Some stamp collectors were hoping for a blowout auction of a rare Inverted Jenny stamp lot. It costs millions of dollars to own an example of the famous Inverted Jenny stamp. The June 8, 2021 auction in New York from Sotheby’s had been given a pre-auction estimate of $5 million to $7 million. It was set to eclipse a prior record for an American philatelic item and it seems hard to count this as a disappointing sale.

What was unique about this particular Inverted Jenny is that this was not just one stamp and it was not owned by just any stamp collector. This was a 4-stamp plate block and it was owned by fashion mogul Stuart Weitzman. It had also once previously been owned by the well known financial manager Bill Gross, also formerly known as “The Bond King” up until recent years.

Some auction houses are disappointed if an auction comes in at the low-end of a range, and some owners are disappointed if the auction item comes in under the range. As for the Inverted Jenny, the gavel price was just under the estimated range at $4.86 million.

The Inverted Jenny is one of the most recognized high-end stamps in the philately world. Recognizing and commemorating the error, the United States postal service celebrated the iconic sheet of stamps by reprinting and releasing a modern edition of them.

This one-of-a-kind example of the Inverted Jenny is the largest uncut section left from the original sheet of stamps. Popularity aside, Stuart Weitzman had indicated that this auction’s three prized items would be used to fund philanthropic efforts ahead.

Sotheby’s had previously listed the provenance of the stamp sheet for more than 100 years. This went from 1918 to the present date, as follows:

• William T. Robey (1918, the purchaser of the original sheet);
• Eugene Klein (1918, who numbered each stamp lightly in pencil);
• Colonel Edward H. R. Green (1918-1944);
• Amos R. Eno (1944-1954);
• Benjamin D. Phillips (1954-1968);
• The Weill Brothers (1954-1989, the block was purportedly sold and repurchased at least once during this period);
• Hambros Bank (1989);
• Kerby Confer (1989-2005);
• William H. Gross (2005);
• Donald Sundman, Mystic Stamp Company (2005-2014);
• Stuart Weitzman (2014-2021)