1918 Jenny Invert sells for $460,800 in Oct. 30 Kelleher sale of Peterson collection of U.S. stamps

By Charles Snee

An unused United States 1918 Jenny Invert sold for $460,800 in Kelleher Auctions’ Oct. 30 sale of the substantially complete collection of U.S. stamps formed by Laurence Peterson.

The total realization includes the 20 percent buyer’s premium that Kelleher adds to all lots sold. The hammer price was $384,000.

The 1918 24¢ carmine and blue airmail stamp with the blue center inverted (Scott C3a), popularly known as the Jenny Invert, is the most famous U.S. stamp error.

The 24¢ airmail stamp first placed on sale May 13, 1918, normally shows a blue Curtis “Jenny” biplane flying upright within a carmine rose frame, but the 100 stamps in the error pane — the only one ever discovered — show the plane printed upside down.

The Jenny Invert in the Peterson collection is from position 1 in the discovery pane of 100 that was purchased May 14, 1918, for its $24 face value in Washington, D.C.

As shown above, the position 1 Jenny Invert has a wide selvage margin at left and a natural straight edge at top.

A 2008 Philatelic Foundation expertizing certificate accompanies the stamp, which is unused without gum. According to Kelleher, the stamp is completely sound and has “intense colors on fresh white paper.”

According to a brief biography of Peterson in the sale catalog, Peterson began collecting stamps as a teenager. After spending time focused on his family and work, he returned to the hobby in 1975.

“Starting with the year sets from the Post office as issued he spent countless hours of enjoyment filling in the pages of his album,” Kelleher said. “Stamp collecting followed him all his life and in the late 1990s and early 2000s he decided he would begin collecting every United States stamp.”

The Peterson collection sale catalog is available for viewing and download on Kelleher’s website, www.kelleherauctions.com.

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