Plain-English definitions of the terms collectors and dealers use for stamps, coins, currency, postcards, pins, and the archival materials that keep all of them safe.
158 terms. Search for one, filter by what you collect, or jump to a letter. SAFE has supplied collectors since 1953, and this glossary grows from the questions collectors ask us most.
A 2x2 is a two-inch-square cardboard holder with a clear film window, folded over a coin and stapled shut. It is the most common low-cost way to house and label a coin, and 2x2s are stored in dedicated pages, boxes, and trays.
2x2 albums & cases →Acid-free describes paper or board with no free acids, generally measuring pH 7 or slightly above, so it will not yellow or embrittle a collection over time. Strictly speaking, all paper carries some acidity, which is why SAFE describes its own paper and cardstock as pH-neutral rather than acid-free.
About pH-neutral paper →An album package is a binder sold together with a starter set of matching pages, and sometimes a slipcase, so a collection can begin without sourcing parts separately. Additional refill pages are added as the collection grows.
Classic binders & packages →The American Silver Eagle is the United States one-ounce silver bullion coin, issued annually since 1986 and 40.6mm in diameter. Its size means it needs larger compartments than most US coins.
Silver Eagle cases →An anti-tarnish strip is a piece of reactive material placed inside a case, drawer, or album that absorbs sulfur gases before they reach silver or copper. Strips work in enclosed spaces and are replaced periodically as they are used up.
Intercept Shield strips →An approval card is a small card with a clear pocket or panel used by dealers to display individual stamps for sale. Collectors also use them for duplicates and trade stock.
Approval cards →Archival quality describes storage materials that stay chemically stable over decades and will not harm what they hold: pH-neutral paper, and inert plastics free of plasticizers and PVC. There is no single legal definition, so the specific materials a product uses matter more than the label.
SAFE archival materials →An assay card is a tamper-evident card that seals a gold or silver bar or round together with its certificate of weight and purity. Leaving the bar in its card protects both the metal and its resale documentation.
Assay card cases →A banknote is a printed paper or polymer note issued as legal tender. Notes are collected by country, series, signature, and serial number, and are housed flat in inert sleeves.
Currency storage →A blank page is an album leaf with no printed design, letting the collector arrange and caption material freely. Blank pages are the foundation of topical and exhibit collections.
A block of four is four unseparated stamps in a two-by-two square. Blocks show printing and perforation details that singles do not, and they need wider pockets than single stamps.
Plate block albums →A booklet pane is a small block of stamps printed to be bound inside a stamp booklet, often with one or more straight edges. Panes are collected intact, sometimes with the booklet cover.
Buffered paper is archival paper with an added alkaline reserve, usually calcium carbonate, that neutralizes acids migrating in from the air or from adjacent materials. It suits most stamps, covers, and documents, but conservators avoid it for photographic material such as real photo postcards and blueprints, which store better on unbuffered, pH-neutral paper.
Bullion refers to coins or bars valued primarily for their precious metal content rather than rarity or numismatic interest. Bullion is usually stored in tubes, capsules, or monster boxes by weight.
A cachet is the printed or hand-drawn design on the left-hand side of a first day cover, produced to complement the stamp. Cachet maker and scarcity drive much of an FDC's value.
A campaign medal is a military decoration awarded for service in a particular conflict or operation. Medals are collected with their original ribbons, which are light sensitive and best displayed away from direct sun.
Medal albums →A cancellation is the mark applied by the postal service to prevent a stamp being reused. Cancellations are collected in their own right for their town, date, or design.
Centering is how evenly a stamp's design sits within its margins. Well-centered stamps, especially older issues, command significant premiums over off-center copies.
A challenge coin is a medallion bearing an organization's insignia, traditionally carried by military members and now issued by agencies, units, and companies. They are usually larger than circulating coins and displayed in dedicated cases.
Challenge coin cases →A chemically inert material does not react with paper, ink, gum, or metal, and does not release gases as it ages. Polyester, polypropylene, and polystyrene are the inert plastics used for archival collecting supplies.
A chrome postcard is a glossy, photographic-looking card produced from about 1939 onward. Early chromes are in the smaller vintage size, while later ones are in the continental 4-by-6-inch format.
Continental postcard albums →A circulated coin shows wear from use. On the Sheldon Scale, circulated grades run from Poor (1) up to About Uncirculated (AU-58).
The Classic 14-Ring system is SAFE's 12-by-12-inch album format with a 14-hole page pattern, and it carries the widest page selection of any SAFE system. It is the standard choice for serious country, topical, and mint sheet collections.
Classic 14-Ring →A cleaned coin has had its surface altered by polishing, dipping, or chemicals. Cleaning removes original surface and luster, lowers value, and is noted by grading services, which is why collectors protect coins instead of cleaning them.
Coin care & preservation →A clutch, also called a pin back, is the fastener that secures a pin to fabric or a display page. Common types are rubber, butterfly (metal), and locking clutches; locking clutches are preferred for valuable pins and for transport.
A coil stamp is issued in a roll rather than a sheet, and has straight edges on two opposite sides. Coils are collected in strips, which need long horizontal pockets.
Coil strip albums →A coin album is a binder of pages with pockets or openings sized for coins, 2x2 holders, capsules, or slabs. Albums let a collection be viewed page by page and stored on a shelf like a book.
Coin albums →A coin capsule is a rigid, snap-together clear plastic shell sized to a specific coin diameter, sealing it against air and handling while leaving both sides visible. Capsules are the standard for higher-value raw coins.
Capsules & holders →A coin tray is a velvet-lined insert with compartments sized to a particular coin diameter or holder, used inside cases, chests, and drawers. Trays are interchangeable, so one case can be reconfigured as a collection changes.
Refill trays →A coin tube is a rigid cylinder holding a stack of same-diameter coins, used for rolls and bullion. Tubes are efficient but let coins touch one another, so they suit circulated and bullion material rather than high-grade coins.
The Collecto 4-Ring system is SAFE's 11-by-12-inch album format with a 3-inch spine and a 4-ring mechanism. Its mixed pocket sizes suit collections holding more than one kind of material.
Collecto 4-Ring →A commemorative is a stamp issued for a limited time to mark an event, anniversary, or person. Commemoratives are usually printed once, in larger and more decorative formats than definitives.
The Compact 4-Ring system is SAFE's 10-by-9-inch album with a 3-inch spine that holds up to 100 archival pages and lays flat when open. It is popular for postcards, coins, covers, and pins where capacity matters more than page size.
Compact 4-Ring →A continental postcard is the larger modern format, roughly 4 by 6 inches, that became standard in the later twentieth century. Mixing continental and vintage cards in one album needs pages sized for the larger format.
Continental postcard albums →A cover is a complete envelope that has passed through the mail, collected for its stamps, postmarks, routing, and historical context rather than for the envelope itself. Covers need larger sleeves and albums than loose stamps.
Cover albums & holders →Crisp Uncirculated describes a banknote with no folds, creases, or handling, retaining its original paper stiffness and sheen. A single fold moves a note out of the category permanently.
A currency sleeve is an inert, correctly sized holder that supports a banknote flat and protects it from handling and dust. Sleeves are sized by note format, so measuring before buying matters.
Sleeve size chart →A definitive is a stamp in a regular, long-running series issued for everyday postage, often reprinted over many years. Printings of the same definitive can differ in paper, perforation, or shade.
Deltiology is the study and collection of postcards, and a deltiologist is a postcard collector. Collections are usually organized by place, era, publisher, or subject.
Postcard supplies →A desiccant, most often silica gel, is a moisture-absorbing material placed in a closed case or cabinet to keep humidity down. It needs to be checked and dried out or replaced regularly to keep working.
Divided back describes a postcard whose reverse is split between an address panel and a message area, a format introduced in the United States in 1907. The divided back is a reliable dating indicator.
EFO stands for errors, freaks, and oddities: stamps with production mistakes such as missing colors, inverted elements, or misplaced perforations. True errors are scarce and collected as their own specialty.
An enamel pin is a metal pin with recessed areas filled with colored enamel. Hard enamel is polished flush with the metal lines, while soft enamel sits below them and leaves visible ridges. Pins are stored on padded pages that accept the post and clutch.
Pin trading books →Ephemera is printed material made to be used briefly and thrown away: tickets, programs, labels, trade cards, menus, and receipts. Its survival is largely accidental, which is much of its appeal.
Ephemera supplies →EPQ, or Exceptional Paper Quality, is a designation from the grading service PMG for notes with original paper and embossing that show no evidence of physical or chemical processing.
Graded currency albums →An error note is a banknote with a production mistake, such as a misaligned print, a missing or inverted print, or a cutting error. Like stamp and coin errors, they are collected as their own specialty.
An exhibit page is a blank or lightly ruled album leaf prepared for competitive philatelic exhibiting, where layout, write-up, and presentation are judged alongside the material. Exhibit pages follow size conventions set by the exhibition.
Exhibiting supplies →A fancy serial number is a banknote serial with a collectible pattern, such as solid digits, ladders, radars, repeaters, or very low numbers. The pattern, rather than the note itself, carries the premium.
The field is the flat background area of a coin's surface not occupied by the design or lettering. On proofs the field is mirror-like, which makes it the area most likely to show handling marks.
A first day cover is an envelope bearing a stamp cancelled on its official first day of issue. FDCs are usually collected with a matching printed design on the envelope.
Cover albums →A flip is a small two-pocket plastic holder that folds over a coin, with the second pocket holding a written ticket. Only inert flips are safe for long-term storage; soft vinyl flips contain PVC and will damage coins over time.
Coin flip storage →A floating frame holds an object between two clear, flexible membranes so it appears suspended, with both sides visible. It is used for coins, medals, and small flat collectibles.
Floating frames →Foxing is the reddish-brown spotting that appears on aged paper, caused by mold growth or by metal impurities in the paper reacting with humidity. It is largely irreversible, which makes humidity control and archival housing preventive rather than curative.
Fractional currency is the small US paper money issued in denominations from 3 to 50 cents between 1862 and 1876, when coins were hoarded during the Civil War. The notes are small and fragile, and are best stored flat in fitted sleeves.
Currency sleeves →Fusilately is the collecting of telephone cards, the prepaid cards used in public phones before mobile phones. Cards are credit-card sized and store in pocket pages.
Phone card albums →Garant pages are SAFE's heaviest crystal-clear stock pages for the Classic 14-Ring album, offered with black, white, or transparent backgrounds. They come with welded strips or top-opening pockets and can be added anywhere in an album without disturbing the rest of the collection.
Garant pages →The Giant 4-Ring system is SAFE's largest album format, about 16 by 21 inches, for jumbo souvenir sheets, full-size documents, and other material too large for any standard page.
Giant albums & pages →Glassine is a smooth, translucent paper that resists air and grease, used for stamp envelopes, interleaving, and the strips in traditional stockbooks. Not all glassine is acid-free, and older glassine can turn acidic, so it is better for sorting and short-term storage than for a permanent home.
Graded currency is a banknote authenticated, graded, and sealed by a third-party service such as PMG. Graded holders are a fixed larger size and require dedicated pages and albums.
Graded currency albums →Gum is the adhesive applied to the back of an unused stamp. Original, undisturbed gum is a major component of a mint stamp's value, which is why archival storage that never contacts the gum matters.
A stamp hinge is a small folded strip of lightly gummed paper used to attach a stamp to an album page. Hinging leaves a permanent mark on the gum and lowers the value of a mint stamp, so most collectors keep mint stamps in mounts or hingeless pages. Hinging used stamps, which have no original gum to protect, is still common practice.
A hinge remnant is the piece of a stamp hinge left stuck to the back of a stamp after removal. Remnants are a condition fault and are noted in grading.
Hingeless describes an album system in which stamps sit in clear pockets or pre-mounted strips, so no adhesive ever touches the stamp. Hingeless albums preserve original gum and are the standard for serious country collections.
Hingeless stamp albums →An illustrated page is a pre-printed album page with a space and picture for each issue of a country or series, usually with catalog numbers. Illustrated pages guide a collection and show at a glance what is missing.
Country album pages →Imperforate describes a stamp issued without perforations, meant to be separated with scissors. Imperforate and perforated versions of the same design are collected as separate varieties.
An insert is a solid sheet of card that slides inside a page's pocket, giving the items in front a clean background. It sits within a page and does not go on the binder rings. SAFE inserts come in several colors, each sized for one album system.
Shop inserts →Intercept Technology® is a patented, licensed polymer process, originally developed at Bell Labs and Lucent Technologies, that reacts with sulfur and other corrosive gases in the surrounding air before they can reach copper or silver. SAFE partners with Intercept to offer anti-tarnish strips, capsules, and slab boxes; the technology prevents tarnish rather than removing it.
How Intercept works →An interleave is a full-size sheet that goes on the binder rings between two album pages, punched with the same hole pattern as the pages. It keeps items on facing pages from rubbing or catching on each other and adds protection from light. SAFE interleaves come in transparent, black, white, and tan, each made for one album system.
Shop interleaves →A key date is the scarcest and most valuable issue within a coin series, and usually the last one a collector acquires. Key dates justify individual capsule or slab storage.
A large-size note is a US banknote issued before 1929, measuring about 7.4 by 3.1 inches, compared with the roughly 6.1-by-2.6-inch small-size notes used since. The two formats need different sleeves and album pages.
Currency sleeves →The legend is the main inscription on a coin, such as the country name or a motto. It runs around the design, usually near the rim.
Lignin is a naturally occurring polymer in wood pulp that breaks down into acids as it ages, causing the yellowing and brittleness seen in old newsprint and cheap album pages. Archival paper has lignin removed.
A linen postcard is printed on card stock embossed with a textured, fabric-like finish, which gave bright, saturated colors. Linens were made from about 1930 into the early 1950s.
Vintage postcard albums →Maxi XL is SAFE's large 4-ring album system, about 16 by 15 inches, built for oversized postal stationery, mint sheets, postcards, and documents. It comes in Original and Luxus editions; Original pages fit both binders, but Luxus pages fit comfortably only in the Luxus binder.
Maxi XL albums →The Michel catalog is the German stamp catalog series used as the standard reference across much of Europe, with its own numbering and pricing. It is widely used by collectors of German and European issues.
Michel catalogs →A milk spot is a whitish, cloudy blemish on modern silver bullion coins, believed to originate in the blanking or annealing process. Milk spots cannot be removed without damaging the coin.
Mint describes an unused stamp in the condition it left the post office, with its original gum intact. Mint is not the same as unused, which allows for disturbed or missing gum.
A mint sheet is a complete, unused pane of stamps as sold by the post office, kept whole rather than separated. Full sheets need dedicated large-format pages and albums.
Mint sheet albums →A mintmark is a small letter on a coin identifying which mint struck it. Mintmark differences frequently separate a common date from a scarce one.
MNH stands for mint never hinged: an unused stamp with full original gum that has never had a hinge applied. It is the highest condition category for an unused stamp.
The Morgan dollar is the United States silver dollar struck from 1878 to 1904 and again in 1921, measuring 38.1mm, with modern collector issues from the US Mint since 2021. It is among the most widely collected US series by date and mintmark.
Morgan dollar cases →A stamp mount is a clear plastic sleeve with a black or transparent backing that holds a stamp against the album page without any adhesive touching the stamp. SAFE-tabs, made by Hawid, are cut from 200mm strips of inert polystyrene and grip the stamp with a spring tension clamp.
Stamp mounts →Mylar and Melinex are brand names for archival polyester (PET) film. Polyester is inert, crystal clear, and dimensionally stable, making it the most trusted transparent material in conservation.
Archival materials explained →The Nova system is SAFE's interchangeable coin tray system: every Nova tray fits Nova acrylic and wooden stackable drawers, presentation cases, and aluminum carrying cases, so a collection can move between storage, travel, and display without re-housing.
Nova coin system →Numismatics is the study and collection of coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects. A collector of coins is a numismatist.
Coin collecting supplies →The obverse is the front, or "heads," side of a coin, typically bearing the principal design, portrait, or issuing authority.
Off-gassing is the slow release of volatile chemicals from a material into the surrounding air. In a closed album or case, off-gassing from non-archival plastics or adhesives concentrates and attacks the collection.
A pair is two unseparated stamps, joined either side by side (horizontal pair) or one above the other (vertical pair). Pairs are often the only way to show a variety such as an imperforate between.
Perforations are the rows of punched holes between stamps on a sheet that let them be separated by hand. The number of holes per two centimeters is the perforation gauge, and it is often the only way to tell otherwise identical issues apart.
Perforation gauges →pH neutral means a material measures about 7.0 on the pH scale, neither acidic nor alkaline. SAFE album pages and cardstock are made pH-neutral so they will not react with the items stored against them.
About pH-neutral paper →Philately is the study and collection of postage stamps and postal history. A collector of stamps is a philatelist.
Stamp collecting supplies →Phillumeny is the collecting of matchbooks, matchbox labels, and other match-related items. Matchcovers are usually removed from the striker and stored flat in albums.
Matchcover supplies →Pin trading is the hobby of collecting and exchanging enamel pins, most famously at Disney parks, where guests trade with cast members and with one another. Traders carry pins in zippered pin books with padded pages.
Pin trading books →Placomusophily is the collecting of champagne capsules, the small decorated metal caps under a champagne cork's wire cage. Capsules are displayed in compartment trays sized to their diameter.
Champagne cap displays →A planchet, or blank, is the plain metal disc that a coin is struck from. Planchet flaws and wrong-planchet strikes are collected as mint errors.
A plasticizer, or softener, is a chemical added to plastic to make it flexible. In soft PVC it migrates out over time onto whatever is stored inside, and it is the direct cause of PVC damage on coins and banknotes.
Plasticizer-free, sometimes written softener-free, means a plastic contains no added chemical softeners that could migrate onto a collection. All SAFE materials that touch a collection are plasticizer-free.
SAFE archival materials →A plate block is a block of stamps, most often four, taken from the corner of a sheet so that it includes the printing plate number in the attached selvage. Plate blocks require deeper pockets than single stamps.
Plate block albums →A plate number coil is a coil stamp carrying a small printed plate number at the base of the design. PNCs are collected as strips of three or five with the numbered stamp centered, so they need oversized horizontal pages.
Specialty 14-ring pages →Polyester, also written PET, is a rigid, chemically inert clear plastic used for the highest-grade stock pages, mounts, and sleeves. It does not off-gas and does not react with paper, ink, or metal.
A polymer note is a banknote printed on a plastic substrate instead of paper, first issued by Australia in 1988. Polymer resists tearing and moisture but can still crease and scuff, so it is housed in sleeves like paper notes.
Polypropylene is an inert, flexible clear plastic used for economical archival sleeves and pockets. It is safe for long-term storage, though less rigid and slightly less optically clear than polyester.
Polystyrene is a rigid, glass-clear plastic used for coin capsules and grading slabs. It is chemically inert and safe for coins, but brittle enough to crack if dropped.
Coin capsules & holders →Postal history is the study of how mail moved: routes, rates, markings, and the circumstances of a cover's journey. It is collected through covers rather than loose stamps.
Cover & postal history storage →Postal stationery is any item with postage printed directly on it rather than affixed as a separate stamp, such as postal cards, aerogrammes, and stamped envelopes. Its size and stiffness mean it usually needs oversized pages.
Postal stationery pages →A postcard sleeve is a clear archival holder sized to a postcard format, protecting the card from handling while keeping both sides visible. Vintage and continental cards need different sleeve sizes.
Postcard sleeves →A postmark is the mark applied by a post office showing where and when an item was mailed. On many covers the postmark and the cancellation are the same strike, but collectors treat the postmark's town and date as historical evidence in its own right.
A proof is a coin struck with specially prepared dies and polished blanks, usually more than once, producing sharp detail and mirrored fields. Proof is a method of manufacture, not a grade.
Proof set albums →A proof set is the complete group of proof coins issued by a mint for a given year, sold as a unit in official packaging. Many collectors keep sets in their original packaging, which matters for resale, and store or display them in purpose-made albums and cases.
Proof set storage →PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is a plastic that, softened with plasticizers, was once common in collector pages, flips, and sleeves. As it ages it releases plasticizers and hydrochloric acid, producing the green film that permanently damages coins and the sticking that ruins stamps. PVC is never archival, and every SAFE material that touches your collection is free of plasticized PVC.
SAFE archival materials →A raw coin is one that has not been graded and sealed by a third-party grading service. Raw coins are usually stored in capsules, 2x2 holders, or flips.
Capsules & holders →A real photo postcard is a photograph printed directly onto postcard stock rather than reproduced by a printing press. RPPCs are light sensitive and benefit from opaque or UV-filtered storage.
Reeding is the series of grooves cut into the edge of a coin, introduced historically to reveal clipping of precious metal. Reeding count is sometimes used to identify varieties.
Refill pages are additional album pages sold separately to expand an existing binder. Because every ring system uses its own hole pattern, refill pages must match the system of the album they go into.
Refill pages →Relative humidity is the amount of moisture in the air as a percentage of what it could hold at that temperature. Most paper and metal collectibles keep best at a stable 35% to 50%, with coins toward the lower end. Above about 60%, mold, foxing, and corrosion speed up, while very dry air can embrittle paper.
The reverse is the back, or "tails," side of a coin. A tray in a closed case shows only one side; capsules, slabs, and floating frames let both sides be seen.
A ribbon bar is the small fabric-and-metal device worn in place of a full medal on service dress. Bars are collected alongside the medals they represent.
A Riker mount is a shallow, glass-topped display case with a soft bed that holds a specimen in place, used for minerals, insects, and other natural history pieces. SAFE adapts the format for coins with the Nova Riker display case.
Nova Riker display cases →The rim is the raised border around the edge of a coin's face that protects the design from wear. Rim damage, such as dings and bumps, lowers a coin's grade.
A ring system is the binder mechanism and hole pattern that determines which pages fit an album. SAFE systems are not interchangeable: Classic uses 14 rings, Variant uses 11, and Collecto, Compact, Maxi XL, and Giant each use their own 4-ring size, so pages must match the album.
Compare SAFE album systems →SAFE-Dual is SAFE's hingeless page system for the Classic 14-Ring album. Each page pairs a pH-neutral cream cardstock background, either illustrated for a country or left blank, with a separate crystal-clear polyester overlay whose welded pockets hold the stamps, so nothing adhesive ever touches them.
Hingeless country pages →A Scott number is the catalog number assigned to a stamp in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue, the reference most widely used in the United States. Album pages and dealer listings are commonly organized by Scott number.
Scripophily is the collecting of antique stock certificates and bonds for their engraving, history, and design rather than their financial value. Certificates are large and often need oversized sleeves and pages.
Stocks & bonds supplies →Se-tenant describes two or more stamps of differing design printed joined together on the same sheet. Se-tenant pairs and blocks are collected intact rather than separated.
A self-adhesive stamp has a pressure-sensitive adhesive and comes on a backing liner instead of needing to be moistened. Mint self-adhesives are kept on their liner.
Selvage is the unprinted paper margin surrounding a sheet of stamps. It carries plate numbers, marginal markings, and inscriptions that collectors keep attached.
The Sheldon Scale is the 1-to-70 numeric grading system used for United States coins, where 70 is a flawless example and 1 is barely identifiable. Grades are usually written with a condition abbreviation, as in MS-65 or AU-58.
A slab is the sealed, tamper-evident rigid holder in which a third-party grading service encapsulates a coin along with its certification label. Slabs are a fixed size, so they need purpose-made pages, trays, and cases.
Graded slab storage →A sliding track is a clear plastic insert that sits in the base of a slipcase, letting the album glide out with a gentle tug on the front tab instead of pulling the slipcase off the shelf. Each SAFE track is sized for one album system.
Sliding track →A slipcase, also called a dustcase, is a rigid open-ended box made to fit a specific SAFE album system. The album slides in for protection against dust and light, and the case keeps it upright and square on the shelf.
Slipcases →Soaking is the process of floating used stamps in water to separate them from envelope paper, then drying them flat. Many modern self-adhesive stamps do not release this way and are best collected on piece.
Stamp drying tools →A souvenir sheet is a small decorative sheet containing one or several stamps within a printed border, usually issued to mark an event. Sizes vary widely, so larger pages or oversized albums are often needed.
Maxi XL albums →The Specialty 14-Ring system is SAFE's 17-by-12-inch horizontal album for material wider than standard pages, including coil strips, plate number coils, large mint sheets, souvenir sheets, and stock certificates.
Specialty 14-Ring pages →A specimen box is a small lidded box, often with a clear top and foam or cotton bed, that holds a single mineral, fossil, or shell. Uniform boxes keep a collection organized in drawers and trays.
Specimen boxes →A stackable coin drawer is a shallow drawer holding a coin tray that locks onto other drawers to build a cabinet one level at a time. Drawers let a collection grow without replacing the whole case.
Stackable coin drawers →A star note is a replacement banknote printed to substitute for one damaged during production, identified by a star in place of a letter in the serial number. Star notes are printed in smaller quantities and collected as a specialty.
Stearates are metal-salt lubricants used in some plastic manufacturing that can bloom to the surface as a fine film over time. Stearate-free pages and overlays avoid leaving that residue on stamps and coins.
A stock page is a single loose-leaf page with clear pockets or strips, used inside a ring binder. Stock pages give the flexibility of a stockbook with the expandability of an album.
A stockbook is a bound book of fixed pages fitted with horizontal glassine or polyester strips that stamps slide into. It is the fastest way to sort and store without mounting anything.
Stamp stockbooks →A stockbook has a fixed number of bound pages and is best for sorting, duplicates, and quick access, while a ring-bound album can be expanded, reordered, and fitted with pages made for each type of material. Many collectors use both: a stockbook to sort, an album to keep.
Stamp storage by collection →Tagging is a luminescent coating applied to stamps so that mail-sorting machines can detect and orient them. It is invisible in normal light but glows under ultraviolet light, and tagged and untagged versions are collected as separate varieties.
UV lamps →Tarnish is the darkening of a coin's surface caused by sulfur and other reactive gases in the air, most visible on silver and copper. It is prevented by controlling the storage atmosphere, because cleaning a coin to remove it does more damage than the tarnish.
Coin care & preservation →Tegestology is the collecting of beer coasters and beer mats. Coasters are stored flat in pocketed pages sized for their diameter.
Beer coaster albums →Third-party grading is the independent authentication and grading of a coin by a service such as PCGS or NGC, which then seals it in a slab. Certification standardizes condition for buying and selling.
Thumbnail is a mineral collecting size for specimens that fit within a one-inch box, between micromounts, which need magnification, and miniatures, which fit a two-inch box. Larger pieces are called cabinet specimens.
Rock collection boxes →Stamp tongs are flat-tipped tweezers used to handle stamps without transferring skin oils to the paper or gum. Tips come in spade, round, and pointed styles for different work.
Tongs & tweezers →Toning is the color that develops on a coin's surface as the metal reacts with its environment over time. Attractive, stable toning can add value, while active or uneven toning is a warning sign of a poor storage environment.
Topical, or thematic, collecting organizes stamps by subject, such as birds, trains, space, or art, rather than by issuing country. Topical collections are built on blank or customizable pages because no printed album follows the collector's own theme.
Topical album pages →A trade card is a small illustrated advertising card handed out by merchants, especially popular in the late 1800s. Trade cards are collected as ephemera and vary widely in size.
Ephemera supplies →Uncirculated, also called mint state (MS), describes a coin that never entered circulation and shows no wear on its highest points. Contact marks from minting and bagging may still be present.
An uncut sheet is a sheet of banknotes left whole as printed, rather than cut into individual notes. Sheets are large and need oversized sleeves or frames to stay flat.
Undivided back describes a postcard whose reverse was reserved for the address only, so any message had to be written on the front. In the United States, undivided backs date a card to before March 1907.
Used describes a stamp that has been through the mail and carries a cancellation. For some issues, a well-centered used example is scarcer and more valuable than a mint one.
UV damage is the fading and paper degradation caused by ultraviolet light, from sunlight and from fluorescent lighting. It is cumulative and permanent, which is why display cases are best kept out of direct light.
The Variant 11-Ring system is SAFE's 9-by-11-inch album format with an 11-ring mechanism. Small enough to fit a bank safe deposit box, it is most often used for first day covers, postal history, raw and fractional banknotes, and coins in 2x2 holders.
Variant 11-Ring →A vintage postcard is the smaller standard format, roughly 3.5 by 5.5 inches, used from the early postcard era through the mid-twentieth century. It needs different sleeve and page sizes from modern cards.
Vintage postcard albums →A watermark is a design pressed into stamp paper during manufacture, visible when the stamp is held to light or placed in watermark fluid. Watermark differences often separate common issues from scarce ones.
Watermark detectors →White border describes postcards printed with a plain white margin around the image, a cost-saving style common in the United States from about 1915 to 1930.
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Sizing references: coin sizes · sleeve sizes · stamp mount sizes · album system comparison
