aA — Everything in this Encyclopedia is in alphabetical order.  For example, the Introduction is under I, the Bibliography is under B, Philosophy is under P, etc. 

ABNC — American Bank Note Company (printer).

Abysinia — Another name for Ethiopia.

account — A sum stated on paper (or in a magnetoelectronic data bank). A business transaction, especially one in which credit is used.

account, money of — Money without physical representation (eg, coin, papermoney) used for accounting purposes only. Loosely, also "denominations" for which coins or papermonies do not exists; examples include one bit (USA$0.125), one mill ($0.001), and the British guinea (21 Shillings = £1/1/-).

Açores — Azores, in Portugese

Adojegy — Tax Note, in Hungarian. Issued during the Hungarian hyperinflation, 1945-46.

Adòpengö, Adòpengöröl — Tax pengö, tax pengös, Hungarian Adojegy denominations.

advertising note — A simulated note with no redeemable value, issued solely for advertising purposes. Advertising coins and stamps are conceivable. Related topics: propaganda notes; patriotic issues (issued by, for example, governments in exile).

Afrique — Africa, in French.

album — A book designed to hold collectibles. See also: housing.

album page — One side of an album sheet.

album sheet(s) — What an album is comprised of, in Jeopardeze.

allegory — A symbol which metaphorically depicts a more complex concept. On papermonies, allegorical vignettes almost always in-clude at least one human figure. For example, Mercury, the Roman god of merchants & trading, is often found in allegories of transpor-tation, commerce, communication, and lately, telecommunications.

allgemeine — General or universal, in German.

Allied Military Currency (-ies) — Occupation notes issued by the Allied Military Administration (USA, England, Free France, and USSR), shortly after the end of World War Two, for Austria, Germany, Italy, and France; slightly later also for Japan (USA only).

altered — Deliberately changed, usually unofficially and with the intent to illegally increase the face value or the collector value. With certain paper documents, such as a check, the name of either the payer or payee can be changed for illegal gain. See also: raised.

AMC — Allied Military Currency(-ies).

approvals — A type of business transaction, based entirely upon trust, whereby the seller sends collectibles to the potential buyer for inspection with the understanding that the buyer pay for the items retained, and return the remaining items within a specified time limit, usually 10 days. Approvals are very popular with stamp collectors. A few coin and papermoney dealers have tried it but have not lasted long, probably due to higher shipping expenses and the fact that HUV [High(er) Unit Value] items are better marketed via pricelists.

approval selection(s) — Popularly referred to simply as approvals.

arms — Coat of arms, a pricelist shorthand.

Army Bill — A note issued in Canada by the British gvmt, 1812-15.

arvekoda — Accounting office, in Estonian.

assignat — A note issued as currency by the French Revolutionary government (1790-95) and based on the security of confiscated church lands which had been appropriated by the state. The term refers to a portion of land assigned to the holder of a particular note. The idea came from John Law's Money and Trade Considered, though he never practiced it during his lifetime. The application led to severe inflation and eventual failure. Many varieties exist.

asterisk note — A Canadian replacement note, qv.

attribution — The identification of a syngraphic item by characte-ristics such issuing authority, date or period, printer, denomination, paper, watermark and by standard reference.

AU — About Uncirculated, a grading, qv, abbreviation.

auction — A public sale at which various lots are sold to highest bidders. Important auctions generally issue catalogs in advance. Many such auctions accept bids also by mail or phone.

authentication — The authoritative determination of the genuine-ness of a collectors item.

Auxiliary Payment Certificate — See: behelfzahlungsmittel.

Axis Military Currency — A somewhat misleading term encompassing notes issued by and/or for Axis powers during World War II. In reality, almost all such items were issued by a single Axis power (Germany, Italy, Japan), rather than any "Axis" issuing authority. Moreover, many notes commonly referred to as AXMC were in fact issued for the use of an occupied territory, and should therefore be referred to as Occupation Notes (or Currency), qv.

AXMC — Axis Military Currency(-ies).

ayuntamiento — Municipality, in Spanish.