Russian Local Post (Zemstvo); U.S. & Worldwide Stamps
February 8, 2012 and February 22-23, 2012
| Images | Description | Current Bid |
 | Lot #2100 United States Modern Issues 1979 $1.00 Rush Lamp & Candle Holder, intaglio brown color inverted, n.h., v.f. The CIA invert is the one of the best known inverted color errors in United States philately. These stamps were discovered by an on-duty CIA employee who teamed up with some colleagues to purchase the pane from a post office. Saving a copy each, the group later sold the bulk of the sheet to a prominent stamp dealer. News of the error reached CIA officials who sought to claim ownership and US Postal authorities who tried to recover the stamps. Official queries, threats, and even job losses followed the group until the sale of the pane was ruled legal. Only about 80-85 copies are accounted for. Because the number of existing CIA inverts approximately equals the number of existing Inverted Jennies (C3a), many speculate that current values for 1610c are far too low; examples of C3a regularly bring six-figure sums at auction, ** Catalog #1610c Catalog Value $18,000 | Price Realized $16,000.00 |
