postage stamp

Also known as stamp, postal stamp

small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage

AI overview

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that you buy and attach to mail as proof that you've paid for delivery. It matters because the postal service uses it to confirm that the sender has paid the required fee to have the letter or package delivered.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Subclass of: genre
Material used: paper
Image: Salvador 1892 Sc74.jpg
Has use: franking

Show 6 more facts

Commons category: Postage stamps
topic's main category: Category:Postage stamps
Commons gallery: Postage stamps
topic has template: Template:Infobox postage stamp
studied by: philately
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4

Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Encyclopedic overview

The main components of a stamp: 1. Image 2. Perforations 3. Denomination 4. Country name

A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the face or address-side of any item of mail—an envelope or other postal cover (e.g., packet, box, mailing cylinder)—which they wish to send. The item is then processed by the postal system, where a postmark or cancellation mark—in modern usage indicating date and point of origin of mailing—is applied to the stamp and its left and right sides to prevent its reuse. Next the item is delivered to its address.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “postage stamp” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.