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# 24c Curtiss Jenny invert single

National Postal Museum

                    - Share IconShare Icon                       - 
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                      - Print
                      -     DetailsRelatedObject Details- Printer
- Bureau of Engraving and Printing
- Description
- Mint 24-cent perforate stamp with the central image inverted; position 70, plate number 8493.
- This 24-cent stamp represents plate position 70 of the only sheet of 100 inverted Jennys sold by the Post Office Department.
- This most famous U.S. stamp printing error occurred at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, in Washington, D.C., the week of May 6 13, 1918. The bi-colored 24-cent Jenny stamp paid the rate for the first airmail service, which was scheduled to begin May 15, 1918 connecting Washington, Philadelphia, and New York. One sheet of 100 stamps with an upside-down image of a blue airplane escaped detection. The biplane pictured in the design is the famous JN-4-H “Jenny” modified by replacing the front cockpit with a mail compartment.
- When the error occurred, either an inverted carmine frame sheet was fed into the small hand press for the second impression or the plate printer, after inking and wiping, placed an inverted blue vignette plate into the press. The undetected error sheet was sold to William T. Robey on May 14, 1918 at the New York Avenue post office. The lucky collector sold it to Eugene Klein, a Philadelphia stamp dealer, for $15,000. Klein in turn sold the sheet to collector Colonel H.R. Green, who broke it into blocks and singles, kept some, and sold the rest. The discovery and subsequent sales received enormous press attention.
- May 14, 1918
- Object number
- 0.217665.1
- Type
- Postage Stamps
- Medium
- paper; ink (carmine rose and blue) / engraving; adhesive
- Dimensions
- Height x Width: 7/8 x 1 in. (2.22 x 2.54 cm)
- Place
- United States of America
- See more items in
- National Postal Museum Collection
- On View
- Currently on exhibit at the National Postal Museum
- Title
- Scott Catalogue USA C3a
- National Postal Museum
- Depicts
- Curtiss Jenny airplane
- Topic
- The Gilded Age (1877-1920)
- National Stamp Collection
- U.S. Stamps
- Record ID
- npm_0.217665.1
- Metadata Usage (text)
- CC0
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/hm8ae7bfd11-e65c-45d6-84ee-09c08065026a
Related Content-                    Open Access Highlights                 
  CC0Creative Commons - No Rights Reserved iconUsage Conditions Apply>download icon>          This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions).  You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian.  For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Open Access page.        International media Interoperability FrameworkIIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.View manifestView in Mirador ViewerExpand to view image×                PreviousNext             Footer logo      
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