June 2009 misprint?

[Brad B.]

Just received my June 2009 edition and the cover is upside down and backwards. The pages inside appear to be on the opposite of where they should be as well. I guess the baseball card collector in me automaticly said hold on to it. Just wondering if anyone could tell me if this is rare or if there is a market for things like this? Thanks

[Paul Crist]

As quality control slips, and slips, and slips, it may eventually prove the case that a flawless edition is the rarity. To get the cover turned as many ways as you describe is not mere press error at the end of a run (which I understand when most such occur). There are old forum strings on the Tuareg hologram with split image and some one-off printing errors I have or know other collectors to have found. I think the cover is more impressive error than internal and as such might be somewhat more valuable. Yours less so than the split hologram just because that was such a big deal an error is a big deal.
John Carey disagreed with me on the value by a factor of at least ten. I said I'd pay $100 for the Tuareg skull and thought at right auction $500-$1000 was not unimaginable
Based upon Inverted Jenny and other philatelic oddities as well as comics collectors' premium for issues with printing variety or error (two other strings from past fora) I'll stick to my suggested range for the split hologram, though I think in a down economy it would now be at the much lower range.
Being less unique than a split hologram and on an issue of no particular appeal, I might give $10-$25 for yours, but don't think even the wildest auction would go much above that, and certainly not top $100
Keep it and maybe in 14 years or 64 if Society anniversaries are still being celebrated, your misprint might actually command real value if production controls improve and make such poor quality control a rarity rather than the norm. If it is the norm, your misprint won't have any value
Happy collecting
Paul

[Brad B.]

Thanks Paul, guess I will tuck this issue away.

[Scott T. Shier]

HAHA - I think this mis-print you have is hilarious. It should be sent to Society Chairman Gilbert M. Grosvenor as a slap in the face to their so-called QA controls they have nowadays.

I'd hang on it to myself if I received one, though I'd still insist on a replacement copy (free).

- Scott T. Shier