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Hair Line - a fine line or lines in the design of a
postage stamp, not intended by the engraver
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Hammer Price - an auction term used to describe
the highest bid. Often, the auction house will add a buyer’s premium to
the hammer price. Thus the bidder will pay the hammer price plus the buyer’s
premium, usually 10-15% of the hammer price.
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Hand Cancel - a cancel that is applied to stamps
individually and with a hand-held device, as opposed to a cancellation
applied by a machine
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Handstamp - the hand-held device used by postal
workers to cancel stamps and apply postal markings, or the impression left
by this device
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Hardening - The design of the stamp needs to be
engraved into soft metal. Hardening is the process of taking the
soft die, transfer roll, or engraved plate and making it hard by tempering
and by replacing the carbon. Often this was done by packing the die in
charcoal or potash and placing it in a sealed container. This sealed
container was then heated to intense temperatures for a specified amount
of time. Only skilled craftsmen were allowed to perform this step, since
the hardness of the dies and plates was critical in the production of the
stamps.
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Harding Issue - Following the death of President
Harding in August of 1923, a set of memorial stamps were issued to
commemorate his presidency. Note that the memorial stamps, Scott’s
610-612, were issued nearly a year and a half before the definitive
Harding stamps, Scott’s 553 and 576.
more...
Harrow Perforations -
a type of perforation in
which the entire sheet of stamps is perforated in a single stroke
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The Harding Memorial Stamp of 1923 |
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Hawaii Missionary Stamps - the earliest postage
stamp issues of Hawaii, dating from the early 1850’s. The name derives
from the fact that many of the stamps and covers that were saved for
collectors were used by missionaries writing home to families in New
England.
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Hawaii Overprint - an overprint on the two and
five cent stamps of 1928.
more...
Heavy Cancel -
A cancellation which either by its
design or by over-inking, detracts from the appearance of a stamp by
covering most of its design.
Highway Post Office Mail - mail that was sorted
on motorized postal vehicles in transit between cities. Note that the
sorted mail was delivered to Post Offices and not to individual
addressees. This distribution method was employed from the 1930s until the
mid 1970s..
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The Hawaii Overprints of 1928 |
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Horizontal Coil - a coil stamp that is attached
to its neighbor at the left and right sides – a sidewise coil.
Horizontal coils have vertical perforations and straight-edges at top and
bottom. If the vertical perforations are missing the stamp is known as a
"horizontal coil, imperforate between". This stamp is usually collected in
pairs.
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A Horizontal Coil Pair |
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Huguenot-Walloon Issue - a 1924 commemorative
issue honoring early American French and Flemish settlers
more...
Hunting Permit Stamps - The U.S. migratory
bird hunting-permit stamps or "Duck" stamps were first issued in
1934. The money collected from the sale of these stamps is used to
maintain the waterfowl habitat. The beauty of these stamps has made this a
popular collecting area.
Hybrid Proof - a proof, resembling a large die
proof, made from a closely cropped plate proof and mounted on a card or
India proof paper
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The 5¢ Huguenot Walloon |
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Hyphen-Hole Perforations - rectangular-shaped
perforations applied to imperforate stamps by private companies such as
the Schermack Mailing Company. They were also used on some United States
revenue stamps.
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