Two Invert Blocks

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

I have already discussed in this group the Inverted Jenny, this single sheet of American 24 cent stamps showing an aircraft whose image had been reversed by mistake from the text in 1918.

I discussed also about blocks, these artefacts which are especially popular with philatelists. Interviewed by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, the collector Alan Whitman explains why: Once separated, a block is lost forever for philatelists, who are therefore proud to contribute to their preservation.

Two prestigious blocks of four stamps with inverted centers are coming in the second sale of the Whitman collection, organized by Siegel in New York on April 14 and 15: a 2-cent showing a steam train and a 4-cent showing a mailcoach. Both stamps are part of the Pan American series of 1901.

Source for the above: The Siegel Despatch, Copyright © 2009 by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, Inc.

Wikipedia knows this inverted variant of 1901, and assesses the value of a single stamp between 30 and 50 K $. Of course, the value of the two blocks described above will be much higher.

It is difficult to decide whether it is really an error or an unauthorized test conducted by a manager of the United States Post Office Department.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

All conditions were met for these two blocks reaching top results. At this price level, it is the buyer who decides what is the most outstanding object. Ratings gave a slight advantage to the 4c, but the result is inverted (!):
$ 800 K for the block of 2c; $ 325 K for the block of 4c.
These prices are before fees.