of the issuing country must appear on a stamp in Roman script for use in international mails. A stamp may also show a face value in the issuing country's currency. Some countries have issued stamps with a letter of the alphabet or designation such as "First class" for a face value. Examples of such stamps include the British "E" stamp (intended to pay the rate for mailing letters to Europe) and the South African "International Letter Rate" stamp.
Dispensing
Since their inception there have been numerous innovative developments in how stamps are dispensed and sold.
Prior to IBI being introduced, postage vault devices were used on personal computers to allow postage stamps to be printed from one's computer.
In March 2001, the United States Postal Service authorized Neopost Online and Northrop Grumman Corporation to test an innovative purchasing stamp system. The stamp vending system then authorizes the purchase order, prints the stamp sheet(s) and finally dispenses them to the consumer. The ability to peruse, request, authorize, print, and dispense a stamp purchase using the Internet makes these the world's first browser-based stamps. The product from this self-service stamp vending system is aptly named by collectors as Neopost web-enabled stamps. These stamps were available from March 2001 through August 2003 and were denominated (fixed value) stamps.
Recently, personal pictures have been paired with IBI technology to provide a personalized stamp for the consumer.
The push towards using IBI technology aids the United States Postal Service in finding new venues to sell stamps. The United States Postal Service still relies on cosigning stamps to retailers and banks (via automatic teller machines (ATMs).
Types of stamps
Airmail - for payment of airmail service. While the word or words "airmail" or equivalent is usually printed on the stamp, Scott (the dominant U.S. cataloguing firm) has recognised as airmail stamps some U.S. stamps issued in denominations good for then-current international airmail rates, and showing the silhouette of an airplane. ATM, stamps dispensed by automatic teller machines (ATMs) carrier's stamp certified mail stamp coil of stamps, tear-off stamps issued individually in a vending machine, or purchased in a roll of 100 commemorative stamp - a limited run of stamp designed to commemorate a particular event computer vended postage - advance secure postage that uses Information Based Indicia (IBI) technology. customised stamp - a stamp the picture or image in which can in some way be chosen by the purchaser, either by sending in a photograph or by use of the computer. definitive - stamps issued mainly for the everyday payment of postage. express mail stamp / special delivery stamp late fee stamp - issued to show payment of a fee to allow inclusion of a letter or package in the outgoing dispatch although it has been turned in after the cut-off time military stamp - stamps issued specifically for the use of members of a country's armed forces, usually using a special postal system official mail stamp - issued for use solely by the government or a government agency or bureau occupation stamp - a stamp issued for use by either an occupying army or by the occupying army or authorities for use by the civilian population perforated stamps - while this term is often used to refer to the perforations around the edge of a stamp (used to divide the sheet into individual stamps) it is also a technical term for stamps which have been additionally perforated across the middle leaving a distinctive pattern or monogram. personalised - allow user to add his own personalised picture or photograph postage due - a stamp applied showing that the full amount of required postage has not been paid, and indicating the amount of shortage and penalties the recipient will have to pay. (Collectors and philatelists debate whether these should be called stamps, some saying that as they do not pre-pay postage they should be called "labels".) The United States Post Office Department issued "parcel post postage due" stamps. postal tax - a stamp indicating that a tax (above the regular postage rate) required for sending letters has been paid. This stamp is often mandatory on all mail issued on a particular day or for a few days only. self-adhesive stamp - stamps not requiring licking or moisture to be applied to the back to stick. semi-postal / charity stamp - a stamp issued with an additional charge above the amount needed to pay postage, where the extra charge is used for charitable purposes such as the Red Cross. test stamp - a label not valid for postage, used by postal authorities on sample mail to test various sorting and cancelling machines or machines that can detect the absence or presence of a stamp on an envelope. war tax stamp - A variation on the postal tax stamp intended to defray the costs of war. water-activated stamp - for many years "water-activated" stamps were the only kind so this term only entered into use with the advent of self-adhesive stamps. The adhesive or gum on the back of the stamp must be moistened (usually it is done by licking, thus the stamps are also known as "lick and stick") to affix it to the envelope or package.First day covers
On the first day of issue a set of stamps can be purchased attached to an envelope which had been post-marked with a special commemorative post mark, or a normal post mark.
Souvenir sheets
Postage stamps are sometimes issued in souvenir sheets containing just one or a small number of stamps. Additionally a set of stamps which may be identical to that on the sheet are sometimes part of the issue.
Cinderellas
Stamps should be distinguished from cinderellas, stamp-like labels that resemble, but are not, postage stamps. Cinderellas might be commemorative labels, such as those issued in Buffalo, New York to support the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1901 (one of these has now been converted into an actual postage stamp), or may be postage stamps for imaginary countries or micronations.
Collecting
Stamp collecting is a popular hobby, and stamps are often produced as collectibles. This has been condoned by the collecting community for places such as Liechtenstein and Pitcairn Islands that have followed relatively conservative stamp issuing policies. Seebeck operated in the 1890s as an agent of Hamilton Bank Note Company when he approached several Latin American countries with an offer to produce their entire postage stamp needs for free. Each year a new issue of stamps was produced whose postal validity would expire at the end of the year; In the 1960s certain stamp printers such as the Barody Stamp Company arranged contracts to produce quantities of stamps for the separate Emirates and other countries.
The combination of hundreds of countries, each producing scores of different stamps each year has resulted in a total of some 400,000 different types in existence as of 2000.
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