U.S. # 4806d
2013 $2 Non-Inverted Jenny Error Sheet
- Only 100 sheets produced in “upright” position
- Issued for the opening of the National Postal Museum’s William H. Gross Stamp Gallery
- Printing plates created using the original 1918 #C3 die
Category of Stamp: Commemorative
Value: $2
First Day of Issue: September 22, 2013
First Day City: Washington, D.C.
Quantity Issued: 100
Printed by: Banknote Corporation of America Inc., for Sennett Security Products
Printing Method/Format: Intaglio / Offset printing in panes of 6 self-adhesive stamps
Perforations: Serpentine Die Cut 10 ½ x 11x ¼
Reason the stamp was issued: Issued to commemorate the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery at the National Postal Museum. Bill Gross is a prominent stamp collector who purchased the unique Jenny Invert Plate-Number Block from Mystic in 2005. In addition, a regular block of four Jenny Inverts is on permanent display at the National Postal Museum, courtesy of Mr. Gross.
About the stamp design:
The biplane pictured in the design is the famous JN-4-H “Jenny” modified by replacing the front cockpit with a mail compartment. The selvage artwork around the stamps pictures the National Postal Museum, aviation pioneer Reuben H. Fleet, a map of the first scheduled Air Mail route, and a compass rose.
About the printing process: This sheet was printed using plates created from the original 1918 dies. Both colors of ink were applied to the same printing plate, creating occasional bleeds between the red and blue sections of the stamp. To create the “Upright” sheets, a separate plate had to be created with the plane flipped upright.
First Day City: The first day ceremony was held on September 22nd 2013 at the National Postal Museum in Washington D.C. The souvenir sheets were issued in commemoration of the opening of the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, where a block of four Jenny Inverts is now on permanent display.
History the stamp represents:
The original 24¢ #C3 was issued on May 14th, 1918, to commemorate the start of airmail service in the United States. It was designed to show a JN-4-H “Jenny”, the biplane used to deliver mail. One of the sheets sold on its first day of issue mistakenly had the plane printed upside down. The “Jenny Invert” sheet quickly made history, and the 100 examples were eagerly sought after by collectors.
To commemorate the opening of the National Postal Museum’s William H. Gross Stamp Gallery in 2013, the U.S. Postal service issued a souvenir sheet of six $2 Jenny Inverts. The souvenir sheets were printed with the dies that created the original 1918 24¢ air mail stamp. The denomination was changed from 24¢ to $2 to differentiate the re-issued stamps from the originals.
Confusing many collectors, the Inverted Jenny souvenir sheets were sold in special cellophane wrappings. The reason behind this puzzling packaging was revealed shortly after their release. A collector from Ontario, Canada, made an astonishing discovery – an upright example of the sheet! It turned out that the USPS had secretly created 100 upright sheets and randomly distributed them across the country. The cellophane wrappers were used to prevent searching through the stock for the upright designs.
As time passed, all remaining unsold quantities of the $2.00 Inverted Jenny souvenir sheet, including the yet-undiscovered upright panes, were recalled and made exclusively available for online purchase through Stamp Fulfillment Services. Despite this, only 40 in upright position have been found and registered by postal customers. Mystic managed to obtain one such sheet in 2023, from a collector in Rome NY– just 30 minutes away from our headquarters!