1871 1c blue & black, Center Inverted, small faults, probably caused by herringbone cut cancel, unusually well centered, appears unused, cat. $750 (Cat No. R103a) (Image)

Cat. $750, Est.US$250

1871 2c blue & black, Center Inverted, manuscript cancel, usual centering, with 2007 PFC, rare complete sound invert (Scott catalogue value should probably be $6,000, as the cut cancel is listed at $3,500) cat. $2500 (Cat No. R104a) (Image)

Cat. $2500, Est.US$1,500

1871 5c blue & black, Center Inverted, manuscript cancel, nicely centered, small thin, otherwise fine, with 2011 PSAG certificate (Scott catalogue value should probably be $4,000, as the cut cancel is listed at $2,500) cat. $2000 (Cat No. R107a) (Image)

Cat. $2000, Est.US$500

1871 10c black & blue, Center Inverted, handstamped and with herringbone cut cancels, fresh colors, with 1978 PFC, ex-Baron du Plussis (catalogued as cut cancel) cat. $1250 (Cat No. R109a) (Image)

Cat. $1250, Est.US$250

1871 20c blue & black, Center Inverted, herringbone cut cancel which has been treated with some white filler in places where it breaks the paper, thin spot at right, well centered, v.f. appearance. Only thirteen singles and a pair have been recorded, of which only two are sound. A footnote in Scott states "R111a is valued in the grade of fine and with small faults, as almost all examples have faults". A rare invert, ex-Robert Hall collection (Siegel Auctions, Apr 2015, $6,000 hammer) cat. $4000 (Cat No. R111a) (Image)

Cat. $4000, Est.US$3,000

1871 25c blue & black, Center Inverted, 1872 manuscript cancel, well centered for issue, with three large margins, tiny thin speck at bottom, not mentioned on the accompanying 1983 PFC, which notes "genuine with the vignette faded", v.f. appearance of this rare invert, less than 18 (!) recorded, virtually all with faults or repairs, cat. $13000 (Cat No. R112a) (Image)

Cat. $13000, Est.US$3,500

1871 50c blue & black, Center Inverted, appears unused, minor wrinkles, fine, cat. $400 (Cat No. R115a) (Image)

Cat. $400, Est.US$250

1871 70c blue & black, Center Inverted, light 1871 datestamp in blue, herringbone cut cancels with some reinforcing, well centered, v.f. appearance for this scarce invert, only 27 examples recorded, ex-Curtiss collection (Siegel Auctions Dec 2014, $3,500 hammer) cat. $1750 (Cat No. R117a) (Image)

Cat. $1750, Est.US$750

1871 $1 blue & black, Center Inverted, 1872 manuscript cancel, centered to left, bright colors, tear at top, creases and large thins (having been removed from a document), fine appearance, with 2007 PFC, cat. $6000 (Cat No. R118a) (Image)

Cat. $6000, Est.US$1,000

1871 $5 blue & black, Center Inverted, "1872" manuscript cancel, well centered, bright colors, small tears at upper left and a tiny marginal thin at lower left, v.f. appearance of this scarce invert, especially well centered, with 2007 PFC, cat. $3750 (Cat No. R127a) (Image)

Cat. $3750, Est.US$1,000

1871 2c orange & black, Center Inverted, herringbone cut cancels, fresh and well centered stamp, looks unused, cat. $300 (Cat No. R135b) (Image)

Cat. $300, Est.US$200

1871 15c brown & black, Center Inverted, faint blue and cut cancels, rich colors, centered to bottom right as nearly always, fine example of this rare invert, only thirteen singles and one pair have been recorded, approximately half with cut cancels, nearly all have faults and most are centered to one corner, cat. $9000 (Cat No. R139a) (Image)

Cat. $9000, Est.US$3,000

1871 30c orange & black, Center Inverted, blue handstamp and cut cancel, small thin spot, well centered, fine appearance, with 1987 PFC, cat. $1750 (Cat No. R140a) (Image)

Cat. $1750, Est.US$500

1871 Third Issue, $1 green & black, Center Inverted, light cut cancels, minor creases, bright colors and v.f. appearance of this rare Third Issue $1 invert, only 27 recorded, most of which are with faults. The example offered here looks unused, with nice centering and with minimal faults. A wonderful U.S. Revenue rarity, ex Cunliffe and Curtiss collections (Siegel Auctions, Dec. 2014, $15,000 hammer) cat. $10000 (Cat No. R144a) (Image)

Cat. $10000, Est.US$5,000

1871-72 $2.50 claret and black, Center Inverted, 1872 manuscript cancel, fairly well centered with fresh color, small repair at right, still quite an acceptable copy of this rare invert of which there are only 15 recorded, with 1983 PFC, cat. $22500 (Cat No. R146a) (Image)

Cat. $22500, Est.US$10,000

1874 2c orange & black on green paper, Center Inverted, manuscript "1865" cancel, tiny thin spot, well centered, fine appearance, cat. $800 (Cat No. R151a) (Image)

Cat. $800, Est.US$300

1869 15c brown and blue, type II, Center Inverted, rich colors and proof-like impressions, rosette cancel struck towards top leaves, with vignette clearly visible, centered slightly to left but perfs are well clear all around, v.f. and attractive copy, with 2004 PFC. Only 103 used examples of the 15 cent 1869 Pictorial invert are recorded in the Siegel census. Of those, only 12 are confirmed to be sound, few with perforations clear all around. This example is considered to be one of the top four or five in existence. (Scott catalogue notes: "most examples of No. 119b are faulty. Values are for fine centered examples with only minimal faults), ex-Sagar, cat. $22500 (Cat No. 119b) (Image)

Cat. $22500, Est.US$15,000

1869 15c, 24c, 30c and 90c, Centers Inverted, four plate proofs on card, fresh bright colors, strong proof impressions and well balanced margins all around, v.f. set of the Pictorial Inverts on card, only 100 printed, with individual 2018 PFCs, cat. $11000 (Cat No. 120P4a-122P4a,129P4a) (Image)

Cat. $11000, Est.US$10,000

1869 24c green & violet, Center Inverted, light cork cancel and trace of a red transit pmk at upper left, leaving the entire design clearly visible, well centered, with excellent perforations all around, v.f. and completely sound example of the 24c Pictorial invert, easily one of the finest in existence, with 1988 and 2002 PFCs. The Siegel census of 24c 1869 Inverts, contains four unused, 83 used singles, one used pair, one on cover and the unique block of four, for a total of 94 copies. Of these, only five qualify as "centered" and of those four are either reperforated or have margins added. The stamp offered here is both sound and centered (Census No.120b-CAN-63), ex Cole, Koppersmith, McKinney and Natalee Grace (Siegel Auctions September 2012, $40,000 hammer) cat. $37500 (Cat No. 120b) (Image)

Cat. $37500, Est.US$30,000

1869 30c ultramarine & carmine, Flags Inverted, neat circle of V's and French Calais & Carmine, Flags Inverted (121b). Choice centering, radiant colors, crisp impression, neat circle of V's cancel and also French Calais transit cds, incredibly well centered, with large margins all around, especially wide at top and bottom, radiant colors, small margin repair at upper right which is barely noticeable. A splendid stamp, v.f. appearance, with 2010 PFC. The Siegel census of 30c 1869 Inverts contains a total of 47 stamps, including 7 unused and 40 used (one in the Miller collection owned by The New York Public Library and one used in the Tapling collection at the British Library). Most have faults to varying degrees. Of the examples available to collectors, only 13 are sound or potentially sound (six are based on decades-old descriptions and need to be re-examined for condition). The stamp offered here is one of five recorded "Wide-Space" examples (Census 121b-CAN-WS01), ex-McKinney, Gordon Eubanks (Siegel Auctions, Mar 2011, $55,000 hammer) cat. $90000 (Cat No. 121b) (Image)

Cat. $90000, Est.US$45,000

1901 1c green & black, Center Inverted, relatively l.h., unusually well centered for issue, fresh and v.f. example of this popular invert, with 2002 PFC and 2009 PSE certificates, cat. $12500 (Cat No. 294a) (Image)

Cat. $12500, Est.US$5,000

1901 1c green & black, Center Inverted, used, relatively light pmk, well centered, shallow thin spots, with 1971 and 2007 PFCs, fine appearance of the 1 Cent Pan-American Invert. Siegel census records 56 used examples, including 48 singles, a pair, 3 stamps on pieces and 3 stamps on separate covers (Census no. 294a-CAN-32), cat. $25000 (Cat No. 294a) (Image)

Cat. $25000, Est.US$5,000

1901 2c carmine & black, Center Inverted, unused with original gum, bright colors, centered to left, small thin and a corner crease at top left, fine appearance, with 1979 PFC. The 2c inverted Train is the rarest of the three Pan-American Inverts. About 200 were issued through the post office, with two distinct shades known. Siegel records an intact block (4), reconstructed block (4) and 64 unused singles for a total of 72 unused. There are also seven used singles. Many of the unused singles have disturbed gum or no gum, and/or are off center to top or top left, cat. $50000 (Cat No. 295a) (Image)

Cat. $50000, Est.US$15,000

1901 4c deep red brown & black, Center Inverted, unused with full original gum, h.r., incredibly bright and fresh colors, centered just slightly to the bottom, far better centering than most existing examples, superior quality, among the finest available, without the usual gum problems that plague this issue, with 1960 and 2009 PFCs. There were two sheets of 100 each of the 4c Pan-American with centers inverted intentionally made for Post Office records. An unknown number of these were overprinted "Specimen" and still others were destroyed. The unoverprinted examples were mounted in a Post Office Department book resulting in the vast majority of them having disturbed gum, and a number were also thinned in an effort to remove them from mounting paper. Very few exist today with completely undisturbed original gum and/or free of faults. This example is accompanied by a 1960 PFC which states the stamp has "disturbed gum". It is easy to agree with the written notations on the certificate by the legendary dealer Jack Molesworth who writes "Ridiculous comment, probably the most undisturbed gum of any copy known - most of which have gum missing, thinned, etc. from being stuck down." (the stamp was resubmitted to the Philatelic Foundation, which issued a certificate in 2009 "It is genuine, previously hinged" (the catalogue value in Scott is for examples that have "full original gum that is slightly disturbed.") (a comparable example recently fetched $60,000 hammer in the June Siegel auction) cat. $85000 (Cat No. 296a) (Image)

Cat. $85000, Est.US$50,000

1979 $1.00 Rush Lamp & Candle Holder, intaglio brown color inverted, n.h., v.f., with 2001 APS certificate. (The popular "CIA invert" is one of the most well known inverted color errors in United States collecting. These stamps were discovered by an on-duty CIA employee who teamed up with some colleagues to purchase the pane from a post office. Saving a copy each, the group later sold the bulk of the sheet to a prominent stamp dealer. News of the error reached CIA officials who sought to claim ownership and US Postal authorities who tried to recover the stamps. Official queries, threats, and even job losses followed the group until the sale of the pane was ruled legal. Of that pane of 100, only 93 reached collectors and did not include a plate block. Recently, a block of 20 from a second pane has emerged), ex-Sagar, cat. $17000 (Cat No. 1610c) (Image)

Cat. $17000, Est.US$12,000