Thoughts On Inverted Jenny #76

Does anyone here have thoughts about C3a coming up for sale next week at Siegel? How much do you think it's worth in this market? How cool (or not) is the "story" of this particular example? And, how much do the re-perfs bother you in light of related "story"? Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts!

https://siegelauctions.com/lots.php...2C+2017

Someone with cash to burn and 0 knowledge in stamp, will probably purchase it thinking the re perforation is an enhancement

" reperforated at top, also reperforated at left to remove guide line."

The reperfs bother me because they are an integral part of the theft, and hence a criminal act in a very real sense. That said, if I were in the market for and able to purchase an Inverted Jenny I would not pass up the chance just on account of this.

The near perfect one went for 1.3 million last year. If it wasn't for the story I guess this would go for a quarter to a third of that. It is possible the story adds some spice. "Here's the stamp, and here's the article on its history." But I'd still guess it gets less than 500K, but I wouldn't be shocked if it went for more either. Now if you could buy all three of the stamps from the block and then recover the fourth, that would certainly make a good exhibit at the next stamp show. ;)

I love how auction houses describe their items.

"Skillfully reperforated top and left"

On ebay it's just plain faulty.

Of all the U.S. stamps out there, this has to be one of the most over-hyped and over-priced stamps there is. It's been the subject of numerous articles, and the hype just doesn't do anything for me anymore.

There are true rarities that don't come close to the prices of these stamps, in large part because they really are rare. Look at how often these change hands, each time with the anticipation that the current owner will make a profit. This stamp is NOT on my list of desired items.

Perhaps it's just me though...

For what it's worth. $$ talks BS walks.

Us philatelist's are on the sidelines IMHO.

Doug

Thank you all for this great feedback. As my handle suggests I am from the rare coin side of things (professionally) but stamps are a hobby but I'm concerned about the state of the market these days. I hear a lot of doom and gloom from dealers who tell me the average stamp collector is now in his 80's!

The inverted airmail has been of interest to me most of my life. Yes, it's totally over-hyped, but it has a great story. In collectibles, story and historic value are critical. By way of comparison a favorite "most common rare date" coin is the 1909-S VDB cent which are worth anything from $500 to $10,000 and you can literally find dozens of them on the market at any time. But they sell well. Like Zepp sets I guess.

Again, thanks for the feedback. It's all very informative.

My guess, $250,000.00

Is there a pool starting? My guess is $628,000
Don

I don't find the stamp very interesting, but I loved the Ken Lawrence piece linked within the Siegel page. And a good guy too.

If I was buying it with the reperf, I would be at no more than $175,000 for it - If I collected these and had the money :-)

I will wait for a better copy to come on the market. 8-)

With at the most 100 stamps existing, it is a very rare stamp but it is not the rarest in terms of quantity. However, its popularity, history, airplane, bi-color and invert error makes it a very attractive and desirable stamp. Thus, it has surpassed in price some rarer U.S. stamps that are found in much lesser quantities.

$200,000. The story is all that is propping the price up.

I find the original perfs much cleaner and neat.The re-perf job looks
mediocre somewhat..