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The unique 24c Inverted “Jenny” plate block will be offered at auction by the Siegel firm in a special evening sale to be held in October.
The block comes from Positions 87-88/97-98 in the original sheet of 100 purchased by William T. Robey in 1918 at a Washington D.C. post office. Robey paid $24 for the pane. In 1989 the unique plate number block realized $1.1 million, which is still the record for a U.S. stamp single or multiple. The pre-sale estimate in the October auction is $2,500,000 to $3,500,000.
The 24c 1918 Air Post stamp was printed on a hand-operated “Spider” press from a sheet of 100. The top and right side margins were cut away during the production process. The margin below Position 97 is the only place on the Invert sheet where a plate number appears (“8493” in blue).
When the stamps went on sale on May 14, Robey exchanged his $24 for a sheet of stamps that he immediately recognized as Invert errors. Within days Robey sold his sheet to a dealer, Eugene Klein, who had already arranged for an immediate resale to the eccentric collector, Edward H. R. Green, son of the notorious Hetty Green, whose estate was estimated at more than $100 million in 1916. Her miserly manners and ruthlessness earned her the title “The Witch of Wall Street”. Edward rebelled by spending lavishly on objects of his desire, both inanimate and animate.
The unique Inverted “Jenny” plate block was featured in the Aristocrats exhibits at Anphilex ‘71, Interphil ‘76 and Ameripex ‘86. It has been held by an anonymous collector since 1989.
Immediately following the sale of the Inverted "Jenny" plate block, we will be conducting an auction of Superb and Rare U.S. Stamps. The following day will feature the North Fork Collection of Superb 20th Century U.S. Stamps.