Glossary of Stamp Collecting Terms

Q

Q: 1: Scott Catalog number prefix for Parcel Post. 2: Quebec (Canada) pre-adhesive postmark. 3: Quetzal; currency unit in Guatemala.
Qarku: inscription on stamps of Albania.
Qarku Postes I Korces: inscription/overprint Albania military forces, 1918.
Qatar: peninsula in eastern Arabia; currency: 100 naye paise = 1 rupee, 100 dirhams = 1 riyal (1967) 1950-pre: stamps as Bahrain, 1950-57: used stamps of Muscat, 1956, Feb. 1: British postal agency opened, 1957, April 1: No.1, 1 naye paise on 5 pence light brown, “Qatar” overprint on stamps of Great Britain, surcharged with values in Indian currency, 1961, Sept. 2: stamps of Qatar, 1963, May 23: Qatar took over its own postal services, 1969, Jan. 31: joined the UPU 1971, Sept. 1: full independence.
Q. D. C. Quam / Quem Deus conservet: which (or whom) God preserve; used about middle of 17th century, died out about 1815; term for a manuscript endorsement on early ship letters; implying a prayer by the sender for the protection of the ship and her master.
QE: Scott Catalog number prefix for Special Handling (U.S., Austria, Bosnia).
Q.E.II: abbreviation for Queen Elizabeth II.
Qeverija Demokrat(ike) e Shqiperise 22-X-1944: overprint on stamps of Italy, issued for liberation of Albania from the Germans in 1944, issued in1945.
QI: Scott Catalog number prefix for Postal Insurance..
QIND, QINDAR, QINTAR: currency unit in Albania.
Qishu: Mahra Sultanate in Eastern Aden protectorate, became part of the People's Republic of Yemen.
QNE: variety for ONE on the ninth stamp in the 15th row on the value tablet in stamp sheets
QO: Scott Catalog number prefix for Parcel Post Official (Guyana).
Quabrado: (Port.) broken.
Quadrado: (Port.) square.
Quadratausschnitt: (Ger.) cut square
Quadrato: (It.) square.
Quadriglia: (It.) quadrille.
Quadrille paper: 1: a page ruled in faint squares as guides for making a range of layout arrangements with stamps or covers. 2: Gegittert (Ger.); Quadrettato (It.); Cuadriculado (Sp.)
Quadrilliert: (Ger.) Quadrilled
Quadripartite labels: postal labels made up of four parts; divided by roulette or perforation.
Quadripartition: four stamps that together form a completed design.
Quadrisect stamps: term used for 1931 Nicaraguan stamps where stamp fragments were permitted when supplies of normal low-value stamps ran short.
Qu'aiti State in Hadhramaut: Arab sultanate on borders on the Gulf of Aden; 1891: forwarding agents in Aden handled mail, 1937, April 22: first stamps as Aden, 1939: postal union between Aden and protected states signed, 1942, July: first stamps issued, “Qu’aiti State of Shihr and Mukalla,” 1955: Protectorate State of Hadhramaut, 1963, Oct. 20: last issue; replaced by Federation of South Arabia; see Aden States.
Qu'aiti State of Shihr and Mukalla: Aden, East Aden Protectorate, 1955 1942: No.1, ½ anna blue green, first stamp, 1955: became Hadhramaut, 1963, Oct. 20: last issue; replaced by Federation of South Arabia; see Aden.
Qu'aiti State of Shihr and Mukalla: found in Scott Catalogue, Volume 1 after Aden-Kathiri State of Seiyun.
Quaker postmark: where the month is designated by a number and not name; The Society of Friends is opposed to the pagan naming of the months.
Quarnero Islands: see Carnaro, Fiume.
Quan Buu: military stamps of Viet Nam, 1960s.
Quantity Known (Reported to Exist): Unique: only one copy known. Very Rare: Fewer than 10 copies known. Rare: Fewer than 25 copies known. Very Scarce: Fewer than 50 copies known. Scarce: Fewer than 100 copies known.
Quarter: the fourth part of a divisible stamp; example is the 1857 issue of Brunswick with individual values of a quarter gutegroschen which prepaid the lowest postal rate.
Quartina: (It.) block of four.
Quartz lamp: a lamp with a quartz filament that shows repairs or tampering on stamps; used for observing phosphors.
Quatrefoil watermark: see Rosace.
Quattrino: unit of currency in the Italian state of Tuscany until 1860.
Queen Anne Act of 1710: provided for a chief or a General Post office in New York, subordinate to Her Majesty's Postmaster General in London with rates fixed by the British Parliament in 1710.
Queen Elizabeth II, 60th Birthday: common design of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1986.
Queen Elizabeth II, 65th Birthday: common design of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1991.
Queen Elizabeth II, Accession to Throne: common design of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1992.
Queen Elizabeth II, 70th Birthday: common design of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1996.
Queen Maud Land: bogus, 1969.
Queen Mother 85th Birthday: common design of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1985.
Queen Mother 90th Birthday: common design of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1990.
Queen Mother's Century: common design of the British Commonwealth of Nations, 1999.
Queen's College: local, United Kingdom, Cambridge, 1883.
Queen's head: term for stamps depicting Queen Victoria.
Queensland: northeastern part of Australia; currency: 12 pence = 1 shilling, 20 shillings = 1 pound 1851: stamps as New South Wales, 1859: became a separate colony, sunburst design as cancel, 1860, Jan. 26-Nov.1: used stamps of New South Wales, 1860, Nov.1: No.1, 1 penny deep rose, first stamp; used Chalon Head stamps, 1861: first registration stamp, 1866: first postal fiscal stamp, 1882: postal treaty with Hong Kong permitted stamps of both countries used when posted aboard ships, 1884-91: stamps of Queensland used in British New Guinea, 1891: joined the UPU, 1900, June 19: first semipostal stamp, 1901: part of the six British Colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia, 1913: stamps of the Commonwealth of Australia used; see Australia.
Queensland Railways: railway stamps promoted the "Golden Casket" a state lottery to used to frank letters and packages shipped via the railroad.
Queensland Railways: Australia railways local post.
Queens, Large, Small: large Queens of Canada ; size change to allow 200 small Queens to be printed in the same space as100 Large Queens (1868); small (1870-97).
Queen Victoria: the Penny Black, first postage stamp issued in 1840, as well as many other stamps, bears her image.
Quelimane: river port of Mozambique Province; Portuguese East Africa; currency: 100 centavos = 1 escudo 1894: Portuguese Colonies stamps overprinted Zambezia, 1898: King Carlos key type stamps issued, 1902: overprint “Provisoria,” 1913: No.1, 1/4 centavos on ½ avo blue-green, “Republica Quelimane” overprint on stamps of Macao, Portuguese Africa, Timor, 1914: “Quelimane” inscription on stamps of Portugal, 1922: replaced by stamps of Mozambique; see Tete.
Quelimane: overprint on stamps of Portuguese Colonies; Macao, Portuguese Africa, Timor, 1914: "Quelimane" inscription on stamps of Portugal, 1922: stamps of Mozambique; see Tete.
Quepol: one of the Sicmon Islands in the South Pacific created by Nick Bantock for his book, Griffin & Sabine.
Quer: (Ger.) diagonal.
Queretaro: overprint on stamps of Mexico for this district, 1856-1883.
Quettan Republic: bogus African nation.
Quetzel: currency unit in Guatemala.
Quind(t)ar: currency unit in Albania.
Quinta de Goya: (Sp.) inscription for the centenary of the death of Goya, 1930, Spain.
Quito: city in Ecuador; Quito to Guayaquil Railway Company used a five-pointed star overprint in 1902.
Quittances: (Fr.) receipts; French Colonies revenue inscription
Quittances du Tresor: (Fr.) treasurer's receipt; French Colonies revenue inscription
Quittung: (Ger.) receipt.
Quotazione: (It.) price.
QV: abbreviation for Queen Victoria
QY: Scott Catalog number prefix for Parcel Post Authorized Delivery (Italy).