Dag Hammarskjöld invert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dag Hammarskjöld invert | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country of production | United States |
| Location of production | |
| Date of production | 23 October 1962 |
| Nature of rarity | Invert error |
| Estimated existence | 40,270,000 |
| Face value | 4-cents US$ |
| Estimated value | US$ 0.50 |
The Dag Hammarskjöld invert is a 4-cent value postage stamp error issued on 23 October 1962 by the United States Postal Service one year after the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in an airplane crash. The stamp, showing the yellow background inverted relative to the image and text, is also known as the Day's Folly after J. Edward Day Postmaster General who ordered the intentional reprinting of the yellow invert commenting; The Post Office Department is not running a jackpot operation.
The reprint was in effect a deliberate error produced by the USPS to avoid creating a rarity. It was decided to reprint 40 million of the inverted stamps after the discovery of the error so there would be no rarity factor in the inverted stamp and to prevent people profiting from the Postal Service's mistake.[1] The reprints were issued to the public on 16 November and described as a Special Printing.[2]
The black, brown and yellow commemorative stamp with yellow background correctly printed has a Scott catalogue number of 1203 but the inverted error is numbered 1204. The catalogue value of the invert is worth little more than the normal. The stamp, printed on Giori press in plates of 200, was designed by Herbert Sanborn and engraved by C. A. Brooks. 121,440,00 normal stamps were printed and 40,270,000 of the inverted reprint were produced.[3] It has not been recorded how many original invert stamps were produced and it is virtually impossible to tell a reprint from an original unless it has a clear early date, but an invert error on a first day cover, proving that stamp was from the original printing and not from the reprint, was sold in 2005 for US $3,500.
[edit] Sources
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- First Day cover with invert error Robert Siegel 2005 Rarities of the World auction
- I is for invert
- Mystic Stamp Company catalog page
