U.S. and Worldwide Stamps & Postal History; The John Pednault Collection of Ireland; Brazil
December 1-2, 2015 and December 3, 2015
| Images | Description | Current Bid |
 | Lot #30 United States 1979 "CIA" Invert 1979 $1 tan, brown orange and yellow, brown inverted, block of four, n.h. and post office fresh, v.f., one of only three known blocks of four of this popular error, significantly undervalued given its rarity. Discovered in 1985, the CIA Invert was the first major inverted stamp in 66 years. The story began when an auctioneer specializing in U.S. error stamps announced the discovery (by a "business in northern Virginia") of 85 inverted 1979 $1 Rush Lamp stamps. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing launched an internal investigation and found that there were no indications of impropriety by its employees. It was discovered that an on-duty C.I.A. employee had purchased a partial sheet of 95 inverted stamps at a small post office near McLean, Virginia. When the office workers realized what they had, they pooled their money and substituted non-error $1 Rush Lamp stamps for the inverts. Each of the nine co-workers kept a stamp. The remaining 86 stamps, including one that was damaged, were quietly sold to the a  **Catalog #1610C Catalog Value $ 70,000 | Price Realized $62,500.00 |
