Treasure Hunt by Peter Rexford

Savvy shoppers are acutely aware of the term "seconds." In the retail trade, that refers to items that may have a flaw and sell for a deep discount. The blemish may be minor or almost invisible but can mean serious savings. Curiously, the exact opposite is true when it comes to many collectibles. Better still, the more pronounced the error or "freak," the greater the value.

Regular readers may recall the story of a postal souvenir card I purchased some years ago. The cards were regularly printed for major philatelic shows and often included several vintage stamps printed on them. The one I purchased had one of the stamps completely omitted. When I bought it for $2, the postal clerk said, "That one isn't right. You don't want that it." Yes, I did. I sold it at auction later that year for $935.

Of course, stamps with images printed upside down have forever fascinated collectors. One such person was Pittsburgh stockbroker Robert H. Cunliffe. He died last year at the age of 84 but had spent the preceding 50 years finding and collecting over 3,000 stamps with inverted images from around the world.

This month, his collection will pass over the auction block in New York and into the hands of countless eager, lucky and invariably wealthy bidders. Cunliffe's collection is expected to realize something in excess of $4 million.

Some of the stamps mistakenly depict upside trains, airplanes or animals as well as historical figures, such as George Washington, Abe Lincoln and Queen Victoria. The errors occurred when colors were separately printed on the press and one sheet of stamps went into the press the wrong way. The Cunliffe collection contains the most famous invert of all — the 24-cent "Inverted Jenny" Air Mail stamp of 1918. The few of those that exist have been the stuff of lore for almost a century now. Just one of those is expected to sell for up to $150,000.

One modern-day inverted rarity is guaranteed to draw substantial interest. It's an unassuming stamp showing a colonial candleholder released in 1979.

Eagle-eyed employees of the CIA headquarters who went to the McLean, Va., post office to purchase stamps for the agency, found the sheet of 100 stamps. When they realized that the image of the candle flame was upside-down, they bought them with their own money and sold them to a dealer. For years, CIA officials tried to retrieve them claiming they were CIA property but lost the case in court. Today, a single one of those stamps is valued at $21,000 with a block of four expected to sell for over $84,000.

The Spink Shreves Gallery selling the stamps considers the collection to be " the finest, most complete and most valuable collection of inverted stamps ever formed." Many have not been on the market for decades.

The auction is slated for June 18 and 19. More information is available from Spink Shreves Galleries at 800-556-7826, or online at www.SpinkShreves.com.

Speaking of "freaks," in this economic time people everywhere are looking for anything of value they may own to profit from. Sometimes, what you think might be worthless proves to be a lottery winner.

Case in point … the disturbing movie "Freaks" released by MGM in 1932. The movie was created in a response to successful horror movies by other studios such as "Dracula" and "Frankenstein." But it was so bizarre it was pulled almost immediately. In 1949, it was re-released by an independent distributor. Of course, as with any film, some posters were created to promote it.

In the 1970s, Ann Stafford purchased one of those posters for $10 from an antiques store in Southern California for her husband. Last month, some 30-plus years after the purchase, the couple decided to consign it to an auction of vintage movie posters. Wise move.

The "Freaks" poster sold for an astounding $107,550. The winning bidder said he's wanted it for years. He plans to hang it next to a 1931 "Dracula" poster he purchased for $310,700 from the collection of actor Nicolas Cage. You just never know what that "junk" in the basement might bring.

Editor's Note: A JPEG visual of the "CIA Invert" stamp to be sold at auction has been sent with this column.

To find out more about Peter Rexford and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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