2001 US 34-Cent Inverted Jenny Reprint (Scott #3505a)
The 1918 24-cent Inverted Jenny is the most famous stamp error in American philatelic history: a single pane of 100 stamps printed with the biplane image upside down, now worth millions of dollars per individual stamp. In 2001, the United States Postal Service honored the Inverted Jenny's legacy with an authorized reprint for the Ameristamp Expo philatelic event, creating Scott #3505a. This modern tribute stamp gives collectors a chance to own a legal, high-quality representation of the famous error at a fraction of the cost of the original.
The Original Inverted Jenny
The 1918 24-cent airmail stamp depicted a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny biplane, printed in two separate operations: the frame (in red) and the center image (in blue). A single sheet of 100 stamps was printed with the center image inverted, creating the famous error. William T. Robey purchased the sheet at a Washington, DC post office for $24 and later sold it for $15,000. The 100 stamps have been tracked individually for over a century, and single examples now sell for over $1 million.
Scott #3505a: The 2001 Reprint
The USPS issued Scott #3505 (the standard version) and #3505a (the inverted Jenny version) for the Ameristamp Expo in 2001 in Anaheim, California. The souvenir sheet contains a pane of stamps.
The reprint was deliberately created as a tribute rather than a reproduction, with the 34-cent face value (current first-class rate in 2001), and the specific packaging format marking it as a commemorative issue rather than a functional airmail stamp.
Key details of Scott #3505a:
Scott catalog number: #3505a
Year of issue: 2001
Face value: 34 cents (2001 first-class rate)
Format: Souvenir sheet
Occasion: Ameristamp Expo 2001, Anaheim, California
Collecting Significance
Scott #3505a appeals to several collector categories:
Inverted Jenny tribute collectors: Anyone building a comprehensive collection related to the 1918 error collects the modern reprint as part of the Jenny's philatelic family.
First-day cover collectors: The Ameristamp Expo date provides a specific first-day cancel, and cacheted first-day covers were produced for this issue.
Modern US commemorative collectors: The 2001 stamp program included various commemorative issues, and #3505a is part of a complete yearly collection.
Error and variety collectors: The deliberate invert in a modern stamp is a specific collecting category.
Value Guide
| Condition | Estimated Value |
|---|---|
| MNH single from sheet | $3-$8 |
| MNH souvenir sheet | $10-$25 |
| Used | $1-$4 |
| First Day Cover | $5-$15 |
| Error variety (uninverted from this issue) | Varies by documentation |
The Scott catalog value for this stamp is modest, reflecting its modern commemorative status and the large quantities issued. The original 1918 Inverted Jenny it honors is worth 50,000 times more; the reprint is accessible to virtually every collector.
The Inverted Jenny Legacy
The 1918 Inverted Jenny is one of the few stamps known by name to people who have never collected stamps. Its combination of dramatic error, extreme rarity, and the detective-story tracking of each individual stamp through a century of collecting has made it a cultural touchstone. The 2001 tribute stamp is the USPS acknowledging that legacy while making the image accessible to contemporary collectors.
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