It was a stamp collector named Monsieur Herpin who gave us the funny word philately. It is a word both portentous in sound, while also being sort of silly when used outside of the world of stamp collecting. In popular entertainment, any character described as being a philatelist (accompanied by the "oh brother" eye-roll) is guaranteed not to get any date, let alone one with the pretty girl. Many of us have had our significant others, when asked of our whereabouts by a drop-in visitor to answer, "Oh, in his stamp den philateling." This makes it sound like something that might qualify one for five years in prison if caught in the act.


But M. Herpin was originally going for something a bit more elegant, when, straining the limits of lexiconography, he took a bit of Greek -- ateles or "free of charge" and added a bit more Greek -- the prefix for "loving or love of," phil -- and he created the French word that amuses many, confuses some and seems to give an aura of learning and a whiff of the classical world to our humble hobby: philately. It's been with us in the English language -- for better or worse -- since 1865. I've never met anyone outside of the stamp collecting world who can keep a straight face when saying it.

A Closer Look at Stamp Words

Of course our hobby is full of silly words and terms. There seems to be something of violence, and sometimes a scary pathology involved with some of them.

Socked on the nose -- This describes a cancel that has hit (see?) the stamp squarely, usually leaving a complete impression showing date, location, etc. There is a subgroup of first day cover collectors who cancel stamps - no cover involved - with the first day date on the stamp only.

Cut-squares -- The term does not describe librarians and accountants who ran afoul of a juvenile delinquent in the 1950s but rather the portion of the indicia of a postcard, envelope or wrapper cut to size for addition to a stamp album.

Freak -- Not something P.T. Barnum would put in his sideshow, but a stamp falling short of being classified an "error" as its faults in paper, printing or perforation are not quite drastic enough.

Killer -- The part of a duplex cancel that actually cancels or obliterates the stamp rendering it unfit for reuse.

Disturbed gum -- The gum on the back of the stamp is not ready for a Section 8. It merely means that the pristine gum so desired by collectors has been negatively impacted by moisture or some other stamp enemy.

Compound perforations -- This has nothing to do with the condition in which a forensic investigator might find a murder victim. Instead, it refers to a stamp that has a different perf count vertically and horizontally.

Die proof -- An impression from the die that will be used to print the stamp.

Kicking mule -- And stamp collecting is actually supposed to be a sedate and gentle hobby? Watch out for those hooves, they'll put you into next Sunday. Actually the kicking mule is a much sought after special cancel first used on military mail from Port Townsend.

Guillotine perforation -- Has nothing to do with mail sent during the French Revolution (though beware the letter du cachet) but rather describes a perforation machine which punched a single line of holes at once.

Space filler -- Although this may conjure images of Uncle Lou after three stiff ones at your Christmas party, it is actually a stamp in lesser condition that a collector will buy for his collection until a better one comes along.

Skinned -- Not how some collectors feel after they've paid too much for a stamp (well, maybe it is sometimes) but skinned refers to a stamp that has lost some of its paper, usually causing a thin.

So now that you know the dangers -- while seemingly around every corner in stamp collecting -- are minimal, you can enjoy your stamp collecting without always looking over your shoulder. The real crime would be if you didn't.