International Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/Glossary, Abbreviations and Symbols

Item description format

example

A1. Hasler "F88" (MV), 1956.

[$5]

Catalog number. Meter manufacturer and "model", (basic meter type), earliest known year. [catalog value]

Horizontal rectangular frank with panel at top, country name in top panel

description

and meter no. at bottom center.

A. Meter number with “H” prefix

sub-types

B. Meter number with “R” prefix

TM: DC, SC

town mark types

V/F:

00.00 (A,O)

000.00 (O)

value figure formats and (font styles)

a. Date only, without town mark circle or town name

varieties

b. Printed in green rather than red

Below are explanations of the terms and symbols used in the listings.

Glossary

Bank: a wheel with numbers on the rim which is rotated to impress part of the postage amount on Multi Value meters
Denomination: the amount of postage shown by the Value Figures
Die: the solid print head of a non-digital meter.
Digital: a meter that uses thermal, laser or some other digital technology instead of a die to apply the Stamp
Fixed Value: a meter with Frame and Value Figure carved out of a single die. A Fixed Value meter can print either a single denomination stamp or has a small set of different denomination stamps.
Frame: that portion of the Frank surrounding the Value Figures
Frank: Noun: that portion of the Meter Stamp showing the Denomination and (nearly always) the country name. Often a currency indicator ($, b, ¥, etc.) is shown along with “POSTAGE PAID” or similar statement.

Verb: to apply a postage stamp to a piece of mail

Greater Border: a frame surrounding a large portion of the Impression often including the Frank, Town Mark and Slogan. This is a feature found on many early Italian stamps but is otherwise quite rare.
Identification Number: a meter identification number assigned by the postal authority
Impression: the entire imprint including the Stamp (Frank, Town/Date Mark), and, if present, Serial number, Slogan, Slug, Greater Border, etc.
Indicia/Indicium: same as Frank (noun)
Key Letter: same as Prefix
License Number: a number the postal authority assigns to the mailer (rather than to the meter)
Limited Value: a meter that has one Frame die with a slot into which several Denomination dies can be rotated
Mailing Machine: a device which processes outgoing mail. It can contain a feeding mechanism, an envelope sealer and a sorter as well as a postage meter.
Meter: for the purposes of this catalog, same as Postage Meter
Meter Number: an identification number assigned by the meter manufacturer
Meter Stamp: a postage stamp impressed by a Meter
Multi Value: a non-digital meter that can print any postage value within a specified range. The machine uses Banks of wheels with numbers on the rims that are rotated to make the correct postage value appear in the stamp.
Panel: An area within a frank bordered by an outer frame line on two or three sides and an inner frame line on the fourth side
Permit Number: same as License Number
Postage Meter: a machine that prints a postage stamp and maintains a record of the total amount of postage printed
Prefix: a character or characters (usually alphabetic) preceding a Meter Number, Identification Number or License/Permit Number
Relief Machine: a Postage Meter lent by the distributor or dealer to a customer while the customer’s machine is being serviced
Serial Number: a counter of Impressions or strikes made by the Meter, unrelated to the amount of postage used
Setting: same as Spacing
Slogan: a verbal or pictorial message of a non-postal nature printed by the meter. A slogan typically promotes a product or cause supported by the mailer.
Slug: similar to a Slogan but the message is for postal purposes. Examples are FIRST CLASS, BULK RATE, PARCEL POST, AIRMAIL, RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED.
Spacing: the distance between the Town Mark and the Frank. It is usually measured from the right edge of the Town Mark to the left edge of the Frank, but with some stamps, mostly from Francotyp A, B and C models, measurements are from the center of the date figures to the center of the Value Figures.
Stacked: a word or number with each letter or digit placed one above or below the other

Stamp: the Frank plus the Town/Date Mark
Tape: a Meter Stamp impressed on an adhesive paper strip meant to be affixed to a parcel or mail-piece that is too thick to be fed through a postage meter
Town/Date Mark: that portion of the Meter Stamp that contains the post office name where the meter is licensed and (usually) the date of mailing
Town Mark: same as Town/Date Mark
Value Box: a small rectangle immediately surrounding the Value Figures in some Franks
Value Figures: the numbers and symbols that make up the postage value
Vertical: a word or number reading up or down

Abbreviations

A: Angular font style (See under Value Figures in the Introduction)
BIC: circular town mark with Broken Inner Circle
C/V: Catalog Value
DC: Double Circle town mark
FV: Fixed Value meter, single denomination
FV-n: Fixed Value with ‘n’ number of different stamp dies. FV-5 indicates a fixed value meter that can print five different value stamps
G: Gothic font style (See under Value Figures in the Introduction)
ID number: Identification Number
L#: License number
LV-n: Limited Value meter with ‘n’ different postage values
M#: Meter number
MV: Multi-Value meter
NOR: circular town mark with No Outer Rim
O: Oval font style (See under Value Figures in the Introduction)
S#: Serial number (impression counter number)
SC: Single Circle town mark
SL: Straight Line town mark
TM: Town Mark, Town/date Mark
V/F: Value Figures