⇚ Position 58 - 2005-06-03 Transaction Summary ⇛
Purchase Date:
2005-06-03
How Purchased:
Auction
Where Purchased:
Siegel Auction Galleries
Auction No.:
895-2005 Rarities of the World
Lot No.:
374
Sound/Fault:
Sound
Catalogue Value:
$ 170,000
Realized:
$ 577,500
Seller:
Anonymous
Buyer:
Anonymous
Description
24c Carmine Rose & Blue, Center Inverted (C3a). Position 58, nearly perfect centering, fresh and bright colors, barely hinged at bottom left
EXTREMELY FINE GEM. THIS SUPERB EXAMPLE OF THE 1918 24-CENT INVERTED "JENNY" IS GRADED XF-SUP 95 BY PROFESSIONAL STAMP EXPERTS. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN REGARDED AS ONE OF THE FINEST STAMPS FROM THE ORIGINAL DISCOVERY PANE OF 100, IN TERMS OF CENTERING AND OVERALL CONDITION, AND IT NOW BECOMES THE ONLY INVERTED "JENNY" TO MEET THE RIGOROUS STANDARDS OF "XF-SUP 95". PERHAPS ONE OTHER MIGHT QUALIFY FOR THIS COVETED HIGH GRADE.
According to Jenny by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), the original pane of 100 inverted "Jenny" stamps was purchased by William T. Robey on May 14, 1918, one day after the stamp was placed on sale. Robey bought the sheet for its $24 face value at the New York Avenue Post Office window in Washington, D.C. Soon after, the sheet was sold to Col. 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. Hinge removal has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and at least seven have been "lost" to philately--or nearly so as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner. This example is remarkable for its pristine state of preservation and for its centering, which only a few stamps in the original sheet can approach (almost all of the others have disturbed gum or faults).
This stamp was originally part of a block of four owned by stamp dealer Eugene Klein. It was inherited by Klein's daughter who sold it to Robert A. Siegel. Mr. Siegel sold it to Raymond H. Weill, who placed it with two different anonymous collectors before being asked to break it into singles. This single was sold by Mr. Weill to a Mr. Hoover in 1975, who sold it at auction in 1985 to West Coast collector Bruce McNall. Mr. McNall partly paid for it with an exchange for Position 3. It was last offered in our sale of the Zoellner collection, selling for $192,500 (with the buyer's premium) to a private collector. The stamp is now offered to the market for the first time with a P.S.E. graded certificate, confirming in numeric terms what we have always subjectively stated, that no finer example of the celebrated Inverted "Jenny" can be obtained.
With 1985 P.F. certificate and 2005 P.S.E. certificate (XF-SUP 95)
EXTREMELY FINE GEM. THIS SUPERB EXAMPLE OF THE 1918 24-CENT INVERTED "JENNY" IS GRADED XF-SUP 95 BY PROFESSIONAL STAMP EXPERTS. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN REGARDED AS ONE OF THE FINEST STAMPS FROM THE ORIGINAL DISCOVERY PANE OF 100, IN TERMS OF CENTERING AND OVERALL CONDITION, AND IT NOW BECOMES THE ONLY INVERTED "JENNY" TO MEET THE RIGOROUS STANDARDS OF "XF-SUP 95". PERHAPS ONE OTHER MIGHT QUALIFY FOR THIS COVETED HIGH GRADE.
According to Jenny by George Amick (Amos Press, 1986), the original pane of 100 inverted "Jenny" stamps was purchased by William T. Robey on May 14, 1918, one day after the stamp was placed on sale. Robey bought the sheet for its $24 face value at the New York Avenue Post Office window in Washington, D.C. Soon after, the sheet was sold to Col. 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. Hinge removal has caused thins and creases in numerous stamps, and at least seven have been "lost" to philately--or nearly so as in the case of the copy swept up in a vacuum cleaner. This example is remarkable for its pristine state of preservation and for its centering, which only a few stamps in the original sheet can approach (almost all of the others have disturbed gum or faults).
This stamp was originally part of a block of four owned by stamp dealer Eugene Klein. It was inherited by Klein's daughter who sold it to Robert A. Siegel. Mr. Siegel sold it to Raymond H. Weill, who placed it with two different anonymous collectors before being asked to break it into singles. This single was sold by Mr. Weill to a Mr. Hoover in 1975, who sold it at auction in 1985 to West Coast collector Bruce McNall. Mr. McNall partly paid for it with an exchange for Position 3. It was last offered in our sale of the Zoellner collection, selling for $192,500 (with the buyer's premium) to a private collector. The stamp is now offered to the market for the first time with a P.S.E. graded certificate, confirming in numeric terms what we have always subjectively stated, that no finer example of the celebrated Inverted "Jenny" can be obtained.
With 1985 P.F. certificate and 2005 P.S.E. certificate (XF-SUP 95)