A definitive stamp is a postage stamp that is part of a regular issue of a country's stamps (often referred to as a "regular issue") available for sale by the postal service for an extended period of time. The term is used in contrast with a "provisional stamp", one that is issued for a temporary period until regular stamps are available, or a "commemorative stamp", a stamp "issued to honor a person or mark a special event" available only for a limited time. Commonly a definitive issue or series includes stamps in a range of denominations sufficient to cover many or all postal rates usefully. (An "issue" generally means a set that is put on sale all at the same time, while a "series" is spread out over several years, but the terms are not precise.)
Read more about Definitive Stamp: Range, Frequency of Issue, Collecting, Notable Definitive Stamp Series
Famous quotes containing the words definitive and/or stamp:
“I always used to suffer a great deal if I let myself get too close to reality since the definitive world of the everyday with its hard edges and harsh light did not have enough resonance to echo the demands I made upon experience. It was as if I never experienced experience as experience. Living never lived up to the expectations I had of it—the Bovary syndrome.”
—Angela Carter (1942–1992)
“Preserving tradition has become a nice hobby, like stamp collecting.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)