1979 $1 tan, brown orange and yellow, brown inverted, block of four, n.h. and post office fresh, v.f., one of only three known blocks of four of this popular error, significantly undervalued given its rarity. Discovered in 1985, the CIA Invert was the first major inverted stamp in 66 years. The story began when an auctioneer specializing in U.S. error stamps announced the discovery (by a "business in northern Virginia") of 85 inverted 1979 $1 Rush Lamp stamps. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing launched an internal investigation and found that there were no indications of impropriety by its employees. It was discovered that an on-duty C.I.A. employee had purchased a partial sheet of 95 inverted stamps at a small post office near McLean, Virginia. When the office workers realized what they had, they pooled their money and substituted non-error $1 Rush Lamp stamps for the inverts. Each of the nine co-workers kept a stamp. The remaining 86 stamps, including one that was damaged, were quietly sold to the auctioneer. The story made headlines across the nation and was featured on every major television network. The CIA launched an ethics investigation and demanded that the co-workers surrender their inverts or face 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for conversion of government property for personal gain. Five employees returned their stamps, one claimed his had been lost, and three people resigned. The CIA donated the recovered inverts to the National Postal Museum, cat. $68000 (Cat No. 1610C) (Image)

Cat. $68000, Est.$60,000

1991 $10.75 Space Shuttle Endeavour, pane of 20 with dramatic perf shifts, n.h., v.f. and striking variety (a similar lot brought $1,900 in our January 2020 sale) (Cat No. 2544Avar) (Image)

Est.$1,000

1991 $10.75 Space Shuttle Endeavour, imperf. upper right sheet margin horizontal pair, n.h., v.f., Scott unlisted (a similar pair brought $2,100 in our January 2020 sale) (Cat No. 2544Avar) (Image)

Est.$1,000

1991 $3 Space Shuttle Challenger, imperf. right sheet margin horizontal pair, n.h., v.f. (a similar pair brought $900 in our January 2020 sale) cat. $800 (Cat No. 2544d) (Image)

Cat. $800, Est.$500

1992 Eagle and Shield only, large model printed directly on card, with some penciled additions, edge toning, otherwise v.f. (Cat No. 2595P) (Image)

Est.$500

1992 Eagle and Shield only, large die proof on india, card mounted, shield and other details unfinished (Cat No. 2595P) (Image)

Est.$500

1992 Eagle and Shield only, three different stage proofs on india, some toning, rare (Cat No. 2595P) (Image)

Est.$500

1993 "For Testing Purposes Only" (red), 10 unexploded booklets of 18 self adhesive labels each, v.f., cat. $2500 (Cat No. Tdb 92a) (Image)

Cat. $2500, Est.$350

1994 Louis Armstrong, 32c black, imperforate horizontal sheet margin USPS imprint pair, n.h., v.f. (Cat No. 2982P) (Image)

Est.$250

1994 Louis Armstrong, 32c black, imperforate upper left sheet corner margin Plate No. block of four, n.h., v.f. (Cat No. 2982P) (Image)

Est.$500

1995 Milton Hershey, 32c die proof on gummed paper, guide-line markings on all sides, faint impression of date at right, scotch taped on top, v.f. (Cat No. 2933P) (Image)

Est.$500

1995 32c Florida, imperforate sheet margin horizontal pair, n.h., v.f., unlisted in Scott (Cat No. 2950var) (Image)

Est.$250

1995 32c Florida, imperforate vertical pair, n.h., v.f., unlisted in Scott (Cat No. 2950var) (Image)

Est.$250

1995 Christmas, 29c blue imperf. pair missing most colors, n.h., v.f. (Cat No. 2972P) (Image)

Est.$150

1995 32c Woman Suffrage, imperf. sheet margin USPS imprint horizontal pair, n.h., v.f., cat. $750 (Cat No. 2980b) (Image)

Cat. $750, Est.$200

1995 150th Anniversary of the Naval Academy, 32c imperf. sheet margin part imprint horizontal pair, n.h., v.f., unlisted in Scott (Cat No. 3001var) (Image)

Est.$250

1995 150th Anniversary of the Naval Academy, 32c imperf. upper left sheet corner margin block of four, n.h., v.f., unlisted in Scott (Cat No. 3001var) (Image)

Est.$500

1995 Iowa, 32c blue, imperforate horizontal pair, n.h., v.f. (Cat No. 3088P) (Image)

Est.$150

1995 Iowa, 32c blue, imperforate upper right sheet corner margin Plate No. block of four, n.h., v.f. (Cat No. 3088P) (Image)

Est.$500

1996 32c Olympic Centennial, pane of 20 misperforated to right, missing letters and into the Olympic Rings, with normal pane included for comparison, n.h., v.f. (Cat No. 3087var) (Image)

Est.$150

1996 Big Band Leaders, imperf. se-tenant pane of 20, n.h., v.f., unlisted in Scott (a similar pane brought $3,750 in our January 2020 sale) (Cat No. 3099avar) (Image)

Est.$2,500

1997 Thornton Wilder, 32c right margin pane of 20, completely misperforated both horizontally and vertically, n.h., v.f. (Cat No. 3134var) (Image)

Est.$150

1997 The World of Dinosaurs, se-tenant sheet of 15, bottom seven stamps imperforate, n.h., v.f. (a similar pane brought $1,600 in our January 2020 sale) cat. $2500 (Cat No. 3136p) (Image)

Cat. $2500, Est.$1,000

1997 The World of Dinosaurs, se-tenant sheet of 15, top eight stamps imperforate, n.h., v.f. (a similar sheet brought $2,000 in our January 2020 sale) cat. $2500 (Cat No. 3136q) (Image)

Cat. $2500, Est.$1,000

1997 The World of Dinosaurs, complete imperforate se-tenant sheet of 15, v.f., unlisted in Scott (a similar sheet brought $4,250 in our January 2020 sale) (Cat No. 3136var) (Image)

Est.$3,000