$1.00 Candle Holder, Intaglio Brown Color Inverted (1610c). Mint N.H., fresh colors and well-centered

EXTREMELY FINE. A PRISTINE MINT NEVER-HINGED EXAMPLE OF THIS POPULAR MODERN ERROR -- THE C.I.A. INVERT.

Popularly called the "C.I.A. Invert", a single pane of 100 stamps was purchased at the McLean Va. Post Office by employees of the C.I.A., for use on mail from the agency. They noticed the error, pooled together funds to buy a replacement sheet and kept the pane for themselves. When it was discovered who had purchased the stamps, a scandal ensued over who actually owned the stamps. Of the pane of 100, only 93 sound examples reached collectors.

With 2004 P.S.E. certificate (XF 90; unpriced in SMQ)

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