LOOSE CHANGE: SEPTEMBER 9, 2018

Inverted Jenny No. 49 Reappears

When the phone rings at the nonprofit Philatelic Foundation in Manhattan, sometimes it is a caller claiming to have a rare stamp and wanting the foundation to authenticate it.

In the internet age, the people at the foundation can ask for a cellphone photo of the stamp in question. Usually someone from the foundation calls back and says something like, “Sorry, your stamp is not what you think it is. It’s not that special.”

But a recent call from Illinois got their attention. The man on the phone said he had one of the most famous stamps in the world, an Inverted Jenny with — oops — the airplane upside down. When the man sent a cellphone photo, the foundation’s curator, Lewis Kaufman, suspected the stamp was an Inverted Jenny that disappeared from sight soon after it was printed in 1918. Only 100 Inverted Jenny stamps exist. Mr. Kaufman suspected it was No. 49, one of only two that remained unaccounted for.

He handed the photo to his boss, Larry Lyons, and said, “I think it might be genuine. You ought to call this guy back.”

To read the complete article, see:
An Inverted Jenny Surfaces. The Flawed Stamp Had Not Been Seen Since 1918. (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/06/nyregion/inverted-jenny-stamp.html)

Dave Bowers' Moxie Memorabilia

The quintessential spirit of Moxie is not easily defined, but sit down with Q. David Bowers and you'll find a good approximation - an effervescent personality whose sharp mind is as "decidedly different" as his favorite soda advertises.

The author of more than 50 books - many on coins, not to overlook his three-volume "History of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire" - Bowers combines his business acumen, his tenacity as a researcher and his love of language in producing works that become recognized as standards references in their field including "The Moxie Encyclopedia."

Bowers says his interest in Moxie memorabilia was sparked by Eddie Clark of Clark's Trading Post in Lincoln in the early 1970s, although he had acquired a few hand fans emblazoned with Moxie girls and other collectibles about a decade earlier.

To read the complete article, see:
The Moxie machine: Soda's heavy marketing created a trove of

Wayne Homren, Editor

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