Philatelic Terminology
NOTE: This terminology is general and is not exclusive to Confederate stamps.
Postal Forgery - Reproduction of a stamp made to defraud the postal service.
Counterfeit - Reproduction of a stamp made to defraud a collector,
although older counterfeits were generally sold as "spacefillers."
Forgery - Equivalent to a counterfeit.
Facsimile - A reproduction of a stamp (usually well-done) generally meant for educational or philatelic purposes and
usually marked "facsimile". If not marked, essentially equivalent to "counterfeit."
Fake - A genuine stamp (or cover) that has been altered or manipulated, generally
to increase value.
Bogus - A fictitious label that resembles a stamp. Includes labels for non-existent stamp-issuing entities as well as non-existent denominations that
appear to be part of regularly issued sets.
Fantasy - Essentially equivalent to "bogus". May or may not be labeled as
being from a postage-issuing entity.
Reprint - A stamp printed later (usually long after the original printing) from the original plates. There are government reprints as well as private reprints. Some counterfeits are incorrectly described as reprints, which is inaccurate because they were not printed from the original plates.
Reissue - A stamp of an earlier design printed and officially issued later (usually long after the original printing) which may or may not be printed from the original plates or dies. When the original plates and dies no longer exist, a new die is prepared which may have slight differences from the original.
Proof A trial printing of a stamp from the original plate or die.
Essay A trial printing of a proposed design for a stamp. It may be very similar to an issued stamp or completely unlike anything ever issued.
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