The Maitland Collection of U.S. Stamps and Inverted Centers of the World
October 29-30, 2024
We are pleased to present two outstanding sales from the Maitland Collection - United States Stamps and Inverted Centers of the World. The focus on the United States Collection is on items typically missing from conventional collections, most notably Re-Issues, Special Printings, rare Coils, Postage Dues and of course the Inverted Jenny (which is offered in the Inverted Centers sale). Some additional highlights include a sound unused Indian Red, Grills, Bluish Papers complete, imperf. 5c in 2c block, "Fast", "Slow" and "Grounded" Jennies, and more.
The Maitland Collection of Inverted Centers of the World brings these striking errors and some of their stories to light. The United States showing is apparently complete, with 1869 Pictorials, 1901 Pan-Americans, Internal Revenues and the more modern CIA and Stock Exchange inverts. Rounding the group is the Inverted Jenny, one of the three stamps recovered from the infamous "McCoy" block. Stolen from the APS Convention in 1955, the Maitland copy is position 75, its fascinating story available at https://invertedjenny.com/position/75.
The collection continues with major rarities from Central and South America, better Canal Zone, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Peru and Uruguay.
European Countries feature the three Inverted Parliament Building errors from Austria, Inverted Madonna from Hungary, Bulgaria 50st, Athens Academy from Greece, Italian Filiberto and Postage Dues, as well as Italian Colonies, 1956 Poland 20gr Boxer, a splendid group of Imperial Russia and Spain.
The British Commonwealth is highlighted by Canadian Revenues, St. Lawrence Seaway, multiple examples of the Truro School, plus Patricia Airways. Jamaica, Labuan, New Zealand, Cook Islands, South Australia and Tonga.
Not to be overlooked, there are inverts from Belgian Congo, French Colonies, Liberia, excellent Iran and others.
These sales will take place live via CherrystoneLIVE.
| Images | Description | Current Bid |
 | Lot #2501 United States 1869 Pictorials Inverts 1869 15c brown and blue, type II, Center Inverted, rich colors and proof-like impressions, rosette cancel struck towards top leaves, with vignette clearly visible, centered slightly to left but perfs are well clear all around, v.f. and attractive copy, with 2004 PFC. Only 103 used examples of the 15 cent 1869 Pictorial invert are recorded in the Siegel census. Of those, only 12 are confirmed to be sound, few with perforations clear all around. This example is considered to be one of the top four or five in existence. (Scott catalogue notes: "most examples of No. 119b are faulty. Values are for fine centered examples with only minimal faults), ex-Sagar, O Catalog #119b Catalog Value $22,500 | Price Realized $15,000.00 |
 | Lot #2502 United States 1869 Pictorials Inverts 1869 15c, 24c, 30c and 90c, Centers Inverted, four plate proofs on card, fresh bright colors, strong proof impressions and well balanced margins all around, v.f. set of the Pictorial Inverts on card, only 100 printed, with individual 2018 PFCs, P Catalog #120P4a-122P4a,129P4a Catalog Value $11,000 | Price Realized $9,500.00 |
 | Lot #2503 United States 1869 Pictorials Inverts 1869 24c green & violet, Center Inverted, light cork cancel and trace of a red transit pmk at upper left, leaving the entire design clearly visible, well centered, with excellent perforations all around, v.f. and completely sound example of the 24c Pictorial invert, easily one of the finest in existence, with 1988 and 2002 PFCs. The Siegel census of 24c 1869 Inverts, contains four unused, 83 used singles, one used pair, one on cover and the unique block of four, for a total of 94 copies. Of these, only five qualify as "centered" and of those four are either reperforated or have margins added. The stamp offered here is both sound and centered (Census No.120b-CAN-63), ex Cole, Koppersmith, McKinney and Natalee Grace (Siegel Auctions September 2012, $40,000 hammer) O Catalog #120b Catalog Value $37,500 | Price Realized $29,000.00 |
 | Lot #2504 United States 1869 Pictorials Inverts 1869 30c ultramarine & carmine, Flags Inverted, neat circle of V's and French Calais & Carmine, Flags Inverted (121b). Choice centering, radiant colors, crisp impression, neat circle of V's cancel and also French Calais transit cds, incredibly well centered, with large margins all around, especially wide at top and bottom, radiant colors, small margin repair at upper right which is barely noticeable. A splendid stamp, v.f. appearance, with 2010 PFC. The Siegel census of 30c 1869 Inverts contains a total of 47 stamps, including 7 unused and 40 used (one in the Miller collection owned by The New York Public Library and one used in the Tapling collection at the British Library). Most have faults to varying degrees. Of the examples available to collectors, only 13 are sound or potentially sound (six are based on decades-old descriptions and need to be re-examined for condition). The stamp offered here is one of five recorded "Wide-Space" examples (Census 121b-CAN-WS01), ex-McKinney, Gordon Eubanks (Siegel Auctions, Mar 2011, $55,000 hammer) O Catalog #121b Catalog Value $90,000 | Price Realized $45,000.00 |
