A rare 1918 Inverted Jenny stamp is coming up for auction at Robert A Siegel on February 28 with a valuation of around $450,000.
It’s the headline lot of the Don David Price Collection of the US 1918 24c Jenny Air Post Issue auction.
This Inverted Jenny hasn't been sold at auction since 1950
This sound, lightly hinged specimen is from position 28 and was last sold at auction for $2,600 in 1950.
Only 100 examples of this error exist, all of which originate from the same sheet.
The sheet was purchased directly from a post office in Washington DC on May 14, 1918 by a collector named William T Robey, who sold it on to a dealer named Eugene Klein.
The sale features the very letter Klein sent Robey, confirming his purchase of the sheet on May 20, 1918.
It reads: “Dear Sir: Confirming our telephone conversation at 4.30 P.M., I will take your sheet of inverted center 24c Airplane stamps for $15,000, which you agreed to deliver at my office tomorrow.
“I am looking forward to your arrival at about noontime to-morrow [in manuscript], as stated.”
This historic letter has broad appeal among collectors of Inverted Jenny stamps and could well outperform its $10,000-15,000 estimate.
Siegel points out that the cover has been ripped “no doubt due to Roby's eagerness to get to the contents”.
Another Inverted Jenny is selling at Leslie Hindman on February 15.
We have a remarkable array of rare stamps for sale, click here to take a look.
Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about postage stamp auctions.
