United States Postage Meter Stamp Catalog/Glossary and Abbreviations
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Item description format[edit | edit source]
catalog number
meter manufacturer
model
meter type
intro. year
rarity factor
Glossary and abbreviations[edit | edit source]
Components of a meter impression:
Definitions:
- Bank:
a wheel with numbers on the rim which is rotated to impress part of the postage amount on Multi Value meters
- BIC:
circular town mark with Broken Inner Circle
- DC:
Double Circle town mark
- 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 contains a small set of dies that each print a different denomination.
- 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 and “POSTAGE PAID” or similar statement.
- Frank (verb):
to apply a postage stamp to a piece of mail
- 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
- ID number:
Identification Number
- 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)
- Limited Value:
a meter that has one Frame die with a slot into which several Denomination dies can be rotated
- LV-n:
Limited Value meter with ‘n’ different postage values
- M#:
Meter number
- 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.
- MV:
Multi-Value meter
- P#:
Permit number
- 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:
a number the postal authority assigns to the mailer (rather than to the meter)
- 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
- SC:
Single Circle town mark
- SL:
Straight Line town mark
- 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, 562 P.L.&R.
- 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.
- 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
- TM:
Town Mark, Town/date Mark
- Type:
Meters fall into four basic types, fixed-value (FV), limited value (LV), multi-value (MV), and digital (digital)
- 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
- V/F:
Value Figures