Rare Stamps & Postal History of the World
January 9-10, 2024
Welcome to our January 9-10 Sale of U.S. and Worldwide Stamps and Postal History. The sale contains 1,508 lots and will be offered in four sessions, beginning with United States and U.S. Possessions. Worldwide sections include France, Germany, Italian Area, with many individual rarities. British Commonwealth, with a further selection of G.R.I. errors and varieties. There are solid selections from rest of the world, with additional items from the Carl A. Kilgas and Martin Stempien estates, plus nearly 200 Large Lots and Collections, ranging from single country albums, specialized holdings and featuring a comprehensive collection of British Commonwealth (estimated to realize $100,000), multi-carton worldwide groups and large cover lots offered intact.
| Images | Description | Current Bid |
 | Lot #136 United States 1979 "CIA" Invert 1979 $1.00 Rush Lamp & Candle Holder, intaglio brown color inverted, n.h., v.f., with 2003 APS certificate. The so-called CIA invert is 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 tried to recover the stamps. Official queries, threats, and even job losses followed the group until the sale of the pane was ruled legal) ** Catalog #1610c Catalog Value $17,000 | Unsold |
