InvertedJenny

Rare Stamp Locket Up For Auction

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.

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

Upside Down Is Right Side Up In The Stamp Business

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

When it comes to certain collectibles, the error is worth more than the perfect copy. Tomorrow an auction puts over 3,000 mistakes up for sale. A stamp collection gathered by a Pittsburgh stockbroker, the late Robert H. Cunliffe may bring in more than $4 million. Dallas-based Spink Shreves Galleries is auctioning off the collection on June 18 and 19 at the Spink Shreves New York City Auction Galleries. Charles Shreve, president of Spink Shreves Galleries says that it is the most comprehensive collection of inverted centers and printings ever created.

Inversion occur when there are several different colors printed on a stamp in different press runs. Most of the time these printing switches go off without a hitch but everyone in a while a sheet gets flipped upside-down between press runs and that's when the magic happens. These rare inversions become instant collector's items.

Cunliffe's collection includes an "inverted Jenny," perhaps the most famous of the inversions. The U.S. stamp from 1918 features an upside-down biplane. We've seen some inverted Jenny stamps sell for nearly a million dollars but this one is expected to bring of at least $125,000 to $150,000. Shown above is a strip of four U.S. stamps from 1901 featuring an upside-down electric automobile which may sell for over $300,000.

[Thanks, Lana]

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Tags: inverted jenny, InvertedJenny, philatelist, philately, stamps