Jenny Booklet
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The Jenny Invert Plate-Number Block The Story Behind the World’s Greatest Stamp Rarity he Jenny Invert Plate-Number Block is America’s T greatest stamp rarity. It has always been the most sought-after and valuable of the six inverted Jenny blocks. It is the only plate-number block from the legendary 1918 24¢ airmail stamp error sheet, which makes it unique. Although the “upside-down airplane” stamps are among the most recognizable in the world, the unique Jenny Invert Plate-Number Block spent decades in relative seclusion and was rarely exhibited. Nearly 90 years after it first made headlines, America’s greatest stamp rarity was featured in headlines around the world. The Jenny Invert Plate-Number Block was auctioned for $2.97 million, a record amount for a U.S. philatelic item. Less than two weeks later, the legendary plate-number block attracted even greater attention. Television cameras rolled as philately’s elite gathered to watch the World’s Greatest Trade – the one-for-one exchange of America’s rarest stamp for America’s greatest stamp rarity. This is its story... Visit Mystic’s website at www.mysticstamp.com and click on the “Jenny Swap” tab for more information. Copyright 2006 Mystic Stamp Company, Inc. Don Sundman and Charles Shreve exchange stamps on November 2, 2005. The Greatest Trade in Philatelic History One-for-one Exchange of the 1868 1¢ Z Grill for the 1918 Jenny Invert Plate-Number Block The following article was written by Matthew Healey. It was published in the November 21, 2005 issue of Linn’s Stamp News and is reprinted here with permission. Less than two weeks after anonymously bidding nearly $3 million at public auction for the famed U.S. Jenny Invert Plate-Number Block, the new owner identified himself and traded the stamps away November 2. Bill Gross, well-known bond fund manager and collector of classic U.S. stamps, swapped the unique plate block of the 1918 24¢ airmail error with Donald Sundman, presi - dent of Mystic Stamp Company, in return for Sundman’s 1868 1¢ Z Grill stamp – the one stamp Gross needed to finish the most complete collection of classic 19th-century U.S. stamps ever assembled. The historic trade took place at the New York City offices of Shreves Phila - Mystic Stamp Company President Donald Sundman and brother Dave, President of telic Galleries. Littleton Coin Company, with the Jenny Invert Plate-Number Block. Charles Shreve, president of Shreves Philatelic Galleries, represented Gross. 3 “This was the world’s greatest trade,” said Sund - man, who purchased the nearly unique Z Grill stamp at auction in 1998 for $935,000, until now a record price for a single U.S. stamp. Sundman called his Z Grill “the Hope Diamond of Amer - ican philately and the key to Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Catalog for any collection. When we October 19, 2005. acquired it, it really reposi - Maynard Sundman reviews the sale catalog tioned our company – it after the trade. Sundman, 90, founded Littleton showed our buying power.” Stamp Co. in Littleton, N.H., in 1945. Littleton has served millions of stamp and coin collectors Sundman says he expects in the past 60 years. Mystic acquired Littleton’s the stamp to continue to stamp operations in the mid-1980s. increase in v alue as its true rarity is appreciated. He added, “The rarest American stamps are undervalued and still have room to grow in price because they’re symbols of U.S. culture.” The room was packed with three television crews, several reporters and numerous philatelic VIPs, some of whom, to judge from conversa - tions I overheard, had been underbidders at the Jenny Invert Plate-Num - ber Block auction as well as at the last Z Grill auction in 1998. “Envious” was a word I heard several times. The media attention, unusual for a stamp event, was an indication of the momentous nature of this trade. Tracy Shreve, co-owner of Shreves Philatelic Galleries, introduced her husband Charles Shreve, Donald Sundman, and Allen Kane, director of the Smithsonian Institution’s Nation - al Postal Museum, which will display both known examples of Mystic President Donald Sundman and the 1¢ Z Grill stamp in 2006. Charles Shreve interviewed after the trade. 4 After very brief speeches, The trade attracted media attention from around the world. Blockbuste r Stamp Swap Worth Millions – ABC News Stamp Collectors Make Blockbuster NY Trade Three television crews joined print Pakistan media reporters and an eager audience to witness the exchange. Times Pictured above are David Sundman ly Grail” (left), President Littleton Coin ands $3m “Ho Stamp Sale L Com pany and Wilson Hulme C NEWS (right), Curator National – BB Postal Museum. s Make hilatelist P rade Million T $3 dio Public Ra –National Swap Rare Stamps 2 Collectors Set to Shreve and Sundman smiled for photographers and ceremonially exchanged the stamps, together worth $6 million, which were encased in protective plastic. Sundman started collecting as a child. He recently recalled how his father Maynard Sundman would sit with him and his brother David on the porch of the family home and teach them how to put hinges on stamps. The senior Sundman started the Littleton Stamp Co., which is now the Littleton Coin Co., and run by David. Maynard Sundman, now 90, still goes to work there every day. Bill Gross, whose PIMCO firm manages assets worth $500 billion, is 5 by all reports a passionate stamp collector. He has been building his col - lection of classic U.S. stamps for more than 10 years and has won top international awards each time he exhibits it. In an exclusive interview with Linn’s in June 2005, Gross said that he views his stamps as a relaxing hobby but that he has them costed and entered in a spreadsheet. Charles Shreve, the stamp dealer and auctioneer who bought the Plate Block as an agent of Gross and then arranged the trade for the Z Grill stamp said, “Bill Gross is very interested in exhibiting competitively and will continue to do so. He is focused on the 1847 issue, and he is still interested in the largest known multiples of classic stamps whenever he can obtain them.” The Jenny Invert airmail error stamp is a legend beyond the world of stamp collecting. The blue-and-red stamp got its name from the Curtiss JN-4H biplane that was printed upside-down in error. Only one 100-stamp pane came into collectors hands, which makes the Plate-Number Block unique. With a long and illustrious history, the stamp’s fame has made it a symbol of the charm of pioneer airmail service. Sundman said Mystic, which has shown its 1¢ Z Grill stamp in its advertising for several years, would soon switch to using the Jenny Invert Plate-Number Block instead. The story of the 1¢ Z Grill stamp, though more obscure than the leg - end of the Jenny Invert, provides no less fascinating a window into the early days of American postal service. The federal government was concerned that people would try to reuse stamps after washing off the postmark ink on canceled stamps. To make this less likely, stamp printers experimented with pressing various waf - flelike rectangular grills into the stamp paper, to break the fibers and allow the canceling ink to be better absorbed. 6 Why I Traded America’s Rarest Stamp for the Unique Jenny Plate-Number Block. by Donald Sundman President Mystic Stamp Company I traded the 1¢ Z Grill for the Jenny Invert Plate-Number Block because it sounded like it would be fun. It was also the only way to guaran tee Mystic would own the two best U.S. stamp rarities. I loved buying, owning, and exhibiting the 1¢ Z Grill Mystic purchased in 1998. The 1¢ Z Grill is the rarest Moments after the trade and most valuable United States stamp. Although we buy, sell, and own other rare and wonderful stamps, few compare to the 1¢ Z Grill. In fact, the stamp is so famous and well known that dealers who had a fleeting connec - tion with the stamp twenty years ago still advertise their involvement. Mystic featured the 1¢ Z Grill in our marketing, and the stamp was our good-will ambassador at major stamp shows. From time to time collectors offered to buy the stamp. I rejected their offers because I consider the Z Grill to be the Hope diamond of stamps and a source of great pride for Mystic. Over the years Charles Shreve, President of Shreves Philatelic Galleries, said he might have some interest in the stamp if I would sell the Z Grill. It was the only stamp Mystic owned that was not for sale. In the fall of 2005, the stamp press reported the news that the owner of the unique Jenny Plate-Number Block would auction the block in Octo - ber. Mr. Shreve offered me a unique proposition – if his client acquired the Jenny Plate-Number Block, would I trade the Z Grill for it? The Jenny Plate-Number Block is a fantastic rarity. I first saw it at the 1976 International Stamp Exposition in Philadelphia. Every collec - tor and millions of non-collectors know the stamp, but few have seen the Plate-Number Block. It last sold at a 1989 Christie’s auction for $1.1 million to Kerby Confer, at the time the highest price paid for a philatel - ic object. Confer is a collector who knew the famous story and was drawn to the rarity, romance, and beauty of the Plate-Number Block .