Inverted Jenny
This example of the Inverted Jenny is at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum The Smithsonians Inverted Jenny This image of a postage stamp has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. is located across the street from Union Station and houses many interactive displays about the history of the United States Postal Service and of mail service around the world. ...
Country of production	United States
Location of production
Date of production	May 10, 1918
Nature of rarity	Invert error
Estimated existence	100
Face value	24¢ US$
Estimated value	US $300,000

The inverted Jenny (or Jenny Invert) is a United States postage stamp of 1918 in which the image of the Curtiss JN-4 airplane in the center of the design was accidentally printed upside-down. Only 100 of the inverts were ever found, making this error one of the most prized in all philately; as of 2003, an inverted Jenny would typically sell for around US$300,000. It was reported that in October 2005 a block of four inverted Jennys sold for US$2.7m.^[1] May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... // The Inverted Jenny, of which only a single sheet of 100 was ever found. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Virgin Islands, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 3. ... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Virgin Islands, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 3. ... A selection of Hong Kong postage stamps A postage stamp is evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Curtiss JN-4 biplane is possibly North Americas most famous World War I airplane. ... An Air France Boeing 777, a modern passenger jet. ... // The Inverted Jenny, of which only a single sheet of 100 was ever found. ... // The Inverted Jenny, of which only a single sheet of 100 was ever found. ... Close examination of the Penny Red, left, reveals a 148 in the margin, indicating that it was printed with plate #148. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January events January 1 Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Background

During the 1910s, the United States Post Office had made a number of experimental trials of carrying mail by air, and decided to inaugurate regular service on May 15, 1918, flying between Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City. The Post Office set a controversial rate of 24 cents for the service, much higher than the 3 cents for first-class mail of the time, and decided to issue a new stamp just for this rate, patriotically printed in red and blue, and depicting a Curtiss Jenny, the biplane chosen to shuttle the mail. A USPS Truck at Night A U.S. Post Office sign The United States Postal Service (USPS) is the United States government organization responsible for providing postal service in the United States and is generally referred to as the post office. ... A British pillar box. ... May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: Federal District District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) City Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2: Jack Evans... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Cradle of Liberty, the City That Loves You Back, the Quaker City, The Birthplace of America Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor... Nickname: Big Apple, Gotham Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Settled 1613 Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... Curtiss JN4 The JN series of aircraft were built by the Curtiss company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. ... Hs123 biplane. ...

The job of designing and printing the new stamp was carried out in a great rush; engraving only began on May 4, and stamp printing on May 10 (a Friday), in sheets of 100 (contrary to the usual practice of printing 400 at a time and cutting into 100-stamp panes). Since the stamp was printed in two colors, each sheet had to be fed through the printing press twice, an error-prone process that had resulted in invert errors in stamps of 1869 and 1901, and at least three misprinted sheets were found during the production process and were destroyed. It is believed that only one misprinted sheet of 100 stamps got through unnoticed, and stamp collectors have spent the ensuing years trying to find them all. Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. ... May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ...

Initial deliveries went to post offices on Monday, May 13. Aware of the potential for inverts, a number of collectors went to their local post offices to buy the new stamps and keep an eye out for errors. Collector W. T. Robey was one of those; he had written to a friend on May 10 mentioning that "it would pay to be on the lookout for inverts". On May 14, Robey went to the post office to buy the new stamps, and as he wrote later, when the clerk brought out a sheet of inverts, "my heart stood still". He paid for the sheet, and asked to see more, but the remainder of the sheets were normal. May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... May 14 is the 134th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (135th in leap years). ...

Additional details of the day's events are not entirely certain—Robey gave three different accounts later—but he began to contact both stamp dealers and journalists, to tell them of his find. After a week that included visits from postal inspectors and the hiding of the sheet, Robey sold the sheet to noted Philadelphia dealer Eugene Klein for US$15,000. Klein then immediately resold the sheet to "Colonel" H. R. Green, son of Hetty Green, for US$20,000. The United States Postal Inspection Service or USPIS is the law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service. ... Eugene Klein (June 26, 1878 - April 30, 1944) was an internationally known stamp collector dealer, and auctioneer who was President of the American Philatelic Society from 1935-1937. ... Colonel Greens Mansion at Round Hill with Buzzards Bay in the foreground. ... Hetty Green (November 21, 1834–July 3, 1916) was an American businesswoman, remarkable for her famous frugality during the so-called Gilded Age as well as for being the first American woman to make a substantial impact on Wall Street. ...

Klein advised Green that the stamps would be worth more separately than as a single sheet, and Green went along; the sheet was broken into a block of eight, several blocks of four, with the remainder sold as individuals. Green kept a number of the inverts, including one that was placed in a locket for his wife. This locket was offered for sale for the first time ever by the Siegel Auction Galleries Rarity Sale, held on May 18, 2002. It did not sell in the auction, but the philatelic press reported that a Private Treaty sale was arranged later for an unknown price. A locket is a pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small item. ... May 18 is the 138th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (139th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

A center-line block catalogs for $600,000.

A rare swap

The inverted Jenny block of four

In late October 2005 the unique plate number block of four stamps was purchased by a then anonymous buyer for $2,970,000. The purchaser was revealed to be U.S. financier Bill Gross. Shortly after purchasing the Inverted Jennys he proceeded to trade them with Donald Sundman, president of the Mystic Stamp Company a stamp dealer, for one of only two known examples of the USA 1c Z Grill. By completing this trade, Gross became the owner of the only complete collection of U.S. 19th century stamps. ^[2] Image File history File links Inverted_jenny400. ... Image File history File links Inverted_jenny400. ... Bill Gross (fl. ... Company logo The Mystic Stamp Company is a mail-order postage stamp dealer, one of the largest in operation and notable for both its promotion of stamp collecting as a hobby and for its acquisition of the Z Grill, the rarest United States stamp. ... A Stamp dealer is a company or an individual who deals in postage stamps and philatelic products. ... The Z Grill: Gross collection The Benjamin Franklin Z-Grill is a postage stamp issued by the United States Postal Service in 1868 depicting Benjamin Franklin and is considered the rarest US stamp due to the embossed Z-Grill on the back. ...

2006 Find

The inverted Jenny affixed to the absentee ballot envelope.

In November of 2006, election workers in Broward County, Florida claimed to have found an Inverted Jenny affixed to an absentee ballot envelope. Who sent the ballot has not been determined, as the sender did not include any identification with the ballot, which meant the ballot was disqualified. The authenticity of this stamp has not been verified by any expert because Florida State law states that, disqualified or not, after being counted a ballot must remain sealed in its ballot box for at least 22 months. At this point, it is unclear what will be done with the stamp after the waiting period expires if it proves to be authentic.^[3] Image File history File linksMetadata Invertedjenny_stamp_ballot. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Invertedjenny_stamp_ballot. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Postal voting. ... Location of county in the state of Florida County Seat Fort Lauderdale, Florida Area  - Total  - Water 3,418 km² (1,320 Population  - Total (2000)  - Density   1,623,018 520/km² (1,346/mi²) Time zone Eastern: UTC_5 Latitude Longitude 26°728 N 80°1458 W External link: Official... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Postal voting. ...

In a review of a digital photograph of this stamp, Peter Mastrangelo, director of the Pennsylvania-based American Philatelic Society said, "It is our opinion, from what we've seen, that this stamp is questionable, and we are of the opinion at this point that it appears to be a reproduction." He said an in-person review was needed to be sure, but that all indications are that the stamp is a counterfeit. "The perforations on top and bottom do not match our reference copies." Mastrangelo said Tuesday. "The colors of the blue ink are consistent with the counterfeit."^[4]

On November 13, 2006, an elderly Sarasota, Florida man contacted SNN News 6, claiming to be the man who mailed the ballot. Dan Jacoby says the stamp he used is a commemorative stamp that is worth about 50 cents. ^[5] November 13 is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 48 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County, Florida. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... SNN News 6 (formerly known as SNN 6 and Six News Now) is a Comcast cable 24/7 news station operating in Sarasota, Florida. ...

This story recalls a plot point from the 1985 movie version of Brewster’s Millions, in which a man named Brewster (played by Richard Pryor) was challenged to spend thirty million dollars in thirty days. One of the many things he did in his attempt was to use an Inverted Jenny to mail a post card. Brewsters Millions is a 1985 film starring Richard Pryor based on the 1902 novel of the same name by George Barr McCutcheon. ...

On December 4, 2006, it was confirmed that this stamp used on the ballot was a counterfeit. ^[6] Inside the Broward County Elections Office in Florida, experts studied the stamp and decided that the method used to print it and the perforations along the sides were evidence of the stamp being fake. December 4 is the 338th day of the year (339th on leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• Invert error
• Stamp collecting
• Philatelic investment

// The Inverted Jenny, of which only a single sheet of 100 was ever found. ... A small thematic collection of stamps featuring birds Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects, such as covers (envelopes or packages with stamps on them). ... Philatelic Investment, the investment of funds in collectible postage stamps for the purpose of realizing a profit, is a relatively recent phenomenon. ...

References