Who knows, maybe those among us that trash stamps
would have binned this piece of poorly cancelled
rubbish.
CV = >$100,000 ?
The stamp was discovered by Jack Dennett, a farmer in England, while looking through his childhood album, searching for stamps he could sell for cash during the Great Depression.
Dennett was surprised to discover one stamp had an inverted center, and he sent the stamp to a leading dealer for an opinion.
The dealer wrote back inquiring what Dennett was asking for this error. It was then sent for expertization.
Dennett later received a Royal Philatelic Society of London certificate signed by notables such as John Wilson and Edward Bacon.
Dennett consigned the error to Plumridge & Co. for auction in London March 27, 1931, and the legendary French dealer Theodore Champion purchased it via Tom Allen for £161, a large sum in the Depression era.
Dennett later recalled: "So, my schoolboy collection was not 'junk' after all. The interesting thing is that no other copy of this variety has ever come to light, and as every reader of this magazine knows, it is impossible for one stamp to be printed centered inverted and the rest of the sheet to be normal.
"Thus is does seem most probable that somewhere among odd lots or schoolboy collections there might be several more copies."
Fortunately, Dennett was wrong -- to date no other copy has surfaced.
ack:glen stephens
Posted 01/07/2011 7:49 pm
