Rare Stamp Locket Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Dec 10th 2009 at 4:02PM

Most rare stamps are sold on their own but a version one of the world's most recognizable misprinted postage stamp, the "Inverted Jenny" was once put in a locket. The glass locket with a gold rim was created as a gift for the President of the Texas Midland Railroad, Col. Ned Green to give to his wife. It contains the Inverted Jenny back to back with an example of a correctly printed 1918 24-cent airmail stamp. Mabel Green kept it until she died in 1950. The locket will be part of a public auction of rare stamps at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City on December 12 being held by Heritage Auctions. It has a pre-auction estimate of $200,000 or more.

The only known examples of the Inverted Jenny error came from an original sheet of 100 stamps purchased at a Washington, DC post office in 1918. According to Harvey Bennett, Director of Philately at Heritage Auctions, Col. Green bought the entire sheet from a dealer for $20,000, and began selling off individual stamps and small blocks. He had one of the stamps made into the locket for his wife.

Tags: heritage auctions, HeritageAuctions, inverted jenny, InvertedJenny, philatelist, philately, stamp auction, StampAuction