US Stamp Values Scott C3: 1918 24c Air Curtiss Jenny. Page 5

United States – Air Post 1918 24c carmine rose and blue, center inverted, position 10, natural straight edges at top and right, unused without gum, deep rich colors, just about fine. The Inverted Jenny is one of the most recognized and desired rarities in all of philately. Its legendary status began the moment the stamp was issued in May, 1918, when William T. Robey purchased an entire error sheet of 100 at the New York Avenue Post Office window in Washington D.C., one day after the stamp was issued on May 14th. Within one week, Robey sold the sheet for $15,000.00 to the well-known Philadelphia stamp dealer Eugene Klein (an impressive return on his initial $24.00 investment). Shortly thereafter Mr. Klein sold the sheet to the renowned, yet eccentric collector, Col. Edward H.R. Green for $20,000.00. Col. Green asked Klein to break up the sheet for him into singles and blocks, then instructed him to sell all but the few key position blocks. What is puzzling is how, given the immediate attention created by a spectacular new error, so ma

Cherrystone Auctions, Sep 2014, Sale 201409, Lot 66

United States – Air Post 1918 24c carmine rose and blue, “Grounded Plane” variety, with the wheels of the plane well into the “Cents”, h.r., small thin, otherwise a fine example of this spectacular variety

Cherrystone Auctions, Sep 2014, Sale 201409, Lot 69

Airmail, 1918, 24¢ carmine rose & blue (Scott C3), horizontal pair, o.g., never hinged, immaculate multiple in pristine mint condition, quite attractive, Very Fine. Scott $280. Estimate value $150 – 200.

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, Sep 2014, Sale 655, Lot 815

Airmail, 1918, 24¢ carmine rose & blue (Scott C3), top plate block of 12, o.g., never hinged (minor gum skips), gorgeous fresh plate with extraordinary deep rich colors, a very pretty multiple with lots of eye appeal, Fine to Very Fine. Scott $1,850. Estimate value $1,000 – 1,500.

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, Sep 2014, Sale 655, Lot 816

United States – Air Post 1918 24c carmine rose and blue, top margin double plate number and “Top” block of twelve, n.h., well centered, lower right stamp with corner perf. crease, otherwise v.f.

Cherrystone Auctions, Sep 2014, Sale 201409, Lot 63

United States – Air Post 1918 24c carmine rose and blue, used on May 15, 1918 First Flight cover from Washington to Cape Vincent, NY, some wrinkles, fine

Cherrystone Auctions, Sep 2014, Sale 201409, Lot 64

U.S. Airpost, 1918, 24¢ Carmine Rose & Blue, Plate Block of 12, #C3, n.h., wide top #8492, 8493, fresh colors, lovely item, Fine to Very Fine. Scott $1,850. Estimate price $700-800.

Harmer-Schau Auction Galleries, Aug 2014, Sale 102, Lot 2140

U.S. Airpost, 1918, 24¢ Carmine Rose & Blue, #C3, n.h., a stunning copy, grade 98 Superb, PSAG (2014) cert. Scott Stamp Values $1,200. Estimate $700-800.

Harmer-Schau Auction Galleries, Aug 2014, Sale 102, Lot 2139

24c Carmine Rose & Blue, 1918 Air Post (Scott C3). Top arrow, double plate no. 8493/8492 and double “Top” block of twelve, rich colors, top left stamp natural gum skip, fresh and Fine-Very Fine

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Jul 2014, Sale 1077, Lot 350

24c Carmine Rose & Blue, 1918 Air Post, Blue “Top” Only (C3 var). Top arrow, double plate nos. 8493/8492 and blue “Top” only strip of six, lightly hinged, natural gum bends, rich colors, left stamp small thin spot, Very Fine appearance, scarce, Scott Retail as plate block $12,500.00

Robert Siegel Auction Galleries, Jul 2014, Sale 1077, Lot 351

Airmail, 1918, 24¢ carmine rose & blue (Scott C3), top plate block of 12, o.g., never hinged (gum skips and bends), a most impressive plate block with excellent centering and delightful bright colors, Very Fine. Scott $1,850. Estimate value $750 – 1,000.

Daniel Kelleher Auctions, May 2014, Sale 653, Lot 2475

C3a, 1918 24c Carmine rose and blue, Center inverted, Pos. 9, The “Locket” Copy, encased (placed back-to-back with a “normal” 24c stamp) in the original locket presented by Col. Green to his wife Mabel,  from the top row and with wide natural straight-edge at top, bright fresh colors, NH, cert states “short corner perf at upper left, a small corner crease at bottom left, another at bottom right” – the corner creases resulting from original placement of the stamp in the locket, the pendant itself with a small chip in the edge of the glass, Very Fine; 2010 PSE certificate (Scott price $1,000,000)    The tale of the “Inverted Jenny” and the “Locket Copy” are well known. The “Cliff’s Notes” version starts with William Robey purchasing the sheet at a Washington DC post office, his sale of the sheet to Eugene Klein and the subsequent sale of the sheet to Col. “Ned” Green, who, in addition to many other pursuits, was a noted and ardent stamp collector. He broke the sheet up into blocks and singles for sale but kept some multiples and straight-edged singles for himself, and it is one of these singles that he had encased in a locket, two round pieces of glass with a gold rim and clasp for a chain, as a gift for his wife, Mabel. The locket was not sold along with the rest of Green’s philatelic estate and was retained by Mabel until her death in 1950, when it passed on to Dorothy Nicholson, a trusted companion. The “Locket Copy”‘s existence became public knowledge in 1956 after an appraisal by NY City dealer George Sloane. Its subsequent history is described in detail in George Amick’s book “The Inverted Jenny” and this celebrated invert was first offered at public auction in 2002. 

H.R. Harmer, May 2014, Sale 3005, Lot 1384

C3, 1918 24c Carmine rose & blue,top plate nos. 8493, 8492 arrow and two “TOP” block of 12, lovely bright color, NH, light inclusion on pos. 11 (not mentioned on cert), F-VF, 2002 PF certificate (Scott $1,850)

H.R. Harmer, May 2014, Sale 3005, Lot 1383

*    1918, 24¢ carmine rose & blue, center inverted (Scott C3a), Position 89, bright fresh and well centered within large margins, gorgeous, fresh and rich colors; original gum just a bit disturbed, small thin spot and light crease, none of which affect the choice, Very Fine appearance (photo). $450,000 ONE OF THE MOST HANDSOME EXAMPLES OF THIS RENOWNED U.S. ERROR EXTANT. THE PRESENT SINGLE IS ONE OF A SMALL NUMBER THAT IS BOTH FRESH AND WELL CENTERED. WITH SO MANY OF THESE STAMPS HAVING MAJOR DISTRACTIONS- 19 ARE STRAIGHT EDGED, MANY ARE OFF CENTERED, SOME HAVE LOST THE GUM ENTIRELY, SOME HAVE MORE SEVERE FAULTS AND SEVEN ARE APPARENTLY LOST- THE EXAMPLE OFFERED HERE IS CLEARLY AMONG THE MOST ATTRACTIVE AND DESIRABLE. Expertization: 1991 & 2012 P.F. Certificates. Provenance: Maffeo, Barden “Liberty”. The story behind the “Inverted Jenny” is certainly one of the most well-known and fascinating in all of stamp collecting. It began with the somewhat hurried decision, in early 1918 (with the First World War still in progress), to issue a set of three postage stamps for the first official U.S. airmail flight, then scheduled for May 1918. Production time was extremely limited. Moreover the high value of the set, the 24¢ value, was to be issued in two colors (red and blue), with one color to be printed first, and the printed sheets then reinserted in the printing presses for the second color. Despite all efforts to catch any printing errors, one sheet of 100 stamps, printed with the second color (the “Jenny” in the center of the stamp), upside down, managed to escape detection. This error sheet was sold to Mr. William T. Robey, a stamp collector living in Washington, D.C. He normally bought a full sheet of each new postage stamp as it was issued, for his collection, and it was therefore natural for him to try to acquire a sheet of the new airmail stamps. Robey could barely contain his excitement when the postal clerk (not suspecting or noticing the error) brought out the sheet for him. Robey bought the sheet (this was during his lunch hour) and returned to his job as a stockbroker’s clerk, where he told a few friends about his amazing find. They in turn tried to buy more of those stamps “with the upside down airplane”. A few hours later postal inspectors were asking Robey to sell the sheet back to them. Robey naturally refused. The next day on May 15, 1918 Robey wrote to the famous dealer Elliot Perry saying “I have secured a sheet of 100 with inverted centers”. (the letter was sold in our Sale 201, June 1997) In the end, though he did not sell it to Perry, but to a well-known dealer Eugene Klein, who sold the sheet to Col. Edward Green. The sheet was then broken up into singles and blocks.

Matthew Bennett International, May 2014, Sale 350, Lot 673

**    1918, 24¢ carmine rose & blue (Scott C3), top margin arrow, two plate nos., two “top” block of 12, exceptionally fresh and crisp with rich colors, original gum, never hinged, usual natural gum bends and skips and a trifle heavy pre-printing crease on three, F.-V.F (photo). $1,850

Matthew Bennett International, May 2014, Sale 350, Lot 672