Curtiss JN-4 'Jenny' Inverted Center Airmail Stamp

United States · 1918 · 24 Cents

This iconic stamp features a blue vignette of a Curtiss JN-4 'Jenny' biplane, the primary mail-carrying aircraft of the era, framed in carmine rose. It is most famous for the rare and valuable error version where the blue airplane vignette was accidentally printed upside down. The stamp was issued to pay the rate for the first scheduled airmail service in the United States.

Issued on May 13, 1918, this stamp inaugurated the first regular airmail route in the U.S., flying between Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City. The inverted error is arguably the most famous and sought-after error in all of American philately.