Jenny Invert last sold in 1974 reappears in upcoming Siegel auction series

By Michael Baadke

Just weeks after successfully auctioning the Jenny Invert recovered last year by the American Philatelic Research Library (Linn’s, May 29, page 1), Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries will offer another example of the famous 24¢ airmail error stamp.

The position 60 stamp from the pane of 100 errors, originally bought in 1918, will be offered as part of the 2017 Rarities of the World auction.

The Rarities sale is one of three taking place June 27-28 at Siegel’s new location in New York City.

The Jenny Invert on offer has a straight edge at right, the natural result of its position as the far right stamp in the sixth horizontal row on the pane. The stamp also has a horizontal guideline visible across the perforation tips along the top of the stamp.

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The stamp is sound, with original gum that has been lightly hinged. It was purchased by the present owner in the Oct. 8, 1974, Siegel sale, and “kept out of light for the past 42 years,” according to Siegel, accounting for its “deep rich colors that are truly intense.”

The Scott catalog values the 1918 Jenny Invert stamp (Scott C3a) unused in very fine condition at $450,000.

The stamp will be offered on Tuesday, no earlier than 2:45 p.m., according to the auction firm.

The Rarities of the World sale includes hundreds of lots of United States stamps and covers, with early California postal history, Civil War covers, and much more, plus additional worldwide material.

Two sales will be presented Wednesday: Part 5 of the Grant Inman collection, featuring match and other private die stamps; and the Keith J. Steiner collection of Hawaii Numeral issues.

The Iman collection sale presents a large selection of top private die revenue stamps, some of which have not appeared in the marketplace for many years.

An example is the A. Goldback private die match stamp on pink paper (Scott RO96c), of which just four or five examples are known to exist, according to Siegel. This is the first appearance of this particular stamp in 26 years.

It is described as having “choice centering with wide and balanced margins, rich color, light diagonal crease, small sealed tear at right center.” The Scott catalog value is $15,000.

A dramatic rarity being offered is the unique example of the 1¢ blue Maryland Match Co. stamp on watermarked paper (Scott RO131d).

Though a million of these stamps on watermarked paper were printed, Siegel explains, they apparently were destroyed and recreated on silk paper (Scott RO131b), with only one example of the stamp on watermarked paper preserved.

The unique stamp on offer catalogs at $40,000, with the amount printed in italics in the Scott catalog to indicate an item that is difficult to value accurately.

The specialized material in the Steiner collection of Hawaii Numeral issues consists of 377 lots, much of which provided the basis for Steiner’s gold-medal-winning exhibit. The catalog, which can be viewed on the Siegel website, includes background on the 1859-65 Numeral issues, plus a table of Numeral issue settings and plates.

All of the material offered in the upcoming Siegel sale series can be viewed on their website, or contact Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, 6 W. 48th St., New York, NY 10022.