Fla. Absentee Ballot Invert Confirmed as Counterfeit

Absentee Ballot Invert is Confirmed as a Counterfeit

American Philatelic Society Executive Director Peter Mastrangelo and
Mercer Bristow, Director of Expertizing at the American Philatelic
Expertizing Service (APEX), ventured to Broward County, Florida, Dec. 4
to deliver a professional opinion on a stamp that has been in the news
for nearly a month.

On Nov. 7 at the Broward County Elections Office, a County Canvassing
Board member noticed what appeared to be a 24-cent Jenny invert ?
arguably the world's best-known stamp error ? among the postage on an
oversized absentee ballot envelope. An unused example of the error has
a current Scott catalog value of $275,000.

Careful on-the-scene scrutiny of the rumored rarity confirmed what
Bristow and others at the American Philatelic Society had previously
concluded from digital images: it is a counterfeit. Though it differs
in a number of respects from an authentic Jenny invert, the telltale
discrepancy is that the generally accurate-looking replica is
perforated 10, whereas all genuine inverts are perforated 11 (that is,
have 11 perforations in the margin every 2 centimeters, or 20
millimeters). While in Florida, Bristow issued American Expertizing
Service certificate No. 173905 to that effect.

Election officials were on hand to oversee the examination, and
handling of the envelope was not allowed, although the perforations
could be accurately measured with a gauge. "Our assessment of the
invert was accurate from the very beginning," Bristow observed.

The stamp may be bogus, but the National Postal Museum has reportedly
expressed interest in acquiring the much-ballyhooed ballot envelope for
its collection, presumably as a curio that brought a great deal of
attention to what would have otherwise been an unremarkable piece of
mail.

For the original absentee ballot story, and information about several
stolen genuine Jenny inverts and others that have become unaccounted
for over the years, see the other stories under "Jenny Invert" on
the American Philatelic Society homepage at www.stamps.org