It was in 2005 that Charles Hack, a New Yorker made a good deal of fortune from property and invested the same in owing antique master paintings and Renaissance sculpture. Lately, Hack added another laurel to his name by purchasing a 24-cent American airmail stamp issued in 1918 for $977,500 (including auction house commission). Insane! No he is not as this was a rare stamp that reached the auction block due to its erroneous nature. Identified as the Inverted Jenny, the stamp became popular as a Curtiss JN-4, an airplane designed in the center was printed upside-down.
Counted 100 such misprints exist. Mr. Hack made the highest bid of $977,500 after beating the last bid for $850,000 at the Siegel Auction Galleries in New York City. The very deal substantiates the ongoing trend of owing a gamut of high-end collectibles. During last week, a compilation of American pattern coins – rare samples exhibited proposed designs and the first U.S in 1792 was traded for $30 million between an unnamed buyer and seller.
Via NYT