Stolen inverted Jenny stamp
An “inverted Jenny” stamp stolen in 1955 surfaced this month at a New York auction house. The auctioneer, Spink USA, says it was submitted by someone who had inherited it.
According to NPR, the Bellefonte, Pennsylvania-based American Philatelic Research Library was given title to the stamp decades ago and is working with Spink USA and legal authorities to reclaim it.
The 1918 stamp features an airplane printed upside-down. It’s considered America’s most famous stamp.
“It’s one of the most notorious crimes in philatelic history, and there’s a piece of the puzzle now that’s in place,” said Scott English, the administrator of the American Philatelic Research Library, according to The Associated Press.
The prospective consigner hasn’t been publicly identified. It’s unclear whether the person had any idea it was one of four Jennys taken from a 1955 stamp convention.
Two others were recovered in the 1980s and ’70s.
The 24-cent stamps fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars today.
