A rare, original Inverted Jenny stamp was acquired for more than $1 million during an auction at this week’s World Stamp Show in New York City.
The stamp sold for $1.17 million, although the winner will actually pay $1.3 million when all the fees are added in.
“There were more than a dozen people in the room. Everybody had bids ranging from $400,000 to on up to the winner,” Scott Trepel, whose company ran the auction, told the New York Daily News.
The auction concluded in less than seven minutes. The winner was not identified.
“Stamp collectors are by nature not very public about what they do. My guess [is] they’ll be quiet,” said Trepel.
In 1918, to celebrate the first Air Mail flight, the Post Office Department produced the 24-cent Curtiss Jenny stamp. A misprint mistakenly showed the biplane flying upside down, becoming the most famous error in U.S. stamp history.
Other highlights at this week’s World Stamp Show have included the Postal Service’s dedication of the Honoring Extraordinary Heroism: The Service Cross Medals and Pluto — Explored! stamps, as well as the release of several new products.
