Stamps
See also : British Royals Central and South Americas Northern Europe
Chronology : 1840-1849 1850-1859 1918 1968
Chronology : 1840-1849 1850-1859 1918 1968
1847 Bordeaux cover with Mauritius stamps
1993 SOLD 6.2 MCHF including premium by David Feldman
Shared by Wikimedia:
1847 The Post Office in Mauritius
2016 SOLD for € 1.23M including premium
The stamp, circulated by the British administration in 1840, was gradually adopted by other countries. In 1847 Mauritius was the first British colony to release this method of payment for the conveyance of the postage.
Two denominations are issued : 1 penny and 2 pence. The printing plate is made in intaglio by a local engraver in imitation of the stamps then applicable in Great Britain with the profile of Queen Victoria.
They are extremely rare : the printing was stopped in the following year when the administration decided to put the wording Post Paid instead of Post Office on the left edge. 500 'Post Office' stamps of each value had been edited. A cover that circulated with each of the two stamps was sold for CHF 6.2M including premium by David Feldman in 1993.
The printing plate surfaced in 1912. It is unique in its kind. A single example of each denomination appears on this small piece of copper 81 x 61 mm. Because of this rudimentary configuration, the stamps had to be printed individually.
Considered as an outstanding philatelic treasure, the plate enters around 1930 in the collection of Maurice Burrus but will not appear in his succession. The mystery is lifted in 2013 when the family finds it by chance in the inventory of a further deceased estate : a niece of the collector had kept it in his memory inside a small cover without ever imagining its inestimable value as a witness of the pioneering era of the postage stamp.
The plate is estimated in excess of € 2M for sale on December 1 in Geneva by David Feldman, lot 1. Here is the link to the website of the auction house. The image below is taken from the press kit. Please watch the video shared by David Feldman explaining in details this rediscovery.
Two denominations are issued : 1 penny and 2 pence. The printing plate is made in intaglio by a local engraver in imitation of the stamps then applicable in Great Britain with the profile of Queen Victoria.
They are extremely rare : the printing was stopped in the following year when the administration decided to put the wording Post Paid instead of Post Office on the left edge. 500 'Post Office' stamps of each value had been edited. A cover that circulated with each of the two stamps was sold for CHF 6.2M including premium by David Feldman in 1993.
The printing plate surfaced in 1912. It is unique in its kind. A single example of each denomination appears on this small piece of copper 81 x 61 mm. Because of this rudimentary configuration, the stamps had to be printed individually.
Considered as an outstanding philatelic treasure, the plate enters around 1930 in the collection of Maurice Burrus but will not appear in his succession. The mystery is lifted in 2013 when the family finds it by chance in the inventory of a further deceased estate : a niece of the collector had kept it in his memory inside a small cover without ever imagining its inestimable value as a witness of the pioneering era of the postage stamp.
The plate is estimated in excess of € 2M for sale on December 1 in Geneva by David Feldman, lot 1. Here is the link to the website of the auction house. The image below is taken from the press kit. Please watch the video shared by David Feldman explaining in details this rediscovery.
1852 The Cover from Hawaii
2013 SOLD 2.25 M$ including premium
The invention of the stamp greatly facilitated the communication with the most remote regions. In Hawaii, the missionaries wished to send mails to their families. In 1851, the government of the archipelago issued its first stamps.
Three values are released, corresponding to the three postage rates: 2 cents for a newspaper, 5 cents for a letter to the Western United States and 13 cents to the East. Printed on thin paper, these fragile stamps poorly survived.
These 13 cents enabled to pay 5 cents for the sending country, 2 cents to the boat and 6 cents to the destination country. They were paid to the post office of Hawaii which ensured the sharing of the fee.
In 1905, somewhere in the United States, a worker cleans a factory disused for about 35 years. The previous owners had not checked the incineration of their archives. The worker discovered in a stove, almost intact, one of the wonders of the history of philately: the Dawson cover.
Shipped from Hawaii to New York on October 4, 1852, the Dawson cover did not use the stamp of 13 cents but a combination from the two involved countries : 2 cents and 5 cents of Hawaii and two stamps of 3 cents each of the United States. This is the only known copy with this mixed postage.
It was sold for $ 2.1 million including premium by Robert A. Siegel in New York in November 1995. It is now estimated $ 2M, for sale by the same auction house on June 25.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold for $ 1.95M before fees, this prestigious piece of philately remained in the region of its lower estimate.
The file is shared by Wikimedia :
Three values are released, corresponding to the three postage rates: 2 cents for a newspaper, 5 cents for a letter to the Western United States and 13 cents to the East. Printed on thin paper, these fragile stamps poorly survived.
These 13 cents enabled to pay 5 cents for the sending country, 2 cents to the boat and 6 cents to the destination country. They were paid to the post office of Hawaii which ensured the sharing of the fee.
In 1905, somewhere in the United States, a worker cleans a factory disused for about 35 years. The previous owners had not checked the incineration of their archives. The worker discovered in a stove, almost intact, one of the wonders of the history of philately: the Dawson cover.
Shipped from Hawaii to New York on October 4, 1852, the Dawson cover did not use the stamp of 13 cents but a combination from the two involved countries : 2 cents and 5 cents of Hawaii and two stamps of 3 cents each of the United States. This is the only known copy with this mixed postage.
It was sold for $ 2.1 million including premium by Robert A. Siegel in New York in November 1995. It is now estimated $ 2M, for sale by the same auction house on June 25.
POST SALE COMMENT
Sold for $ 1.95M before fees, this prestigious piece of philately remained in the region of its lower estimate.
The file is shared by Wikimedia :
1856 The Rudimentary Stamps of British Guiana
2014 SOLD 9.5 M$ including premium
The DuPont collection of early stamps from British Guiana is dispersed in two auctions : 131 lots by David Feldman in Geneva on June 27 and a single lot by Sotheby's in New York on June 17.
The invention of the postage stamp in England in 1840 is a revolution in communications. Hitherto limited to shipment operations, the Post Office of British Guiana is one of the first in South America to use stamps and to develop a local delivery, through the diligence of Edward Dalton, a colonial postmaster unwilling to wait for official authorizations.
The first stamps issued by the British Guiana in 1850 are made in black ink by woodcut printing on papers of various colors depending on the face value. The work is done by the printer of the local newspaper. They are so rudimentary that each sold stamp is authenticated by the handwritten initials of the postmaster or of one of his clerks. Their rough shape is square with or without cut corners.
These first stamps of 4, 8 and 12 cents are not rare because they have attracted the interest of collectors from the 1870s. They are identified by the nickname cottonreels. A cottonreel of 4 cents on a cover circulated in 1851 is estimated € 120K in the Feldman sale.
An additional cottonreel worth 2 cents was issued in 1851. This low value intended for taxing the mail inside Georgetown was very unpopular and this variety is extremely rare. A unit is estimated € 100K in the Feldman sale.
In 1852, the government takes control of operations. Stamps for British Guiana are now printed in a specialized factory in England. In September 1855, it is a disaster. British agents had misunderstood the order and printed a quantity of stamps ten times lower than needed.
Faced with the shortage, Dalton released in 1856 a new series of locally printed British Guiana stamps, with the same rudimentary process as in 1850.
The 4 cents stamp to be used for mail is printed on papers of three color variants, magenta, carmine and blue, the latter in two variants with single or double sided blue. A blue 4 cents on a cover circulated in 1856 is estimated € 150K in the Feldman sale.
The 1 cent for the postage of newspapers is a lower denomination that had no reason to be kept by users. Only one survived. In poor condition, almost indecipherable, it is magenta in the same shade as one of the 4 cent variants. Collected in 1873 by a schoolboy in the archives of his uncle, it was formally authenticated by an expert in 1891.
The 1 cent magenta British Guiana stamp is the only British variety that escapes the royal collection. It is estimated in excess of $ 10 million at Sotheby's. Sold for $ 935K including premium by Siegel on April 5, 1980, it was already at that time the most expensive stamp in the world.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
The most expensive stamp in the world was sold for $ 7.9M before fees by Sotheby's.
2
Here are now the prices before fees of the three stamps discussed above from David Feldman's sale: € 160K the 4 cents from 1850-1851, € 190K the 2 cents from 1851 and € 240K the 4 cents from 1856.
I invite you to play a video shared in 2008 on YouTube that I retrieved through the facebook page of Feldman:
The invention of the postage stamp in England in 1840 is a revolution in communications. Hitherto limited to shipment operations, the Post Office of British Guiana is one of the first in South America to use stamps and to develop a local delivery, through the diligence of Edward Dalton, a colonial postmaster unwilling to wait for official authorizations.
The first stamps issued by the British Guiana in 1850 are made in black ink by woodcut printing on papers of various colors depending on the face value. The work is done by the printer of the local newspaper. They are so rudimentary that each sold stamp is authenticated by the handwritten initials of the postmaster or of one of his clerks. Their rough shape is square with or without cut corners.
These first stamps of 4, 8 and 12 cents are not rare because they have attracted the interest of collectors from the 1870s. They are identified by the nickname cottonreels. A cottonreel of 4 cents on a cover circulated in 1851 is estimated € 120K in the Feldman sale.
An additional cottonreel worth 2 cents was issued in 1851. This low value intended for taxing the mail inside Georgetown was very unpopular and this variety is extremely rare. A unit is estimated € 100K in the Feldman sale.
In 1852, the government takes control of operations. Stamps for British Guiana are now printed in a specialized factory in England. In September 1855, it is a disaster. British agents had misunderstood the order and printed a quantity of stamps ten times lower than needed.
Faced with the shortage, Dalton released in 1856 a new series of locally printed British Guiana stamps, with the same rudimentary process as in 1850.
The 4 cents stamp to be used for mail is printed on papers of three color variants, magenta, carmine and blue, the latter in two variants with single or double sided blue. A blue 4 cents on a cover circulated in 1856 is estimated € 150K in the Feldman sale.
The 1 cent for the postage of newspapers is a lower denomination that had no reason to be kept by users. Only one survived. In poor condition, almost indecipherable, it is magenta in the same shade as one of the 4 cent variants. Collected in 1873 by a schoolboy in the archives of his uncle, it was formally authenticated by an expert in 1891.
The 1 cent magenta British Guiana stamp is the only British variety that escapes the royal collection. It is estimated in excess of $ 10 million at Sotheby's. Sold for $ 935K including premium by Siegel on April 5, 1980, it was already at that time the most expensive stamp in the world.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
The most expensive stamp in the world was sold for $ 7.9M before fees by Sotheby's.
2
Here are now the prices before fees of the three stamps discussed above from David Feldman's sale: € 160K the 4 cents from 1850-1851, € 190K the 2 cents from 1851 and € 240K the 4 cents from 1856.
I invite you to play a video shared in 2008 on YouTube that I retrieved through the facebook page of Feldman:
1857 The Only 3 Skilling Yellow
1996 SOLD 2.875 MCHF including premium by David Feldman
2010 SOLD over 2.3 M$ in private auction sale
Children love stamps, as it is well known. In 1885, a German boy gets his grandmother's permission to take off stamps from old covers to make money. The dealer to whom he presented his booty is amazed: a 3 Skilling Swedish stamp has a wrong color!
No other copy will never be found, making this stamp the rarest and most desired piece on the philately market. Its story is told on the Treskilling Yellow page of Wikipedia, where it is illustrated. It was canceled in 1857.
It is a mistake and not a fake. This sample has all the characteristics of an 8 Skilling stamp, yellow, unless it bears the engraving of the 3 Skilling, which is green for all other known copies. The hypothesis to keep is that one of 100 clichés of a printing block of 8 Skilling was damaged, and the operator has inadvertently changed it by a 3 Skilling cliché. Nobody went aware of the error, and there is no way of knowing how many wrong copies were produced.
It was sold in 1996 2.875 MCHF including premium by David Feldman.
A scoop of the Telegraph has just announced its forthcoming sale without giving details, and it took me a few navigation tips to find the source: the 3 Skilling Yellow comes on May 22 in Geneva at private auction by David Feldman, with a specific catalog. You are now part of the happy few: here is the link to the catalog shared by the auction house.
David Feldman has done a quick calculation. Reduced to its weight, this small artefact of 26.75 milligrams is valued $ 70 billion per kilogram! Who says better?
POST SALE COMMENT
The Treskilling was sold for over $ 2.3 million to a group of buyers who required that the exact amount was not disclosed . I remind that it was a private auction.
Shared by Wikimedia :
No other copy will never be found, making this stamp the rarest and most desired piece on the philately market. Its story is told on the Treskilling Yellow page of Wikipedia, where it is illustrated. It was canceled in 1857.
It is a mistake and not a fake. This sample has all the characteristics of an 8 Skilling stamp, yellow, unless it bears the engraving of the 3 Skilling, which is green for all other known copies. The hypothesis to keep is that one of 100 clichés of a printing block of 8 Skilling was damaged, and the operator has inadvertently changed it by a 3 Skilling cliché. Nobody went aware of the error, and there is no way of knowing how many wrong copies were produced.
It was sold in 1996 2.875 MCHF including premium by David Feldman.
A scoop of the Telegraph has just announced its forthcoming sale without giving details, and it took me a few navigation tips to find the source: the 3 Skilling Yellow comes on May 22 in Geneva at private auction by David Feldman, with a specific catalog. You are now part of the happy few: here is the link to the catalog shared by the auction house.
David Feldman has done a quick calculation. Reduced to its weight, this small artefact of 26.75 milligrams is valued $ 70 billion per kilogram! Who says better?
POST SALE COMMENT
The Treskilling was sold for over $ 2.3 million to a group of buyers who required that the exact amount was not disclosed . I remind that it was a private auction.
Shared by Wikimedia :
1864 The Olive-Bistre Blunder of Hong Kong
2011 SOLD 6.4 MHK$ including premium
2016 UNSOLD
PRE 2016 SALE DISCUSSION
The only known unused multiple of the 96c olive-bistre stamp is considered as the most important item of Hong Kong philately. It was sold for HK$ 5.5M before fees by Spink on January 23, 2011. It is for sale by the same auction house in Hong Kong on January 17. Its estimate of HK$ 6.5M is indicated in the catalog, lot 2413.
Here are the links to the pre sale press releases, forwarded by The Philatelic Database before the 2011 sale and shared by Spink before the 2016 sale.
I introduced this lot as follows before the 2011 sale :
The first set of stamps for Hong Kong included seven denominations from 2 to 96 cents. It was issued in 1862.
The highest value was not widely used, and they waited until 1864 before reprinting. When the stock from the previous batch was depleted, it was discovered that the new batch of 52 sheets of 240 stamps had a nice olive-bistre color instead of the brownish gray that was required.
It was a mistake made by the subcontractor, linked to the fact that the wrong ink was part of the original color test.
The administration took the pragmatic decision to release it as is for delivery to the users during the few months which were needed to prepare a compliant printing.
The rarity of the Hong Kong 96c olive-bistre stamp is so due altogether to its high denomination and to the hurry to supersede it with stamps in the original color.
A single unused multiple is known. It is a block of four in great condition, with a very wide right margin. It has retained its original gum and its color is still very fresh.
The only known unused multiple of the 96c olive-bistre stamp is considered as the most important item of Hong Kong philately. It was sold for HK$ 5.5M before fees by Spink on January 23, 2011. It is for sale by the same auction house in Hong Kong on January 17. Its estimate of HK$ 6.5M is indicated in the catalog, lot 2413.
Here are the links to the pre sale press releases, forwarded by The Philatelic Database before the 2011 sale and shared by Spink before the 2016 sale.
I introduced this lot as follows before the 2011 sale :
The first set of stamps for Hong Kong included seven denominations from 2 to 96 cents. It was issued in 1862.
The highest value was not widely used, and they waited until 1864 before reprinting. When the stock from the previous batch was depleted, it was discovered that the new batch of 52 sheets of 240 stamps had a nice olive-bistre color instead of the brownish gray that was required.
It was a mistake made by the subcontractor, linked to the fact that the wrong ink was part of the original color test.
The administration took the pragmatic decision to release it as is for delivery to the users during the few months which were needed to prepare a compliant printing.
The rarity of the Hong Kong 96c olive-bistre stamp is so due altogether to its high denomination and to the hurry to supersede it with stamps in the original color.
A single unused multiple is known. It is a block of four in great condition, with a very wide right margin. It has retained its original gum and its color is still very fresh.
"The most important item of Hong Kong philately" in @SpinkandSon auction: https://t.co/wORQGDtMMv #HongKong #stamps pic.twitter.com/AbGdUA8pJQ
— JustCollecting (@just_collecting) January 4, 20161869 The Two-Colored Errors
2013 SOLD for $ 920K including premium
In 1869, the United States renew their postage stamps. Ten values are released, from 1c to 90c, but only three of them maintain the tradition of featuring the heads of the great statesmen of the past. The other seven display scenes and symbols of American patriotism.
Another innovation is technical. Four of these values are printed in two colors, the first step towards the modern polychromatic stamp: 15c, 24c, 30c and 90c Lincoln.
The printing is done in two stages. When the sheet is presented in reverse to its second pass, the two elements of the image are one another inverted. This error of image position did not prevent the stamps to be used.
The controls were not strict enough. Similar errors of the 1901 Pan American issue were certainly better filtered, and only a single sheet escaped the controls of the 1918 Air Post.
Coming back to the Pictorial Issue of 1869. Survivors of uncirculated inverts are very rare: their total for the three usual values is estimated at 14 units. On February 9, 2008, Philip Weiss sold for $ 1.27 million including premium one of the four 24c, sound but unevenly centered and without gum.
On October 9 in New York, Robert A. Siegel sells the best known inverted example of the two other usual values. Each one is the only specimen in its category to have retained its original gum. The 15c stamp, whose colors are very fresh, is estimated $ 1.25 M. The 30c, perfectly centered, is estimated $ 1M.
The Grant administration, which has made this release, had reluctantly inherited this project from Johnson and did nothing to promote it to the users. After a few months, the traditional figuration returned to the US stamp, explaining the scarcity of the Pictorial issue and of its errors.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very rare and beautiful in their class, both stamps remained however below the expected price. Before fees, the 15c stamp was sold for $ 800K and the 30c stamp for $ 600K. The auction house charges a buyer's premium of 15%.
Another innovation is technical. Four of these values are printed in two colors, the first step towards the modern polychromatic stamp: 15c, 24c, 30c and 90c Lincoln.
The printing is done in two stages. When the sheet is presented in reverse to its second pass, the two elements of the image are one another inverted. This error of image position did not prevent the stamps to be used.
The controls were not strict enough. Similar errors of the 1901 Pan American issue were certainly better filtered, and only a single sheet escaped the controls of the 1918 Air Post.
Coming back to the Pictorial Issue of 1869. Survivors of uncirculated inverts are very rare: their total for the three usual values is estimated at 14 units. On February 9, 2008, Philip Weiss sold for $ 1.27 million including premium one of the four 24c, sound but unevenly centered and without gum.
On October 9 in New York, Robert A. Siegel sells the best known inverted example of the two other usual values. Each one is the only specimen in its category to have retained its original gum. The 15c stamp, whose colors are very fresh, is estimated $ 1.25 M. The 30c, perfectly centered, is estimated $ 1M.
The Grant administration, which has made this release, had reluctantly inherited this project from Johnson and did nothing to promote it to the users. After a few months, the traditional figuration returned to the US stamp, explaining the scarcity of the Pictorial issue and of its errors.
POST SALE COMMENT
Very rare and beautiful in their class, both stamps remained however below the expected price. Before fees, the 15c stamp was sold for $ 800K and the 30c stamp for $ 600K. The auction house charges a buyer's premium of 15%.
1897 A New Dollar in China
2016 SOLD for HK$ 6.2M including premium
A change in the name of a currency opens a transitional phase with some difficulties of implementation. The arrival of the dollar and its cent in China in 1897 generated scarce philatelic varieties.
The schedule of the printers caused a risk of shortage. The administration decided to overprint the 3c revenue stamps to all the required values. Because this revenue stamp had not yet been released, there was no risk of the execution of the surcharge by a forger.
The sale by Spink in Hong Kong on January 17 includes several lots related to this operation. Here is the link to the press release.
The original revenue stamp could no longer serve its purpose and very few units remained without the overprint. A block of four in very good freshness is estimated HK $ 1.2M, lot 1718.
The first run is for the $ 1. Initially, 50 stamps are printed. The administration is not happy with the too small size of the central Chinese characters and requests an immediate change. Two stamps of this highly rare variety are offered. Their original positions in the sheet form a pair but their condition is unequal. They are estimated HK $ 2M for lot 1720 and HK $ 1.2M for lot 1719.
The collection dispersed in this sale includes examples of the smallest overprinted values, 1c, 2c and 4c. The most interesting lots have errors that reflect the hurry in which the operation was realized.
Lot 1730, estimated HK $ 600K, has a doubled 2c surcharge. Lot 1733 (which was tagged as 1731 in the press release linked above), estimated HK $ 1.5M, is a pair with both its 2c overprints in an upside down position.
RESULTS BEFORE FEES
Lot 1718 : HK$ 4.2M
Lot 1719 (illustrated below) : HK$ 3.6M, 4.3M including premium
Lot 1720 (illustrated below) : HK$ 5.2M, 6.2M including premium
Lot 1730 : HK$ 600K
Lot 1733 : HK$ 2.4M
The schedule of the printers caused a risk of shortage. The administration decided to overprint the 3c revenue stamps to all the required values. Because this revenue stamp had not yet been released, there was no risk of the execution of the surcharge by a forger.
The sale by Spink in Hong Kong on January 17 includes several lots related to this operation. Here is the link to the press release.
The original revenue stamp could no longer serve its purpose and very few units remained without the overprint. A block of four in very good freshness is estimated HK $ 1.2M, lot 1718.
The first run is for the $ 1. Initially, 50 stamps are printed. The administration is not happy with the too small size of the central Chinese characters and requests an immediate change. Two stamps of this highly rare variety are offered. Their original positions in the sheet form a pair but their condition is unequal. They are estimated HK $ 2M for lot 1720 and HK $ 1.2M for lot 1719.
The collection dispersed in this sale includes examples of the smallest overprinted values, 1c, 2c and 4c. The most interesting lots have errors that reflect the hurry in which the operation was realized.
Lot 1730, estimated HK $ 600K, has a doubled 2c surcharge. Lot 1733 (which was tagged as 1731 in the press release linked above), estimated HK $ 1.5M, is a pair with both its 2c overprints in an upside down position.
RESULTS BEFORE FEES
Lot 1718 : HK$ 4.2M
Lot 1719 (illustrated below) : HK$ 3.6M, 4.3M including premium
Lot 1720 (illustrated below) : HK$ 5.2M, 6.2M including premium
Lot 1730 : HK$ 600K
Lot 1733 : HK$ 2.4M
1897 Chinese revenue surcharge pair to sell at @SpinkandSon https://t.co/WQ83sLTV0X pic.twitter.com/UHbqZxeImR
— Paul Fraser (@PFCollectibles) December 14, 20151901 Two Invert Blocks
2009 SOLD for $ 920K including premium
I have already discussed in this group the Inverted Jenny, this single sheet of American 24 cent stamps showing an aircraft whose image had been reversed by mistake from the text in 1918.
I discussed also about blocks, these artefacts which are especially popular with philatelists. Interviewed by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, the collector Alan Whitman explains why: Once separated, a block is lost forever for philatelists, who are therefore proud to contribute to their preservation.
Two prestigious blocks of four stamps with inverted centers are coming in the second sale of the Whitman collection, organized by Siegel in New York on April 14 and 15: a 2-cent showing a steam train and a 4-cent showing a mailcoach. Both stamps are part of the Pan American series of 1901.
Source for the above: The Siegel Despatch, Copyright © 2009 by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc.
Wikipedia knows this inverted variant of 1901, and assesses the value of a single stamp between 30 and 50 K $. Of course, the value of the two blocks described above will be much higher.
It is difficult to decide whether it is really an error or an unauthorized test conducted by a manager of the United States Post Office Department.
POST SALE COMMENT
All conditions were met for these two blocks reaching top results. At this price level, it is the buyer who decides what is the most outstanding object. Ratings gave a slight advantage to the 4c, but the result is inverted (!):
$ 800 K for the block of 2c; $ 325 K for the block of 4c.
These prices are before fees.
I discussed also about blocks, these artefacts which are especially popular with philatelists. Interviewed by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, the collector Alan Whitman explains why: Once separated, a block is lost forever for philatelists, who are therefore proud to contribute to their preservation.
Two prestigious blocks of four stamps with inverted centers are coming in the second sale of the Whitman collection, organized by Siegel in New York on April 14 and 15: a 2-cent showing a steam train and a 4-cent showing a mailcoach. Both stamps are part of the Pan American series of 1901.
Source for the above: The Siegel Despatch, Copyright © 2009 by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc.
Wikipedia knows this inverted variant of 1901, and assesses the value of a single stamp between 30 and 50 K $. Of course, the value of the two blocks described above will be much higher.
It is difficult to decide whether it is really an error or an unauthorized test conducted by a manager of the United States Post Office Department.
POST SALE COMMENT
All conditions were met for these two blocks reaching top results. At this price level, it is the buyer who decides what is the most outstanding object. Ratings gave a slight advantage to the 4c, but the result is inverted (!):
$ 800 K for the block of 2c; $ 325 K for the block of 4c.
These prices are before fees.
1918 Block of four Inverted Jenny US error stamp
2005 SOLD for $ 2.97M including premium by Robert A. Siegel
Shared by Wikimedia :
1918 Trials and Errors of the Airmail
2016 SOLD for $ 1.35M including premium
May 15, 1918 is a historic date for the civil aviation: the first regular airmail service is inaugurated in Washington DC by President Wilson. It connects New York to Washington and return, with a change of plane in Philadelphia.
Shipping was set at 24c and the two-color stamp was available since the day before. The blue center displays the biplane model selected for this service, a Jenny, nickname for the Curtiss JN-4. The preparation of the stamp was made in a hurry. The die for printing the plane had been completed only six days earlier. The engraver added in the picture the serial number of the aircraft scheduled for the official inaugural flight, 38262.
We are still in the heroic time of aviation. The President is upset : he is wasting his precious time. 38262 takes off southward instead of going toward Philadelphia. The pilot tried to land in the countryside and bogged down in a swamp this plane carrying the first mailbag of the new service. Fortunately in the opposite way on the same day the first north-south transfer is successful.
Philatelists rush. One of them acquires for $ 24 a complete sheet of 100 stamps in which the blue print of the image is inverted by reference with its rose carmine frame. He does not know it yet : this error is unique.
The pieces from this Inverted Jenny sheet were dispersed shortly afterwards. Two of them can be rightly considered as the gems of US philately.
The block of four nicely centered stamps, positions 87-88-97-98, has been sold for $ 2,97M including premium by Robert A. Siegel on October 19, 2005.
The same auction house sold the best single stamp, position 58, for $ 577K including premium on June 3, 2005. It is graded by PSE XF-Sup 95 Mint OG, meaning between extremely fine and superb, not canceled, keeping its original gum (with minor hinging traces). Its centering with wide full margins contributes to its grading at 95.
Position 58 comes back at Robert A. Siegel for sale in New York on May 31, lot 275.
Shipping was set at 24c and the two-color stamp was available since the day before. The blue center displays the biplane model selected for this service, a Jenny, nickname for the Curtiss JN-4. The preparation of the stamp was made in a hurry. The die for printing the plane had been completed only six days earlier. The engraver added in the picture the serial number of the aircraft scheduled for the official inaugural flight, 38262.
We are still in the heroic time of aviation. The President is upset : he is wasting his precious time. 38262 takes off southward instead of going toward Philadelphia. The pilot tried to land in the countryside and bogged down in a swamp this plane carrying the first mailbag of the new service. Fortunately in the opposite way on the same day the first north-south transfer is successful.
Philatelists rush. One of them acquires for $ 24 a complete sheet of 100 stamps in which the blue print of the image is inverted by reference with its rose carmine frame. He does not know it yet : this error is unique.
The pieces from this Inverted Jenny sheet were dispersed shortly afterwards. Two of them can be rightly considered as the gems of US philately.
The block of four nicely centered stamps, positions 87-88-97-98, has been sold for $ 2,97M including premium by Robert A. Siegel on October 19, 2005.
The same auction house sold the best single stamp, position 58, for $ 577K including premium on June 3, 2005. It is graded by PSE XF-Sup 95 Mint OG, meaning between extremely fine and superb, not canceled, keeping its original gum (with minor hinging traces). Its centering with wide full margins contributes to its grading at 95.
Position 58 comes back at Robert A. Siegel for sale in New York on May 31, lot 275.
This #InvertedJenny stamp is the highest graded in the worldhttps://t.co/XYoBeb3YQG pic.twitter.com/Y4xTSUEfVX
— Paul Fraser (@PFCollectibles) May 12, 2016
1968 A Mistake in the Red Country
2012 SOLD 4.6 M RMB yuan including premium
In 1968, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, begun two years earlier, has a strong development. The stamps are involved in the spread of the new cultural faith. This trend created the opportunity for a superb political mistake which, curiously, did not lead to reprisals against its clumsy author.
This stamp worth 8 fen is titled "The whole country is red". Below a red map of China, a worker, a peasant and a soldier lead an enthusiastic crowd by waving the Selected Works of Chairman Mao.
The error was discovered immediately after the release: Taiwan was not in red, contrary to all the claims of the People's Republic since its inception. In just half a day, the stamp was withdrawn.
A block of four is estimated RMB yuan 4M in the sales held from November 26 to 28 by China Guardian in Beijing. Here is the link to the catalog.
On the same theme and with the same error, another variant named Long Live Complete Victory of the Great Cultural Revolution is even more rare because it was not issued. A single stamp was sold RMB yuan 7.3 million including premium on 21 May 2012 by the same auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
This withdrawn emission is outstanding for Chinese philatelists. The block of four was sold RMB 4.6 million including premium. A single stamp of the same variant was sold RMB 530K including premium in the same sale.
This stamp worth 8 fen is titled "The whole country is red". Below a red map of China, a worker, a peasant and a soldier lead an enthusiastic crowd by waving the Selected Works of Chairman Mao.
The error was discovered immediately after the release: Taiwan was not in red, contrary to all the claims of the People's Republic since its inception. In just half a day, the stamp was withdrawn.
A block of four is estimated RMB yuan 4M in the sales held from November 26 to 28 by China Guardian in Beijing. Here is the link to the catalog.
On the same theme and with the same error, another variant named Long Live Complete Victory of the Great Cultural Revolution is even more rare because it was not issued. A single stamp was sold RMB yuan 7.3 million including premium on 21 May 2012 by the same auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
This withdrawn emission is outstanding for Chinese philatelists. The block of four was sold RMB 4.6 million including premium. A single stamp of the same variant was sold RMB 530K including premium in the same sale.