Rare 'Upside-Down' Stamp Sells for $825,000
DALLAS (AP)—A collector from New York has purchased a rare 24-cent stamp depicting an upside-down airplane for $825,000, according to an auction house.
The unidentified buyer of the "Inverted Jenny" stamp was described as a Wall Street executive and longtime coin collector by Heritage Auction Galleries, which announced the sale Wednesday.
The 1918 stamp depicts a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny," a World War I training aircraft that became an airmail plane. About 700 of the stamps were misprinted, but inspectors caught all of but 100 before they were sold.
The entire pane of 100 was bought by stamp collector William Robey on May 14, 1918, at a Washington post office. It was later sold and separated into individual stamps and blocks.
- The Craziest Stories of 2007
- Image Gallery: Breaking the Sound Barrier
- Life's Little Mysteries
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.