CIA invert
Encyclopedia
The CIA invert is a one-dollar value postage stamp
error issued by the United States Postal Service. It is one stamp from the Americana series
that were produced between 1975 and 1981. The $1 colonial rushlight
holder stamp was first issued on July 2, 1979 and one sheet of 100 stamps was issued with the black (the last color printed, though it covers much of the stamp) inverted. The lamp candle holder and text are inverted relative to the flame. About 95 copies have been accounted for. The Scott catalogue
number is: 1610c. This was the first United States stamp issued with a major design element printed upside down since the Dag Hammarskjöld invert
error of 1962.
One sheet of stamps was bought by a CIA employee who had been sent to the post office to buy some stamps. After the involved employees saved one each, the remainder were sold to a stamp dealer. The Government attempted to reclaim them, but was not successful because they had been legally purchased from a post office clerk.
Stamp catalogs list its price as only $15,000; one tenth of the Inverted Jenny
that is valued at $150,000 yet about the same number of each stamp exist. A block-of-four stamps sold in 2004 for $60,000. In September 2006, reproductions have been sold on eBay
.
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
error issued by the United States Postal Service. It is one stamp from the Americana series
Americana series
The Americana series was a series of United States definitive postage stamps issued between 1975 and 1981. Denominations ranged from one cent to five dollars. It superseded the Prominent Americans series, and was in turn superseded by the Great Americans series and the Transportation coils...
that were produced between 1975 and 1981. The $1 colonial rushlight
Rushlight
A rushlight is a type of candle or miniature torch formed by soaking the dried pith of the rush plant in fat or grease. For several centuries rushlights were a common source of artificial light for poor people throughout the British Isles. They were extremely inexpensive to make...
holder stamp was first issued on July 2, 1979 and one sheet of 100 stamps was issued with the black (the last color printed, though it covers much of the stamp) inverted. The lamp candle holder and text are inverted relative to the flame. About 95 copies have been accounted for. The Scott catalogue
Scott catalogue
The Scott catalogue of postage stamps, published by Scott Publishing Co, a subsidiary of Amos Press, is updated annually and lists all the stamps of the entire world which its editors recognize as issued for postal purposes. It is published in six large volumes and is also produced in...
number is: 1610c. This was the first United States stamp issued with a major design element printed upside down since the Dag Hammarskjöld invert
Dag Hammarskjöld invert
The Dag Hammarskjöld invert is a 4 cent value postage stamp error issued on 23 October 1962 by the United States Postal Service one year after the death of Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in an airplane crash...
error of 1962.
One sheet of stamps was bought by a CIA employee who had been sent to the post office to buy some stamps. After the involved employees saved one each, the remainder were sold to a stamp dealer. The Government attempted to reclaim them, but was not successful because they had been legally purchased from a post office clerk.
Stamp catalogs list its price as only $15,000; one tenth of the Inverted Jenny
Inverted Jenny
The Inverted Jenny is a United States postage stamp first issued on May 10, 1918 in which the image of the Curtiss JN-4 airplane in the center of the design was accidentally printed upside-down; it is probably the most famous error in American philately...
that is valued at $150,000 yet about the same number of each stamp exist. A block-of-four stamps sold in 2004 for $60,000. In September 2006, reproductions have been sold on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
.