Nixon invert
Encyclopedia
The "Nixon invert" was a reputed invert error
of the Richard Nixon
memorial postage stamp
issued by the United States
in 1995. Originally reported in January 1996, it drew considerable attention that year; but in December a printing plant employee was arrested on charges of having stolen the misprinted stamps from the plant where he worked, meaning that instead of a legitimate error, they were worthless printer's waste.
The first public notice of the invert came in the form of an announcement by Christie's
that they planned to auction a single copy of the invert on February 1, estimating its value at $8,000-$10,000. Christie's did not supply the name of the consignor (a common practice), but did say that the stamp was one of 160.
The appearance of the stamp was that the portrait of Nixon was upside-down, and shifted so that it was split across. The "USA / 32" inscription was at the bottom and also inverted, leaving only the intaglio
"Richard Nixon" inscription in its correct orientation and position. This was possible because the stamp was actually printed in two steps. First, the portrait and denomination combination was printed by Barton Press on a Heidelberg six-color sheet-fed offset press, then the stamps were sent to the Bank Note Corporation of America's (BCA) plant in Suffern, New York
, where the intaglio inscription was applied using a Giori press. BCA also perforated
and finished the stamps.
The claim of 160 stamps and the lack of information on the discovery immediately generated both interest and skepticism. To be a valid error, the stamps must have been sold to a postal customer; until that point, they are simply government property. By comparison, the story of the Inverted Jenny
discovery was known in minute detail and verified by multiple persons. In addition, it was unclear to philatelic experts how 160 were possible, given what they knew about size and handling of sheets of stamps.
Christie's auctioned off the one stamp to an unknown collector for $14,500, thus setting a market price. Two days previously, dealer Dana Okey of San Diego had purchased 141 of the inverts from Christie's, and by April was selling them for $12,500, characterizing response as "awesome".
On December 12, Clarence Robert Robie, a former cutting machine operator at BCA's Suffern plant, was charged with theft of the 160 stamps. He was also charged with having transported them to New York, and having sold 120 to a Brooklyn dealer for $60,000 in June, and the remaining 40 in August to a different dealer. (Neither dealer was charged, apparently being unaware of the theft.)
It turned out that the nature of the misprint was such that of the original 200-stamp sheets (grouped into four 50-stamp panes), 10 stamps on the edge of each pane did not receive the intaglio inscription, and thus appeared as printing shifts, rather than as inverts.
Robie was convicted on both charges, May 22, 1997, after a trial lasting three days.
Subsequently, the United States Postal Service
recovered many of the inverts. Some may remain in private hands, but as they continue to be considered stolen property, the current owners cannot openly display or sell them to anyone else.
Invert error
In philately, an invert error occurs when part of a postage stamp is printed upside-down. Inverts are perhaps the most spectacular of a postage stamp errors, not only because of the striking visual appearance, but because they are almost always quite rare, and highly valued by stamp...
of the Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
memorial postage stamp
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...
issued by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1995. Originally reported in January 1996, it drew considerable attention that year; but in December a printing plant employee was arrested on charges of having stolen the misprinted stamps from the plant where he worked, meaning that instead of a legitimate error, they were worthless printer's waste.
The first public notice of the invert came in the form of an announcement by Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
that they planned to auction a single copy of the invert on February 1, estimating its value at $8,000-$10,000. Christie's did not supply the name of the consignor (a common practice), but did say that the stamp was one of 160.
The appearance of the stamp was that the portrait of Nixon was upside-down, and shifted so that it was split across. The "USA / 32" inscription was at the bottom and also inverted, leaving only the intaglio
Intaglio (printmaking)
Intaglio is a family of printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into a surface, known as the matrix or plate, and the incised line or area holds the ink. Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface, and the incisions are created by etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint or...
"Richard Nixon" inscription in its correct orientation and position. This was possible because the stamp was actually printed in two steps. First, the portrait and denomination combination was printed by Barton Press on a Heidelberg six-color sheet-fed offset press, then the stamps were sent to the Bank Note Corporation of America's (BCA) plant in Suffern, New York
Suffern, New York
Suffern is a village in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the State of New Jersey; east of Hillburn; south of Montebello and west of Airmont...
, where the intaglio inscription was applied using a Giori press. BCA also perforated
Perforation
A perforation is a small hole in a thin material or web. There is usually more than one perforation in an organized fashion, where all of the holes are called a perforation...
and finished the stamps.
The claim of 160 stamps and the lack of information on the discovery immediately generated both interest and skepticism. To be a valid error, the stamps must have been sold to a postal customer; until that point, they are simply government property. By comparison, the story 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...
discovery was known in minute detail and verified by multiple persons. In addition, it was unclear to philatelic experts how 160 were possible, given what they knew about size and handling of sheets of stamps.
Christie's auctioned off the one stamp to an unknown collector for $14,500, thus setting a market price. Two days previously, dealer Dana Okey of San Diego had purchased 141 of the inverts from Christie's, and by April was selling them for $12,500, characterizing response as "awesome".
On December 12, Clarence Robert Robie, a former cutting machine operator at BCA's Suffern plant, was charged with theft of the 160 stamps. He was also charged with having transported them to New York, and having sold 120 to a Brooklyn dealer for $60,000 in June, and the remaining 40 in August to a different dealer. (Neither dealer was charged, apparently being unaware of the theft.)
It turned out that the nature of the misprint was such that of the original 200-stamp sheets (grouped into four 50-stamp panes), 10 stamps on the edge of each pane did not receive the intaglio inscription, and thus appeared as printing shifts, rather than as inverts.
Conviction
Robie had first contacted dealer Williams Langs in March 1995, then in a May meeting revealed the existence of the inverts, representing them as coming from a "woman in Virginia". The deal struck in June was actually a trade (Robie being a collector himself), whereby Langs received 120 inverts in exchange for $60,000 worth of rare US stamps. The 40 remaining stamps had been purchased by dealer Gary Posner with a combination of cash and stamps, who testified that Robie had told him that "a lady had purchased it in Virginia at a post office". Shortly thereafter Posner sold his 40 to Langs, who in November showed a single and block of four to Christie's.Robie was convicted on both charges, May 22, 1997, after a trial lasting three days.
Subsequently, the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
recovered many of the inverts. Some may remain in private hands, but as they continue to be considered stolen property, the current owners cannot openly display or sell them to anyone else.