U.S. & Worldwide Stamps & Postal History

1979 $1.00 Rush Lamp & Candle Holder, intaglio brown color inverted, n.h., v.f. 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 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. Because the number of existing CIA inverts approximately equals the number of existing Inverted Jennies (examples of C3a regularly bring six-figure sums at auction), it may be said that current values for 1610c are far too low. This exceptional copy is accompanied by a 2014 PFC graded "XF 90",
Cat. Val. $17,000
Estimate: $15000