Position 9

Position 9, the famous Locket Copy
Position 9, the famous Locket Copy

Gum:

NH

Condition:

Fault

Perf Condition:

Perf Crease

Paper Condition:

Sound

Summary

This is the famous "locket copy", which was presented by Colonel Green to his wife Mabel. The pendant is made of two round pieces of glass with a gold rim and clasp for a chain. Sandwiched between the glass is the Inverted Jenny back to back with a normal 24c stamp. The bottom corners were slightly creased when the stamp was placed in the locket.

The recipient of Colonel Green's largesse was his longtime companion, Mabel E. Harlow, who became Mrs. Green in 1916, only months after the death of Edward's mother, Hetty Green.

When Hetty died at age 81 in June 1916, her estate was variously estimated to be worth between $80 million and $200 million. Hetty's vast assets were divided equally between Edward and his sister, Sylvia. While Sylvia continued her quiet and relatively modest lifestyle, it was Edward, freed from his mother's domination, who went on a massive spending spree. He was also free to marry Mabel Harlow, whom his mother had referred to as "Miss Harlot". Mabel and Edward met in Chicago 24 years earlier when she was practicing her trade as an exotic dancer and prostitute. She left the smitten Edward to marry another man. Some time later, Edward and Mabel reunited in Texas, and he hired the voluptuous redhead to be his "housekeeper" on a more permanent basis.

When the Colonel died in 1936, his estate became the focus of multi-state battle over death taxes. Four different states claimed that the Colonel was a resident, a problem created by Green lifetime effort to claim residence in Texas while living in other places. After four million words of testimony and 2,855 exhibits, the Supreme Court ultimately decided in favor of Massachusetts, which received $5,250,000 in taxes. The Colonel left his estate to his sister, Sylvia Wilks, who simply added the $30 million to her non-interest bearing checking account at Chase National. His stamp collection was dispersed in a series of 28 auctions over four years, comprising some 50,000 lots. Mabel filed a claim against the estate, despite the agreement she had signed before marriage, and it was quietly settled. Mabel kept her Inverted Jenny locket and left it to a trusted companion when she died in 1950.

Owners:

Certification

2010
PSE
Certificate No. 1218045
 
"it is genuine unused, o.g., never hinged, Position 9 - the so-called locket copy, with a short corner perf at the upper left, a small corner crease at the bottom left, another at the bottom right and a natural straight edge at the top." Scott No. C3 "it is genuine unused, o.g., never hinged, with a diagonal gum bend at the upper right, a gum wrinkle at the lower left and a small corner crease at the bottom right - this copy has been back to back in the locket with the Position 9 Scott No. C3a."

Transactions:

Date
Type
Where Sold
Seller
Buyer
Condition
Cat. Value
Realization
1918-05-20
Sound
$ 15,000
1918-05-21
Sound
$ 20,000
1919-07-10
Sound
1950-05-11
Fault
$ 4,000
2002-05-18
Siegel
Unsold
Fault
$ 170,000
$ 0
2003-03-17
Siegel
Anon.
Fault
$ 170,000
$ 90,000
2009-12-12
Heritage
Anon.
Unsold
Fault
$ 1,000,000
$ 0
2014-05-15
HR Harmer
Anon.
Unsold
Fault
$ 850,000
$ 0

Graph of Realizations for This Position in Relation to Catalogue Value:

Date
Type
Where Sold
Condition
Cat. Value
Realization
% Cat. Val.
2003-03-17
Siegel
Fault
$ 170,000
$ 90,000
0.529
Position 9: Scott Catalog Value vs. Realizations
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