2013 upright Jenny Invert pane among exceptional U.S. stamps in Kelleher’s Nov. 20 Aristocrats sale

By Charles Snee

Kelleher Auctions will offer its Aristocrats sale of what it calls “philatelic trophy items” Nov. 20 at its gallery in Danbury, Conn. The 206 lots in the auction will be presented in a single session commencing at 1 p.m. Eastern Time.

According to Kelleher, the stamps in the sale “will appeal to the most serious and advanced collectors.”

“These treasures, like our National Parks and Historic Sites, which have achieved the highest grade available — gems held in the highest esteem — are statements of our culture: history; art; and beauty,” Kelleher said.

“ … [E]ach and every item within is precious, some of which only arrive in the marketplace for sale as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Kelleher said. “They hail from various serious collectors’ holdings, some with names listed herein, some wishing to remain anonymous. Whatever the ownership, this offering reflects some of the choicest items in our hobby.”

Up for bids near the end of the sale is a scarce upright variety of the 2013 $2 Jenny Invert pane of six (Scott 4806d) that was originally discovered by collector, researcher and exhibitor Gregg A. Hopkins Sr. Hopkins’ find came in an order of 10 Jenny Invert panes that Hopkins placed June 2, 2015, with Stamp Fulfillment Services in Kansas City, Mo.

Linn’s reported the details of Hopkins’ discovery in the July 27, 2015, issue. Hopkins’ upright $2 Jenny Invert pane was the 24th such variety reported to Linn’s at the time.

The $2 Jenny Invert stamps were issued in panes of six (Scott 4806) on Sept. 22, 2013, as a tribute to America’s most famous stamp error. That 1918 24¢ Jenny Invert airmail stamp has its blue Jenny biplane accidentally printed upside down within the carmine rose frame (C3a).

The $2 Jenny Invert stamps were at the center of a Postal Service promotional program that included just 100 specially printed panes intentionally showing the Jenny biplane in the center of each stamp flying right side up. The regularly issued $2 stamp portrays the plane upside down.

Each of the 2.2 million panes of the 2013 issue was sealed in a printed paper envelope within a cellophane wrapping, thwarting efforts to detect the rare upright variety seeded among the common standard issue.

Collector demand for the limited upright variety pushed aftermarket values sky-high, with some public auctions seeing realizations of more than $50,000.

The 100 upright Jenny Invert panes were packaged with a card printed with a phone number the finder could call to receive a certificate signed by the U.S. postmaster general and to register the purchase and discovery. But because the registration is voluntary, it is presumed that some of the found panes were never recorded.

As a result, no one is sure how many have been found and how many remain undiscovered.

Linn’s reported in the Sept. 16, 2024, issue that the $2 Jenny Invert pane was no longer available from the U.S. Postal Service as of August 2024.

Linn’s tally of the upright Jenny Invert panes stands at 43 reported as of the Jan. 9, 2023, issue. No new finds have been reported to date.

The upright Jenny Invert pane in the Kelleher Aristocrats auction comes with a 2015 expertizing certificate from Professional Stamp Experts that assigned a grade of very fine-80.

In mint, never-hinged condition, an upright $2 Jenny Invert pane is valued at $60,000 in the Scott Specialized Catalogue of United States Stamps and Covers. That value is italicized to indicate an item that is difficult to value accurately because it trades infrequently in the philatelic marketplace.

Kelleher is offering this upright $2 Jenny Invert pane first discovered in 2015 with an estimate of $40,000 to $60,000 and an opening bid of $20,000.

Kelleher has produced a single catalog for the Nov. 20 Aristocrats auction that is available for viewing and download on the firm’s website, www.kelleherauctions.com, with online bidding options available on Stamp Auction Network.

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