Hot-blooded stamp collectors chased a rare “invert” American stamp from 1869 depicting the signing of the Declaration of Independence to a record $1.2 million at Philip Weiss Auctions this past Saturday, February 9.

“Oh, my God, it was unbelievable,” said an elated Philip Weiss, still reeling from the sale. “Not only was it a world record price for that stamp, but it was an auction record for any inverted stamp.” In November 2007, Robert Siegel, a New York City-based auctioneer, achieved $977,500 for a 1918 inverted Jenny 24-cent US airmail stamp.

Weiss said an anonymous collector successfully bid for the stamp, which was originally estimated by the auction house at $200/300,000. “I really expected that the 24-cent inverted Jenny would be the star of this sale,” said Weiss. Also estimated at $200/300,000, the Jenny brought $265,000. Read Full Story