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US: Inverted stamp collection sells for more than $US5 million


20 Jun 2009 12:17 PM

NEW YORK, June 19 AP - A collection of more than 3,000 inverted stamps has sold at auction in New York for more than $US5 million ($A6.25 million).

The two-day auction by Spink Shreves Galleries ended on Friday.

The collection was amassed by Pittsburgh stockbroker Robert H. Cunliffe, who died last year.

Charles Shreve, president of the Dallas-based gallery, says it was the most comprehensive collection of inverts ever formed.

Inverted stamps result when different colours and elements are printed in separate press runs and a sheet gets flipped upside-down between press runs.

Cunliffe's collection included an "inverted Jenny", a famous US stamp from 1918 featuring an upside-down biplane.