It’s a topsy-turvy world, all right
[UPDATE: Prices realized added.] Inverted centers are among the most captivating stamp rarities, but data show they can perform unevenly at auction. I look at three in the next Cherrystone sale
[Updated on Thurs. 11 Aug with link to prices realized. Prices of individual lots in the text/captions.]
The next Cherrystone Auctions sale on Aug. 9-10 features a number of worldwide inverted-center errors, including some seldom seen ones. Each is known in fewer than 100 examples—in some cases a lot fewer. (By way of comparison, there are 100 examples of the famous Inverted Jenny, U.S. Scott C3a, in existence.) Yet some of the inverts offered by Cherrystone are priced at surprisingly affordable levels.
I’ll take a closer look at three of them here, recalling the stories each one tells and examining data on past sales at StampAuctionNetwork: Italy’s 1928 30-centesimi Emanuele Filiberto (Scott 203a) with full OG; Hungary’s 1921 5000-korona Madonna and Child (386a), unused; and Argentina’s 1899 5-peso Liberty Seated allegory (140a), also unused.
Emanuele Filiberto was Duke of Savoy, born in 1528. A relatively minor figure in Italian history, he was nonetheless important for reclaiming the ancestral lands of the House of Savoy from France and moving his capital to Turin. Later dukes also became kings of Sardinia, and Emanuele Filiberto’s descendant Victor Emanuel II would ascend to the throne of unified Italy in 1861. It was therefore only natural that on the 400th anniversary of his birth, a nation in the throes of a resurgent nationalism (Mussolini had seized power six years earlier) should choose to honor him in style, and for good measure, commemorate the 10th anniversary of the end of World War I too.
A set of ten was issued, with three different bi-color designs all depicting the Duke in a suit of armor (he was nicknamed “Testa di Ferro,” or Ironhead, for his exploits in battle). Two of the designs also show him on horseback, one with an Italian soldier of World War I, while the third, used on the 30c, shows him in a standing pose.
Like most letterpress designs of that era, only one color could be printed at a time. Two colors required two passes through the press; human error intervened, and one sheet of the 30c blue-green and red-brown went through upside-down on the second pass, creating an inverted vignette in relation to the frame.
Usually when such things happened, the offending sheet would be caught during inspection and destroyed before leaving the printers. Occasionally, a snafu slipped through. One bad sheet wound up at a post office counter in Bologna, where an unsuspecting postal customer bought it and proceeded to stick many of the stamps on a parcel. Used examples have been found with a variety of cancels including Bologna and Grosseto.
The error is listed as Scott 203a, valued at $67,500 mint (a value of $75,000 without gum is presumably a mistake); the Sassone catalog lists it as 228a and prices it unused with gum at an eye-popping €240,000.
I spoke on Friday with Josh Buchsbayew of Cherrystone. He believes there are no more than ten unused examples in existence, and only two of those with original gum, including the one currently offered (lot 8764). Used examples are somewhat more numerous and are valued lower by Scott and Sassone.
Records at StampAuctionNetwork show this is the third time Cherrystone has offered this stamp; it was previously offered in 2018 and 2006. Their opening bid is $28,000.
One of Hungary’s most famous error stamps, the 1921 5,000-korona Inverted Madonna and Child, also appears in the sale (lot 8712). This was a high-value definitive, issued after the restoration of the monarchy in Hungary following a brief sortie as a soviet republic in 1919—separation of church and state not being a recognized concept in Hungary at this time. The stamp’s four-digit denomination reflects the hyperinflation sweeping Austria, Germany, Poland and other Central European countries in 1921.
Like Italy’s Emanuele Filiberto issue, the 5,000k Madonna and Child is the only stamp in a set of ten to come with an inverted center; it is listed as Scott 386a (valued at $16,000) and Michel 379 I. Fewer than 100 examples are reported, and 38 of those, per Cherrystone, are in institutional collectors and therefore unavailable. Cherrystone’s starting bid is $9,500.
SAN shows this same example of the invert (which has a light crease) offered four times previously by Cherrystone between 2013 and 2018, the last three at the same bid as now. Although each one is marked “sold” in SAN’s records, logic would suggest that that is only a formal designation.
The last invert I’d like to discuss is the Argentine one. Part of a long definitive series using the same allegorical design of Liberty before a rising sun, this is one of four bi-colored high values—all of which are known with inverted centers. Like nearly all of Argentina’s 19th century issues, the printing method is line-engraved (intaglio). In this case, only one sheet of 50 had the center inverted. In spite of its scarcity, Scott 140a is valued unused at just $2,750.
That modest value compared to comparable inverted-center rarities from other countries is primarily a reflection of Argentina’s lack of popularity as a collecting area. This has been true for a long time, and I have to say it baffles me. Argentina’s stamps are as attractive and interesting as anyone else’s.
SAN data show this same example of the stamp (which is sound but has a hinge remnant) was sold in 2004 by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries for $1,150 plus buyer’s premium. Cherrystone has since offered it eight more times, including the present sale (lot 8116), with a starting bid progressively dropping from $1,800 to $1,300. Remember, this is for a stamp that’s twice as rare as an Inverted Jenny and arguably just as beautiful. The inescapable conclusion seems to be that indeed, practically nobody collects Argentina. Insert <shrug> emoji here 🤷♂️.
The following lot in the sale, by the way, consists of six other inverted center errors from Argentina’s 1910 Centenary of the Republic set (Scott 160a/173a), opening at $3,500. That seems like a pretty good deal.
I asked Josh whether there are still any collectors who focus on inverted centers of the world, and he said that there certainly are, although two of the biggest names in the field are no longer active. Many collectors have a personal price ceiling, he added, so demand for the rarer inverts, particularly once they reach a price level like Emanuele Filiberto’s, can be limited.
Cherrystone Auctions is based in Teaneck, NJ. Sale begins at 10am EDT on Aug. 9 and continues in four sessions over two days. Bidders can place their bids live online at Cherrystone’s web site or via StampAuctionNetwork here. Buyer’s premium is 15%. Pre-sale bidding ends before the sale; don’t wait until the last minute. Read the Terms and Conditions carefully and familiarize yourself with the bidding increments beforehand.