⇚ Position 38 - 1993-11-20 Transaction Summary ⇛
Purchase Date:
1993-11-20
How Purchased:
Auction
Where Purchased:
Siegel Auction Galleries
Auction No.:
755-1993 Rarities of the World
Lot No.:
290
Sound/Fault:
Sound
Catalogue Value:
$ 135,000
Realized:
$ 125,000
Seller:
Anonymous
Buyer:
Description
24c Carmine Rose & Blue, Center Inverted (C3a). Position 38, bright and fresh, well-centered, barest trace of hinging
AN EXTREMELY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE MOST FAMOUS OF UNITED STATES STAMPS, THE INVERTED "JENNY"
According to Jenny! by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), the original sheet of one hundred inverted "Jenny" stamps was purchased by William T. Robey on May 14, 1918. Robey bought the sheet at the New York Avenue Post Office window in Washington. Soon after, the sheet was sold to Colonel Edward H. R. Green through Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer. Green paid $20,000 for the sheet, then instructed Klein to divide it into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks.
It is well-known among stamp specialists and professionals that examples of this stamp come in different grades of freshness and condition. Many of the original 100 stamps were mistreated by collectors during the years, despite the stamps' rarity and value. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinging has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and a couple have been "lost" to philately - or very nearly so, as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner.
This stamp is in a remarkable state of preservation, retaining its original color and brightness of paper, as well as its full original gum with only a trace of previous hinging. With 1978 P.F. certificate
AN EXTREMELY FINE EXAMPLE OF THE MOST FAMOUS OF UNITED STATES STAMPS, THE INVERTED "JENNY"
According to Jenny! by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), the original sheet of one hundred inverted "Jenny" stamps was purchased by William T. Robey on May 14, 1918. Robey bought the sheet at the New York Avenue Post Office window in Washington. Soon after, the sheet was sold to Colonel Edward H. R. Green through Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer. Green paid $20,000 for the sheet, then instructed Klein to divide it into singles and blocks, and to sell all but a few key position blocks.
It is well-known among stamp specialists and professionals that examples of this stamp come in different grades of freshness and condition. Many of the original 100 stamps were mistreated by collectors during the years, despite the stamps' rarity and value. Colonel Green himself allowed moisture to affect some of the stamps he retained. Other examples have become slightly toned from improper storage and climatic conditions. Hinging has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and a couple have been "lost" to philately - or very nearly so, as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner.
This stamp is in a remarkable state of preservation, retaining its original color and brightness of paper, as well as its full original gum with only a trace of previous hinging. With 1978 P.F. certificate