CIA invert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| CIA invert | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Country of production | United States |
| Location of production | |
| Date of production | 2 July 1979 |
| Nature of rarity | Invert error |
| Estimated existence | 100 |
| Face value | US $1.00 |
| Estimated value | US $15,000 |
The CIA invert is a one-dollar value postage stamp error issued by the United States Postal Service. It is one stamp from the Americana series that were produced between 1975 and 1981. The $1 colonial rush lamp candle holder stamp was first issued on July 2, 1979 and one sheet of 100 stamps was issued with the black (the last color printed, though it covers much of the stamp) inverted. The lamp candle holder and text are inverted relative to the flame. About 95 copies have been accounted for. The Scott catalogue number is: 1610c. This was the first United States stamp issued with a major design element printed upside down since the Inverted Jenny in 1918.
One sheet of stamps was bought by a CIA employee who had been sent to the post office to buy some stamps. After the involved employees saved one each, the remainder were sold to a stamp dealer. The Government attempted to reclaim them, but was not successful because they had been legally purchased from a post office clerk.[1][2]
The stamps catalogs for only $15,000; one tenth of the Inverted Jenny that is valued at $150,000 yet only about the same number of each stamp exist. A block-of-four stamps sold in 2004 for $60,000.[3] Recently reproductions have been sold on eBay.
