U.S. Inverts

When part of the design of a stamp appears upside down because of a printing mistake, it is called an invert.   Inverts are often very rare and valuable to collectors.  These are the nine varieties of United States inverts that have reached the public.
A printing mistake occasionally turns a common stamp into a highly prized trophy. The well-known 24-cent airmail stamp of 1918 is a famous example. An unused regular copy of the stamp is worth something less than $100 in today's market. A stamp of the same issue with an inverted center can be sold for one thousand times that price. Only one sheet of one hundred of these stamps, affectionately known as the Inverted Jenny, was sold. The lucky buyer was William T. Robey of Washington, D.C.
In 1869 a series of stamps was printed depicting American symbols and history. Three denominations of inverted stamps were mistakenly created during the production of this series. Inverts appeared in the 15-cent, 24-cent, and 30-cent issues.
Landing of Columbus - The 15-cent issue in a series of two-color stamps depicting American symbols and history. Only about ninety used and three unused copies are recorded from the 15-cent issue. The central design illustrates the Landing of Columbus, originally engraved by John Balch.  (1869)
Declaration of Independence - The 24-cent issue, after a painting by John Trumbull. Approximately seventy-seven used and four unused copies have been recorded from the 24-cent issue. The vignette shows The Declaration of Independence, 4 July 1776 at Philadelphia, originally painted by John Trumbull.(1869)
Shield, Eagle and Flags - The 30-cent is the rarest of the 1869 inverts.Only about thirty-six used and seven unused copies are recorded as still existing from the 30-cent issue. The central design of this stamp illustrates the American Eagle, Shield, and Flags, from a wash drawing by James Macdonough. (1869)
On May 1, 1901, a series of stamps went on sale that celebrated the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Just as in 1869, printing errors caused inverted stamps to appear in three issues of the series.
Fast Lake Navigation The first of three stamps in the Pan-American Exposition series which encountered printing errors that resulted in inverted centers. Approximately one thousand errors were printed of the one-cent issue. Most of the stamps in the set depict contemporary modes of transportation.
Fast Lake Navigation - This denomination shows the Great Lakes steamer City of Alpena. (1901)
Fast Express - Only 158 copies of the 2-cent Pan-American Expo error are known to exist. Only about 155 unused and three used copies are known to exist of the two-cent error from 1901. The illustration is believed to be locomotive #938 of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. (1901)
Automobile - The vignette of an electric automobile is inverted in the 4-cent. The Post Office Department deliberately printed one sheet of 400 inverts from the four-cent issue. Of those, 286 were distributed to dignitaries and others. The illustration is of one of the first electric automobiles. It is an enclosed coach or brougham used by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad as a bus in Washington, D.C.(1901)
Dag Hammarskjold - After a small number were discovered with the yellow background inverted, the Post Office intentionally reprinted the error, so that it is now worth little more than the rightside-up variety. (1962)
Colonial Rush Lamp and Candle Holder -The one-dollar Colonial Rush Lamp and Candle Holder stamp was first printed in 1979. In 1986 one hundred stamps with the inverted brown candleholder were sold to the public. Five of those stamps were presumed to have been used on mail, with the invert error going undetected. The remaining 95 were purchased by employees of the CIA. This stamp error soon became known as the "CIA invert." (1979)
Inverted Jenny -The most famous of U.S. stamps is the airmail "Inverted Jenny." (1918)
Inverted stamp errors are created when a sheet of stamps passes through more than one printing, usually to add another color. If, when the sheets are set up for the second pass, one sheet has been turned around while being moved, the frame or vignette will print upside down. In the case of the Inverted Jenny, the frame was printed first. When one sheet was inadvertently turned around when the center, or vignette, was printed, the image showed the plane appearing to be flying upside down. Read More!
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