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The Inverted Jenny: Money, Mystery, Mania
Book by Amick, George
- GenresHistory
250 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
18 people want to read
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July 12, 2014
Twenty-nine year old William Thomas Robey was a stamp collector who went to his local post office in Washington, D.C. on May 14, 1918 to buy the new 24 cents airmail stamps commemorating the biplane called “Jenny” which would be used to fly mail from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia and New York, and would be the world’s first regularly scheduled transportation of mail by air. He recognized right away his find when the post office clerk sold him the sheet of 100 stamps with inverted Jennys. He paid $24.00 for the sheet. Robey asked to see other sheets to see if there were more and went to another post office nearby, but he could not find another sheet with the rare errors. Stamps with two colors were passed through the printing press two times. On some occasions, mistakes would be made where the second impressions printed upside down. With the Jenny airmail stamp sheet that Robey purchased from the post office, the error occurred when the paper was turned the wrong way when it was time to apply the second color.
This would be the first stamp to be printed in two colors since the Pan-American Exposition stamp in 1901. The same mistake was made with some of these stamps as there were inverts of the one cent lake streamer, two cents express train and the four cents electric automobile.
Three other sheets of inverted Jennys were discovered later and the post office cancelled the stamps by pen to depreciate their value, and there was a strong chance that the stamps would be destroyed.
Robey was proud of his find and told a coworker about the inverts. The coworker told a local post office which informed postal inspections to make a visit to Mr. Robey, threatening him that the government would confiscate the sheet of inverted Jennys. Robey decided that he wanted to sell the stamps quickly, as he believed that if there were more error sheets, it would lower the value of the ones he had. In addition, he was concerned about the postal inspectors who wanted the stamps back. He contacted several dealers and collectors and finally sold the sheet of inverted stamps for $15,000 to Philadelphia dealer, Eugene Klein.
Eugene Klein, in turn sold the sheet for $20,000 to philatelist Colonel E.H.R. Green, who inherited his fortune from his mother, Hetty Green, who was considered the richest woman of her time. She had inherited her money from her whaling and ship owning ancestors in New England and had multiplied it numerous times by her investments in the stock market and also by her own frugalness. Colonel Green, however, was very generous. Green wanted to keep part of the sheet for his own collection and sell the remaining stamps. He kept a block of eight and three blocks of four stamps for his stamp collection, donated one stamp to the Red Cross and asked Klein to sell the rest.
Before breaking up the sheet, Klein lightly numbered each stamp on the back in pencil so that future philatelist researchers could trace the ownership of each stamp. Klein could advertise the stamps for sale, but could not print a picture of the stamps as Federal law would not allow it, and this law did not change until 1938
Stamps were sold and resold and prices for the inverts continued to rise. After Colonel Green’s death in 1936, his stamps were sold. But his sister who took care of his estate waited six years after his death before she sold any of the inverts. The stamps were sold at an auction.
In 1958, dealer brothers Raymond and Roger Weill donated a Jenny invert which had belonged to Colonel Green to the Smithsonian Institution. For about 15 years after Colonel Green’s stamps were sold, the prices paid for Jenny inverts stayed level or declined. However, by 1959, prices started to soar again. With prices steadily climbing, by 1978, a Jenny invert sold for $100,000 by a buyer in Boston. Just a few years later, by 1982, a Jenny invert was sold at an auction for $198,000. For investors, putting their money into the purchase of a rare stamp produced a much better result than investing in stock or bonds. Other rarities such as a 1869 15 cents stamp error showing Christopher Columbus standing on his head was also sold for $198,000, in 1982.
However, occasionally, Jenny stamps would sell at less than a buyer paid for it. Timing is important in stamp collecting, just as it is important in investing in stocks. In investing in stamps, prices could go up or down. A lot depends on the economy at the time of sale and demand.
The Jenny invert, perhaps one of the most famous stamps of the world is an attraction to investors, as well as people who just want to own the stamp. Everyone knows of the Jenny. However, that also makes it vulnerable to thief. A block of Jenny inverts were stolen when they were displayed in September 1955 at the American Philatelic Society stamp show in Norfolk, Virginia. Although there were guards watching the display, still they were taken. At least two of the stamps were eventually recovered.
During the morning of May 9, 1977, stolen from the New York Public Library’s Miller collection, were several valuable stamps, including an inverted Jenny which Benjamin Kurtz Miller bought from Eugene Klein for $250 from Colonel Green’s collection after Green’s death. Miller had been a successful attorney who wanted his collection of stamps to be enjoyed by the public, and donated his collection to the New York Public Library in 1925. Many of stamps were recovered with the assistance of the FBI and philatelic collectors who recognized the stolen stamps when they appeared for sale on the open market.
Several international stamps have reproduced the invert Jenny, and I have seen reproductions of the invert Jenny reproduced on mouse pads, coffee mugs, etc. The Jenny plane was celebrated on the 1968 10 cents Fiftieth anniversary of U.S. Air Mail stamp. I also saw an original Jenny invert stamp several years back displayed at a stamp show in Burlingame, California. These stamps have a vast history.
This book has more details on the subject and I found it very interesting and informative.
This would be the first stamp to be printed in two colors since the Pan-American Exposition stamp in 1901. The same mistake was made with some of these stamps as there were inverts of the one cent lake streamer, two cents express train and the four cents electric automobile.
Three other sheets of inverted Jennys were discovered later and the post office cancelled the stamps by pen to depreciate their value, and there was a strong chance that the stamps would be destroyed.
Robey was proud of his find and told a coworker about the inverts. The coworker told a local post office which informed postal inspections to make a visit to Mr. Robey, threatening him that the government would confiscate the sheet of inverted Jennys. Robey decided that he wanted to sell the stamps quickly, as he believed that if there were more error sheets, it would lower the value of the ones he had. In addition, he was concerned about the postal inspectors who wanted the stamps back. He contacted several dealers and collectors and finally sold the sheet of inverted stamps for $15,000 to Philadelphia dealer, Eugene Klein.
Eugene Klein, in turn sold the sheet for $20,000 to philatelist Colonel E.H.R. Green, who inherited his fortune from his mother, Hetty Green, who was considered the richest woman of her time. She had inherited her money from her whaling and ship owning ancestors in New England and had multiplied it numerous times by her investments in the stock market and also by her own frugalness. Colonel Green, however, was very generous. Green wanted to keep part of the sheet for his own collection and sell the remaining stamps. He kept a block of eight and three blocks of four stamps for his stamp collection, donated one stamp to the Red Cross and asked Klein to sell the rest.
Before breaking up the sheet, Klein lightly numbered each stamp on the back in pencil so that future philatelist researchers could trace the ownership of each stamp. Klein could advertise the stamps for sale, but could not print a picture of the stamps as Federal law would not allow it, and this law did not change until 1938
Stamps were sold and resold and prices for the inverts continued to rise. After Colonel Green’s death in 1936, his stamps were sold. But his sister who took care of his estate waited six years after his death before she sold any of the inverts. The stamps were sold at an auction.
In 1958, dealer brothers Raymond and Roger Weill donated a Jenny invert which had belonged to Colonel Green to the Smithsonian Institution. For about 15 years after Colonel Green’s stamps were sold, the prices paid for Jenny inverts stayed level or declined. However, by 1959, prices started to soar again. With prices steadily climbing, by 1978, a Jenny invert sold for $100,000 by a buyer in Boston. Just a few years later, by 1982, a Jenny invert was sold at an auction for $198,000. For investors, putting their money into the purchase of a rare stamp produced a much better result than investing in stock or bonds. Other rarities such as a 1869 15 cents stamp error showing Christopher Columbus standing on his head was also sold for $198,000, in 1982.
However, occasionally, Jenny stamps would sell at less than a buyer paid for it. Timing is important in stamp collecting, just as it is important in investing in stocks. In investing in stamps, prices could go up or down. A lot depends on the economy at the time of sale and demand.
The Jenny invert, perhaps one of the most famous stamps of the world is an attraction to investors, as well as people who just want to own the stamp. Everyone knows of the Jenny. However, that also makes it vulnerable to thief. A block of Jenny inverts were stolen when they were displayed in September 1955 at the American Philatelic Society stamp show in Norfolk, Virginia. Although there were guards watching the display, still they were taken. At least two of the stamps were eventually recovered.
During the morning of May 9, 1977, stolen from the New York Public Library’s Miller collection, were several valuable stamps, including an inverted Jenny which Benjamin Kurtz Miller bought from Eugene Klein for $250 from Colonel Green’s collection after Green’s death. Miller had been a successful attorney who wanted his collection of stamps to be enjoyed by the public, and donated his collection to the New York Public Library in 1925. Many of stamps were recovered with the assistance of the FBI and philatelic collectors who recognized the stolen stamps when they appeared for sale on the open market.
Several international stamps have reproduced the invert Jenny, and I have seen reproductions of the invert Jenny reproduced on mouse pads, coffee mugs, etc. The Jenny plane was celebrated on the 1968 10 cents Fiftieth anniversary of U.S. Air Mail stamp. I also saw an original Jenny invert stamp several years back displayed at a stamp show in Burlingame, California. These stamps have a vast history.
This book has more details on the subject and I found it very interesting and informative.
Displaying 1 of 1 review