Siegel auction has recently conducted one of its greatest sales this year. “2020 Rarities of the World” auction offered a great variety of valuable stamps and covers that achieved incredible sums of money. One of the most spectacular items that was offered here was 15c Blue Tete-Beche vertical pair that fetched $75,000.
This is the finest of the three recorded 15c Blue Tete-Beche vertical pairs of the Republic of Argentina. The error appeared because a lithographic plate contained one inverted cliche, the first stamp in the second row (Position 8). The inverted cliche error produced tete-beche multiples, in which the design of one stamp is inverted in relation to the others.
The condition of this pair is far superior to the two other tete-beche multiples, since it was essentially purchased as a new issue and kept hidden for nearly a century. Siegel described this lot as: “Vertical pair from the top left corner of the sheet, comprising Position 1 and the inverted cliche Position 8, original gum, large margins on three sides and large to clear at right, bright color and fresh paper”.
