Lot 381
1901, 4¢ Pan-American, center inverted (296a), fresh, bright and nicely centered, original gum, reperforated at right and tiny scuff below the "I" of "America" (neither mentioned in the earlier certificate); Fine appearance.
Scott $75,000
A MOST ATTRACTIVE ORIGINAL GUM EXAMPLE OF THE RAREST OF THE PAN-AMERICAN INVERTS.
Expertization: 1962 (clear) & 2011 PF Certificates.
The 4¢ Pan-American invert was not regularly issued but was instead created intentionally in a special printing of two sheets of 200. Of the 400 inverts printed, one sheet of 200 was handstamped with a small "Specimen" overprint, while another half-sheet (pane) of 100 was stuck onto a Post Office ledger sheet and retained in the postal archives. Of the 300 not retained by the post office, both with and without the "Specimen" overprint, a little over 100 were distributed by postal authorities to friends and dignitaries and the rest were destroyed. Sometime in the mid-1910s the Post Office exchanged 97 of the 100 copies in the archives for stamps that were needed for the government collection. These 97, since they had been stuck onto a ledger sheet, were nearly all thinned and/or had badly disturbed gum.
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| Realized $18,000 |
