Our Stamp Den

Tips for the Beginner
 Mourning Stamps
Nicknames of famous stamps
TASCO Educational Booklets
TASCO Non-booklet items: advertising covers, cinderellas, approval sheets, etc
World Records in Stamps
Write an Article or Tell us About Your Collection
Ten Low Cost Ways to Start Collecting Stamps

Albums - Glassine Interleaving
Acid_Paper_and_Album_Pages
Buying Stamps - Kiloware and Mixtures
Buying & Using Sheet Protectors
Buying Stamps - New Issues
Great Deals are Often Not What They Seem
 Glues, Gums, and Adhesives
How to Tell a Revenue Usage When You See One
Inventories or Keeping Track
Learning About Your Hobby
Mount Stamps
Not Your Run-of-the-Mill Cancellations
 Problems and a solution
Select An Album
Soaking Stamps
Soaking II
Sort Stamps
Save Time
Tools of the Trade
Tools -Cleaning Up
Tools - Stockbooks, Stockpages and Stockcards
Tag Stamps --Safety
Watermark Stamps 
What Condition Your Condition Is In
Specializing and Specialty Groups
What are and How to --Perforations---
What is My Collection Worth?
 “Unlisted Watermarks” and More
Used Catalogs and Stamp Books

Artcraft FDC's
My Other World
U.S. Revenues - I Love them!
What to Collect

Donations

On To The Fun Page

Stamp Glossary "B"

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Back of the Book (BOB) Items that are listed in the back of specialized stamp catalogs such as postage dues, revenues, postal saving stamps, etc.

Backstamp Postmark applied to back of incoming mail to show date and time of receipt at the receiving post office.

Bar code A series of vertical full bars and half bars representing the ZIP Code information printed on a mail piece to facilitate automated processing by bar code reader equipment.

Black Jack The nickname for the very popular U.S. two-cent black Andrew Jackson stamp, which was issued in various forms between 1863 and 1875.

Black Print Proofs printed in black by postal administrations for press releases.

Blind Perforation Perforation holes that have been lightly impressed where the holes are not punched out into the stamps, leaving the paper intact.

Bisect A stamp cut in half which has been used to pay the postage at half the face value of the original stamp or during shortages of stamps. The bisect is collected on the original cover with the postmark or cancellation covering the cut to prove it is a true bisect.

Block An un-separated group of stamps, at least two parallel rows of stamps in two directions.

Blued Paper Paper which has a pale blue tinge, caused by ingredients used in the manufacture of the printing ink and/or paper, or by the chemical reaction of one on the other.

Booklet  A small book of one or more 'panes' of stamps.

Booklet Pane A block/page of stamps especially printed and cut for use in booklets.

Bogus stamps Fictitious stamp created only for sale to collectors. Bogus stamps include labels for nonexistent values added to regularly issued sets, issues for nations without postal systems, etc. Also refers to issues meant to defraud collectors. (As examples: Huge Numerous releases beautiful "stamps" and overprints of Abhkasia, Altai, Chechnia etc, -and others regions of ex-USSR,Russia, also Staffa, Nagalend, Holy islands, State of Oman etc. )

Booklet A booklet - Small cardboard cover, that contain one or more panes of stamps.

Booklet Pane A small sheet, or leaf, of stamps from a stamp booklet, without cardboard cover.

Bought In An auction lot that failed to reach its reserve.

Bourse  A marketplace, such as a stamp exhibition, where stamps are bought, sold or exchanged.

Burelage French term for a group of usually wavy lines or dots. This forms the background upon which the stamp is printed, being intended to make forgery more difficult.