Not an invert, but 24¢ Curtiss Jenny airmail stamp still sells high at Schuyler Rumsey sale

Auction Roundup — By Matthew Healey, New York Correspondent

Schuyler Rumsey held a sale of U.S. and worldwide stamps on March 21 at their office in San Francisco.

A spectacular example of the first U.S. airmail stamp, the 24¢ Curtiss Jenny of 1918 (Scott C3), graded gem 100 by PSE, went for $9,775 including the 15 percent buyer’s premium added by Rumsey to all lots.

A scarce 1¢ postage due of 1916, perforated gauge 10 with no watermark (Scott J59), was offered in exceptional mint never-hinged quality, accompanied by a Philatelic Foundation certificate assigning it a grade of extremely fine 90, the finest known. It sold for an impressive $15,525.

A lovely looking, never-hinged 6¢ Jenny airmail (Scott C1), graded 98, crossed the block for $805. At a glance, this stamp seems virtually indistinguishable from the grade-100 example sold earlier by Siegel for $11,800.

Taken together, these results prove that despite useful tools such as numeric grading, stamp auctions are sometimes thrillingly unpredictable.

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