| Pan-American invert | |
|---|---|
Inverted one cent denomination |
|
| Country of production | United States |
| Date of production | May 1, 1901 |
| Nature of rarity | Invert error |
| Face value | 1¢, 2¢ and 4¢ |
| Estimated value | US $$100,000[1] |
As part of the Pan-American Exposition held in Buffalo in 1901 the United States Post Office Department issued a series of six commemorative stamps. The stamps were issued with ornate colored frames enclosing a black-and-white image of various means of transportation. In the standard American Scott catalog, these six stamps carry the numbers 294-299. The first day of issue for the stamps was May 1, 1901.[1]
The two color printing left the possibility of errors. Three of the denominations, 1 cent, 2 cents and 4 cents, were printed in sheets on which the center vignette was inverted relative to the frame. The inverts carry the Scott catalog numbers 294a, 295a, and 296a respectively.[1]
The one cent invert is considerably more common than the others—still, the catalogue value of a set of all three inverts is estimated at $100,000[1] though one single stamp of each value was sold at auction in April 2009 for a total cost of $199,000 (respectively, $19,000; $90,000; $90,000).[2] and a block of four of each invert value realised $1,146,000 in the same auction ($21,000; $800,000; $325,000).[3]
In 2001, for the centenary of the inverts issue, the USPS produced a souvenir sheet which contained reproductions of the three original inverts, along four 80-cent stamps based on a souvenir stamp circulated at the original Pan-American Exposition.[4]