A famous invert error stamp has auctioned in New York for $21,000, well over its top estimate of $15,000.
The United States 1901 1c Pan American fell victim to a printing mistake that mismatched its frame and the central image.
The resulting upside down picture makes mistakes like this the most popular and valuable of all postage stamp errors.
The stamp was sold by Daniel F Kelleher Auctions in New York City. They listed the stamps as “o.g., hinged, incredibly fresh and sound, without the usual bends, tears and other faults normally encountered—plus rarely seen superior centering, Very Fine to Extremely Fine, a condition rarity for this sought-after inverted center.”
The stamp came with a certificate of authentication from the Philatelic Foundation and a $10,000 to $15,000 estimated price range.
It went well past that, and its Scott Catalogue (the standard work on US stamps) value of $12,500.
President McKinley giving what was to be his last speech at the Pan-American Exposition for which this stamp was issued.
The stamp was one of a set made to celebrate the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York State.
The world’s fair is now remembered for the assassination of President William McKinley, who was shot in the Temple of Music exhibition on September 6.
The stamps were a set of six (1 cent to 10 cent) designed to show-off American transport, with the 1c depicting a high-speed lake boat.
A small number of 1c and 2c stamps were inverted during the two-stage printing process and issued.
During the investigation into the error some 4c designs were deliberately inverted, but they were never released to the public.
This invert inspired William Robey, a Washington stamp collector, to look out for a similar error when he heard that the 1918 first airmail issue stamp would be printed the same way.
Robey was right, and bought the single known sheet of Inverted Jennys that are now probably the world’s most famous error stamp.
Sets of the Pan-American invert are also extremely valuable, and this sale appears to set a new record for a single 1c invert.
In 2009, a set of the three inverted values made $199,000 in total.
This sale will encourage stamp collectors that high values can be achieved for the best stamps in today’s market.
