1610c 1979 $1 Americana Series, Rush Lamp Invert, Certified. Mint NH OG VF/XF

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Item Specifics

Country

United States

Catalog Number

1610c

Stamp Type

General Issue

Condition

Mint (NH)

Centering

VF/XF

Stamp Format

Error

Year of Issue

1979

Item Description

This stamp is certified by American Philatelic Society as United States, Scott 1610c, unused, full original gum, Genuine. This stamp is centered VF/XF and is very rare!

Scott # 1610c – printed in 1979 as part of the Americana Series - $1 Rush Lamp Mint OG NH with spotless gum - see scans. Approximately 95 copies known. The Rush Lamp Invert is one of the most valuable U. S. Stamps.

The Rush Lamp INVERT is a one-dollar value postage stamp error issued by the United States Postal Service. It is one stamp from the Americana series that were produced between 1975 and 1981. The $1 colonial rush lamp holder stamp was first issued on July 2, 1979 and one pane of 100 stamps was issued with the dark brown (the last color printed, though it covers much of the stamp) inverted. The lamp candle holder, candle outline and text are inverted relative to the flame. About 95 copies have been accounted for.

The story of the stamp's discovery: Between 1975 and 1981, the Post Office released a series of Americana stamps, four of which depicted light sources. Of these, a $1 stamp depicting a colonial rush lamp and candle holder was printed as an invert on a single sheet of 100 stamps. In 1986, nine government agents who noticed the error, purchased the sheet with the 95 remaining stamps at the post office in Mclean, Virginia (the post office had unknowingly sold the other five to be used as everyday postage). The agents replaced the rare stamps with regular $1 issues, then sold a sheet with 85 of the inverted rush lamp stamps (plus one damaged stamp) to a collector for $25,000. Each of the agents kept one stamp for themselves. A scandal soon followed, and the agency demanded that the agents return the stamps or face termination (they had been purchased with taxpayer money, after all). Four agents returned their stamps, four quit or were terminated, and one agent claimed they had lost theirs and kept their job.

APS Member 191572, since July 1999. - Enjoy the Stamps!

Seller Information

Seller

globalbeau (8887)

Registered Since

07/02/2007

Feedback

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Store

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Item Location

Nevada, United States

Ships To

Worldwide

Returns Accepted

Yes

Returns Policy

Yes, 14 days for return. Buyer pays return postage.