:This article deals with the price of a postage stamp. For other meanings of the word 'denomination' see Denomination (disambiguation).
In philately, the denomination is the "inscribed value of a stamp".[1] For instance, if you visit the post office to buy a stamp to pay $1's worth of postage you will receive a stamp that has the value $1 printed on it in words or numbers.
The denomination is not the same as the value of a stamp on the philatelic market, which is usually different.
The denominations of a country's stamps and money do not necessarily match. For instance, there might be a 47c stamp to pay a particular postal rate but there is unlikely to be a 47c coin.
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No denomination shown
Where no denomination is shown, it may be because the stamp is deliberately non-denominated to pay the cost of a particular service, or because the stamp is not a postage stamp. It might be a cinderella stamp of some kind such as a poster stamp or charity label.
Changes of denomination
Sometimes a stamp may have its denomination changed by the post office due to local circumstances. For instance, stocks of one value may be overprinted to show a different value due to stock shortages. In cases of hyper-inflation stamps have had their denomination changed by overprinting as existing denominations became worthless.
References
- ^ Sutton, R.J. & K.W. Anthony. The Stamp Collector's Encyclopaedia. 6th edition. London: Stanley Paul, 1966, p.93.
See also
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