Inverted Jenny Stamp Value & Price Guide (2026)

U.S. Postal Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

On May 10, 1918, a Washington D.C. stockbroker named William T. Robey walked into a post office to buy the brand-new 24-cent airmail stamps. He noticed something strange. On every stamp in his sheet, the Curtiss JN-4 airplane - the famous "Jenny" - was printed upside down. He bought the entire sheet for $24. That single sheet of 100 stamps is now worth tens of millions of dollars, and individual copies regularly sell for over $1 million.

Quick Value Summary


Item	Inverted Jenny (Scott #C3a)
Year	1918
Category	Stamps - U.S. Airmail
Denomination	24 cents
Total Known	100 (one sheet)
Condition Range
Good (heavy cancel, faults)	$126,000 – $575,100
Fine	$977,500 – $1,351,250
Very Fine	$1,593,000 – $2,006,000
Superb / Near Mint	$2,006,000+
Record Sale	$2,006,000 (November 2023, Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries)
Rarity	Extremely Rare - only 100 ever existed

The Story

The United States launched its first airmail service on May 15, 1918. Five days before that inaugural flight, the Post Office released a special 24-cent stamp to cover the new airmail rate. The stamp featured a Curtiss JN-4 - the "Jenny," the workhorse biplane of World War I - printed in blue at the center of a red frame.

Here's where things went wrong. The stamp required two separate printing passes - one for the red frame, one for the blue airplane. During at least one run, a sheet was fed into the press upside down. The result: 100 stamps with the Jenny flying belly-up. Only one sheet made it past quality control. William Robey spotted it, bought it, and within days sold the entire sheet to a dealer named Eugene Klein for $15,000. Klein sold it to the legendary collector Colonel Edward H.R. Green, who broke the sheet apart to sell stamps individually.

Today, of the original 100 stamps, the whereabouts of about 20 remain unknown. Some were stolen - including one that was recovered in 2016 by the Philatelic Foundation after being missing since 1955. The rest are scattered among museums, private collections, and auction houses. When one surfaces, it makes headlines.

How to Identify It

Key Visual Markers

Red frame with "U.S. POSTAGE" at top and "24 CENTS 24" at bottom
Blue Curtiss JN-4 airplane printed upside down in the center
Size: Standard U.S. stamp dimensions of the era
Perforated edges (perf 11)

What You're Really Looking At

If you think you have an Inverted Jenny, take a breath. The normal version of this stamp (Scott #C3) has the airplane right-side up and is worth $50 to $350 depending on condition. The invert has the airplane clearly upside down - the wheels are at the top of the vignette.

Position Numbers

Each stamp's position on the original sheet of 100 has been cataloged. Position numbers affect value - corner and edge positions, and those with plate numbers, command premiums. Position 49 sold for $1,593,000 in 2018.

The 2013 Intentional "Error"

In 2013, the USPS issued a new $2 Inverted Jenny stamp to honor the original. They intentionally printed some sheets with the airplane right-side up (making that the error on the commemorative). Don't confuse these modern stamps with the 1918 original.

Value by Condition

The Inverted Jenny's value depends on centering, gum condition, cancellation status, and overall preservation. Because only 100 exist, every copy is tracked individually.

Used / Cancelled Examples

Most surviving copies were used on mail before the error was widely recognized. Heavily cancelled copies with faults (thins, creases, tears) still sell for $126,000 to $575,000. Even a damaged Inverted Jenny is one of the most valuable stamps in the world.

Fine Condition

Copies with decent centering, intact perforations, and no major faults range from $977,500 to $1,351,250. A stamp graded XF-Superb 95 sold for $1,351,250 at Siegel Auction in May 2016.

Very Fine to Superb

The finest examples push past $1.5 million. In November 2018, one sold for $1,593,000 at Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries. The current record is $2,006,000, set in November 2023 at the same auction house.

Blocks and Plate Blocks

Multiple-stamp pieces command extraordinary premiums. The plate block of four - the most famous Jenny Invert piece - has sold for up to $4.8 million (see our 1918 Jenny Plate Block page for details).

Authentication & Fakes

How Common Are Fakes?

Surprisingly common. The normal C3 stamp is readily available, and altering one to look inverted is tempting given the million-dollar payoff. Forgers have tried everything from re-gumming to creating entirely fake stamps.

Red Flags

Inverted frame vs. inverted vignette: Genuine copies have the blue airplane inverted relative to the red frame. Some fakes invert the frame instead - the proportions and registration will be slightly off.
Paper and gum: The original 1918 paper and gum have specific characteristics that age in predictable ways. Modern reproductions fail under UV light.
Perforation gauge: Must be perf 11. Incorrect gauge is an instant disqualifier.

Professional Authentication Is Non-Negotiable

Any potential Inverted Jenny must be authenticated by the Philatelic Foundation or the American Philatelic Expertizing Service (APEX). Given that individual copies are worth over $1 million, the authentication fee is trivial. Every known copy has a documented provenance - a stamp without one should be treated with extreme skepticism.

Where to Sell

There's really only one answer: Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries. They've handled the majority of Inverted Jenny sales, including the record-setting $2,006,000 sale in 2023. Their buyer network for elite philatelic material is unmatched.

Sotheby's and Christie's occasionally handle high-profile stamp sales, but Siegel is the specialist.

Do not attempt to sell an Inverted Jenny through eBay, a local stamp dealer, or any general marketplace. This is a museum-caliber item that requires a specialist.

Not sure if your old stamps include something valuable? Upload a photo to Curio Comp for a free AI estimate. Upload a photo →

Common Questions

How much is an Inverted Jenny stamp worth?

Individual Inverted Jenny stamps sell for $126,000 to over $2,000,000 depending on condition. The record sale was $2,006,000 in November 2023 at Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries. Even damaged copies sell for six figures.

How many Inverted Jenny stamps exist?

Exactly 100 were printed on a single sheet. Of those, roughly 80 have been accounted for over the past century. About 20 remain missing - lost, destroyed, or hidden in collections whose owners don't realize what they have.

Why is the Inverted Jenny so valuable?

Three reasons: it's a genuine printing error (only one sheet slipped through), it's tied to a historic moment (the birth of U.S. airmail), and it has over a century of collecting history and provenance. The combination of rarity, story, and prestige makes it the most famous stamp error in the world.

Could I find an Inverted Jenny in an old collection?

It's extraordinarily unlikely but not impossible. About 20 copies have unknown whereabouts. One stolen copy resurfaced in 2016 after being missing for over 60 years. If you find a 24-cent airmail stamp from 1918 with an upside-down airplane, get it authenticated immediately.

What's the difference between an Inverted Jenny and a Jenny Plate Block?

An Inverted Jenny is a single stamp. The Jenny Plate Block is a group of stamps still attached, including the plate number in the margin - the most valuable configuration. The plate block has sold for up to $4.8 million. Learn more about the Jenny Plate Block →