Philatelic Glossary
This glossary has been compiled from various different sources. Some of the terms have been reproduced with kind permission from the Stanley Gibbons Philatelic Terms Illustrated by James Mackay. If you think a term is missing please e-mail us.
O.R.
(French) Origin Rurale. A handstruck mark applied to mail handed to a letter carrier in rural areas of France.
O.S.
"On Army Service"
OAS
On Active Service
OAT
Onward Air Transmission
Oblique Roulette
A type of separation in which the cuts are aslant and parallel. Also known as "Percé en lignes oblique".
Obliteration
Term meaning the cancellation of stamps.
Obsolescent
Stamps about to go off sale.
Obsolete
No longer available from the issuing Post Office.
Occupation Stamps
Stamps overprinted or specially issued for use in territory occupied by military forces.
OCR
q.v Optical character recognition.
Odontométre
Instrument for measuring the number of perforation holes in a length of 2cm. q.v Perforation Gauge.
Off Centre
Term used to denote inaccurate perforation resulting in unequal unprinted margins around the stamp design.
Off Paper
Used stamps which have been soaked off their backing paper.
Office of Exchange
Mail centre where inward and outward overseas mail is processed.
Offices Abroad
Postal Agency of one country in another.
Official Labels
Printed labels provided by postal authorities to denote services rendered other than those prepaid by means of postage stamps.
Official Paid
Inscription on postmarks, stationery and adhesive labels used by government departments instead of official stamps or handstruck or machine stamps.
Official Stamps
Stamps for use on government correspondence.
Offset Litho
Printing process in which the image on the printing plate is not applied directly to the paper but printed first onto a rubber covered cylinder which deposits the image on to the paper.
OG
Original Gum
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