Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
 — 
See All Episodes
Subscribe

Hey, LA listener!

Download our app for the optimal streaming experience

Apple Store logo Google play logo
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
NPR News

Why a single 'Inverted Jenny' stamp sold for $2 million at auction

Manuela López Restrepo
Manuela López Restrepo
Published Nov 20, 2023 12:59 PM
An enlarged replica of a block of four rare United States airmail error stamps, known as the Inverted Jenny plate block.
An enlarged replica of a block of four rare United States airmail error stamps, known as the Inverted Jenny plate block.
(
Spencer Platt
/
Getty Images
)

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

Listen 3:11
Listen to the Story

History, intrigue and a misprint combine so that a single stamp has sold for $2 million at auction.

What is it? Well, at the basic level, it is a U.S. postage stamp from 1918. But this stamp's got lore, baby.

  • The design — which normally shows the "Jenny" Curtiss biplane the right way up — was already important because it was used on the stamps for the world's first regularly-scheduled government airmail service.

  • What makes this particular stamp noteworthy is that in the glory-induced rush of stamp making at the time, the workers who were printing this sheet accidentally placed the Jenny upside down.

  • The single sheet of 100 so-called "Inverted Jennys" was sold before anyone caught the mistake, and they have become treasured collector items ever since.

    • On display at Sotheby's in 2021.
    On display at Sotheby's in 2021.
    (
    Arturo Holmes
    /
    Getty Images
    )

    So it's a big deal? It is the "icon of stamp collecting," according to Scott Trepel, the president of Siegel Auction Galleries in New York and an expert in the stamp field.

  • He says to keep in mind that planes weren't particularly common in 1918: "People weren't familiar with what they looked like, and so the inverted plane on the stamp slipped through the inspectors, slipped through the clerk at the post office. And even he said, you know, 'Look, don't blame me. I don't know what a plane looks like, so I didn't recognize it when I sold it.'"

  • Trepel says this one is extra special because it's in really good condition after being in storage for decades: "It never was exposed to light. The colors were beautiful. The paper was bright. The back of the stamp, the gum had never been hinged and put into an album."

    • Want more on history? Listen to Consider This on the uniquely American tradition of hot dog eating contests.

    So, what now?

  • While there are still other inverted Jenny stamps floating out there (one was stolen in the 1950s and has yet to resurface), Trepel says that this recently-sold one, named "Position 49" for its place on the original sheet of 100, is the cream of the crop.

  • "We grade stamps from one to 100 in terms of the centering of the design with the perforations around it. And this one is a 95, and there is no better. There's no 98. There's no 100. This 95 is the best that any Jenny will ever get."

  • And if this story has given you FOMS (Fear Of Missing Stamps), there are some delightful Strega Nona-themed ones available for just 66 cents a pop.

    • Learn more:

    Sponsored message
  • Inside the weird and delightful origins of the jungle gym, which just turned 100

  • Roland Pattillo helped keep Henrietta Lacks' story alive. It's key to his legacy

  • 'You talkin' to me?' How Scorsese's 'Killers of the Flower Moon' gets in your head

    • Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

    Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

    If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

    Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
    Headshot of Megan Garvey
    Megan Garvey
    Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

    Make your tax-deductible donation today

    Trending on LAist
    The Brief