United States & Worldwide Stamps

1909 1c dark green and black, Center Inverted and ﾓCanal Zoneﾔ reading down, a magnificent used example of one of the most famous of all of the Canal Zone errors, only four copies (all used), exist (the first example of this error was discovered in 1932 (23 years after issue) by George W. Wirth, who removed it from a postcard sent by a gentleman to his sister. The second example (with clipped perforations at left) was found in the 1950s. A third (badly defective) copy turned up in 1969). The example offered here, the last of the four known, was discovered in 1979 and is by far the best centered of the four. It is on bright paper, with deep rich color, with violet Cristobal cds. The perforations at right are scissor separated, typical of the handmade booklet panes, which is also a trait of the other three examples, making it likely that the error sheet was produced in this way. A faint crease, not mentioned on the accompanying 2004 Philatelic Foundation certificate, does not detract from this most attractive and very fine example of this world-class inverted center rarity; ex-Helme collection -
Estimate price: $18000-20000