Errors, freaks, and oddities
In philately, errors, freaks, and oddities (EFO) collectively refer to the wide variety of mistakes that may occur during the production of postage stamps.
The "Inverted Jenny", issued in 1918.
A diagonal paper fold (Austria 1850).
Cliché error pair, right stamp with “Cinco” instead of “Diez" (Santander 1886).
An embarrassing design error. In 1899 the US was occupying and furnishing postage stamps to Cuba. The Spanish word "inmediata" was misspelled on this stamp ("immediata"). This was corrected when the Cuban Republic had it reprinted in November, 1902.
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. Then the stamp is affixed to the face or address-side of any item of mail—an envelope or other postal cover —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 addressee.
The main components of a stamp: 1. Image 2. Perforations 3. Denomination 4. Country name
Lovrenc Košir, 1870s
Rowland Hill
The Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp (1 May 1840)