Inverted Swan

Inverted Swan
Country of productionWestern Australia
Location of productionPerth
Date of productionJanuary 1855
Nature of rarityInvert error
No. in existence15 + a partial
Face value4-pence
Estimated valueUS$37,500 - US$80,000

The Inverted Swan, a 4-pence blue postage stamp issued in 1855 by Western Australia, was one of the world's first invert errors. Technically, it is the frame that is inverted, not the image of the swan, but it has become commonly known as the Inverted Swan.[1]

In 1854, Western Australia issued its first stamps, featuring the colony's symbol, the black swan, as did all WA stamps until 1902. While the 1d black was engraved in Great Britain by Perkins Bacon, other values, including the 4d blue, were produced by Horace Samson in Perth using lithography, and with different frames around the swan design for each value.

  1. ^ Rare Stamps (1927, March 15). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), p. 3 (5 O'CLOCK CITY EDITION).