postage stamps
Prepaid postal squares
Postage stamps are small adhesive labels affixed to mail indicating that postage has been paid.
They typically bear a denomination and decorative design—often depicting national figures, landmarks, or commemorative subjects.
Stamp collecting (philately) treats them as collectibles: My grandfather's postage stamps from the 1920s are worth thousands.
The phrase sometimes appears in legal or bureaucratic contexts specifying acceptable payment forms.
- perforationsSeries of small holes
- philatelyStudy of postal stamps
- watermarksEmbedded paper identification marks
- collectingGathering items over time
- mint conditionPerfect, unused state
first day covers · hobbyist · magnifying · tongs · ephemera · airmail · philatelist · first-class · mail delivery · mint · adhesive · sheets · album · philatelic societies · queen · anniversaries · hinges · rare
- postal systemszip codes, mail service, mail carriers, postcode, mailboxes
- stamp collectingfirst day covers, overprints, surcharges, commemoratives, definitives
- stampingink pads, permanent ink, ink refills
- postal artmail art
- philatelyalbum, perforation, commemoratives, definitives, first day covers
- postal servicemail, sorting machine, mailbox, mail van, letter carriers