Inverted Jenny Returned To Owner
A very rare U.S. postage stamp known as the "Inverted Jenny" was formally handed over on Thursday to the Pennsylvania research library that owns it, six decades after it was stolen from a display case and feared to have been lost forever. The valuable 1918 stamp is one of a series featuring a Curtiss JN-4 biplane, nicknamed "Jenny," that were mistakenly printed upside down. The image of this stamp has made it one of the most recognized stamp among collectors and non-collectors alike.
Officials from the American Philatelic Research Library accepted the stamp from federal law enforcement officials during a ceremony at the World Stamp Show in New York City.
One dealer was quoted as saying it was a great day for stamp collecting. This particular dealer was instrumental in expediting the stamp's handover to its rightful owner. The famous stamp was one of four Jenny's stolen in 1955 when New York arts patron Ethel McCoy put them on display at a stamp show in Virginia. After her death, she had bequeathed their ownership to the Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Research Library.
Two of the other stolen Jenny's were recovered in the 1970s and1980s and were returned. Thursday's ceremony comes two days after another Inverted Jenny sold for about $1.18 million at auction. But the recently recovered stamp with a face value of 24 cents, is estimated to be worth a mere $200,000 because of its inferior condition, the library stated. The stamp was No. 76 on a sheet of only 100 Jenny's ever printed.
The stamp surfaced on April 1, 2016 in a consignment put up for sale at the auction firm Spink, the library said. It was then placed under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Kevin O'Neill, the man who consigned the stamp, had inherited it in his native Ireland as part of his grandfather's collection. He received $500,000 in reward money.
Library officials and other authorities said they would keep searching for the fourth stamp, which is still currently missing. The library stated that they were three quarters on the way to the recovery of the fourth missing stamp. Library officials had mostly given up hope of ever recovering any of the missing stamps.
Alfred Orcutt, 72, a retired New York school principal and a lifelong collector, stated that he was grateful to catch a glimpse of the stamp before it went back home. Seeing this stamp is one of the highlights of stamp collecting.
Officials from the American Philatelic Research Library accepted the stamp from federal law enforcement officials during a ceremony at the World Stamp Show in New York City.
One dealer was quoted as saying it was a great day for stamp collecting. This particular dealer was instrumental in expediting the stamp's handover to its rightful owner. The famous stamp was one of four Jenny's stolen in 1955 when New York arts patron Ethel McCoy put them on display at a stamp show in Virginia. After her death, she had bequeathed their ownership to the Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Research Library.
Two of the other stolen Jenny's were recovered in the 1970s and1980s and were returned. Thursday's ceremony comes two days after another Inverted Jenny sold for about $1.18 million at auction. But the recently recovered stamp with a face value of 24 cents, is estimated to be worth a mere $200,000 because of its inferior condition, the library stated. The stamp was No. 76 on a sheet of only 100 Jenny's ever printed.
The stamp surfaced on April 1, 2016 in a consignment put up for sale at the auction firm Spink, the library said. It was then placed under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Kevin O'Neill, the man who consigned the stamp, had inherited it in his native Ireland as part of his grandfather's collection. He received $500,000 in reward money.
Library officials and other authorities said they would keep searching for the fourth stamp, which is still currently missing. The library stated that they were three quarters on the way to the recovery of the fourth missing stamp. Library officials had mostly given up hope of ever recovering any of the missing stamps.
Alfred Orcutt, 72, a retired New York school principal and a lifelong collector, stated that he was grateful to catch a glimpse of the stamp before it went back home. Seeing this stamp is one of the highlights of stamp collecting.
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