Pan-American invert
Encyclopedia
As part of the Pan-American Exposition
held in Buffalo in 1901 the United States Post Office Department
issued a series of six commemorative stamps. The stamps were issued with ornate colored frames enclosing a black-and-white image of various means of transportation. In the standard American Scott catalog, these six stamps carry the numbers 294-299. The first day of issue for the stamps was May 1, 1901.
The two color printing left the possibility of errors. Three of the denominations
, 1 cent, 2 cents and 4 cents, were printed in sheets on which the center vignette was inverted relative to the frame. The inverts carry the Scott catalog numbers 294a, 295a, and 296a respectively.
The one cent invert is considerably more common than the others—still, the catalogue value of a set of all three inverts is estimated at $100,000 though one single stamp of each value was sold at auction in April 2009 for a total cost of $199,000 (respectively, $19,000; $90,000; $90,000). and a block of four of each invert value realised $1,146,000 in the same auction ($21,000; $800,000; $325,000).
In 2001, for the centenary of the inverts issue, the USPS produced a souvenir sheet which contained reproductions of the three original inverts, along four 80-cent stamps based on a souvenir stamp circulated at the original Pan-American Exposition.
Pan-American Exposition
The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is present day Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood Ave and northward to Great Arrow...
held in Buffalo in 1901 the United States Post Office Department
United States Post Office Department
The Post Office Department was the name of the United States Postal Service when it was a Cabinet department. It was headed by the Postmaster General....
issued a series of six commemorative stamps. The stamps were issued with ornate colored frames enclosing a black-and-white image of various means of transportation. In the standard American Scott catalog, these six stamps carry the numbers 294-299. The first day of issue for the stamps was May 1, 1901.
The two color printing left the possibility of errors. Three of the denominations
Denomination (postage stamp)
:This article deals with the price of a postage stamp. For other meanings of the word 'denomination' see Denomination .In philately, the denomination is the "inscribed value of a stamp"...
, 1 cent, 2 cents and 4 cents, were printed in sheets on which the center vignette was inverted relative to the frame. The inverts carry the Scott catalog numbers 294a, 295a, and 296a respectively.
The one cent invert is considerably more common than the others—still, the catalogue value of a set of all three inverts is estimated at $100,000 though one single stamp of each value was sold at auction in April 2009 for a total cost of $199,000 (respectively, $19,000; $90,000; $90,000). and a block of four of each invert value realised $1,146,000 in the same auction ($21,000; $800,000; $325,000).
In 2001, for the centenary of the inverts issue, the USPS produced a souvenir sheet which contained reproductions of the three original inverts, along four 80-cent stamps based on a souvenir stamp circulated at the original Pan-American Exposition.
External links
- Centenial of Pan-American Exposition Invert Stamps National Postal MuseumNational Postal MuseumThe National Postal Museum, located opposite Union Station in Washington, D.C., USA, was established through joint agreement between the United States Postal Service and the Smithsonian Institution and opened in 1993. The museum is located across the street from Union Station, in the building that...