Design errors

Mirror and upside down images

Move the cursor over the small pictures for an enlarged view

Inverted and corrected ears. After this stamp has been issued, it was discovered that the poor man had inverted ears. Fortunately for him, the stamp has been corrected. (AUSTRIA - 1934)


Wrong British flag. The wrongly positioned narrow and wide white stripes on the Union Jack were corrected when this stamp was reissued. (JAMAICA - 1921)


Dangerous bus. Look carefully at the yellow bus. It is obvious that the front side of the bus is left. Which means that the doors have been drawn on the left side of the bus. In that way, people have to enter and leave the bus in the middle of the road ! (GERMANY - 1965)


Inverted year ! Postmark with inverted year 2000 (ECUADOR - 2000)


Inverted cross Inverted German cross on the tail of this plane (GERMANY - 1944)


Upside down The strange position of this athlete became clear when it appeared that he had been depicted upside down. (DUBAI - )


Inverted letter Inverted Z in SPITZBERG (MONACO - 1949)


Inverted letter Four inverted N in one sentence (UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC - 1960)


Inverted name Inverted name of the engraver on the left on this stamp. (FRANCE - 1957)


Inverted newspaper Everywhere in the world, the title of a newpaper appears on the frontpage, .... except perhaps in Luxemburg (LUXEMBOURG - 1935)


Inverted… and corrected Woman in synchron- swimming competition : upside down and ... corrected. (BULGARIA - 1985)


Inverted city name Inverted left part with city name. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - )


Inverted figures This letter was of course sent in 1950, not in 1590 ! (ISRAEL - )


Reprint or fake ? Reprint of a famous error : the inverted Jenny. Still two or three centuries to wait, and there will be no difference anymore with the really expensive ones. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - )


Make your own error Stamp printed in two steps, only 400 copies exist with an inverted centre. It is very easy to make your own forgery : take two cheap normal stamps, carefully cut the blue centerpart of one of them, and glue it upside down on the other stamp ! (CANADA - 1959)


Inverted Dendermonde Only 1 sheet of 25 stamps was misprinted, with an inverted centerpart. One of the most expensive Belgian stamps. This one of course is unfortunately a forgery, made out of two cheap normal stamps. (BELGIUM - 1920)


Inverted year ! Inverted year in postmark (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1955)


Inverted piano Reversed grand piano - the large side has to be at the left side where the bass notes are. (FUJEIRA - 1971)


Reversed design Not only the portrait of Queen Victoria has been reversed comparing to the original photograph, also the figure 1 in the right upper corner. (NEWFOUNDLAND - )


Inverted overprint Inverted overprint : the old value of the stamp is still visible. (BELGIAN CONGO - )


Inverted overprint Inverted overprint (BELGIAN CONGO - )


Upside down The green earth lies on top, this plane is flying upside down… Not a common view for a stamp, as the only place where you can see such a view, is from another plane, also flying upside down ! (CANADA - 1981)


Upside down FDC with a small photograph of President Franklin Roosevelt. After it had been discovered that the photo was printed upside down, a corrected FDC was issued. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1945)


At least three errors Right below : SIDNEY instead of SYDNEY - Above : VAN DIEMAN instead of VAN DIEMEN - Right below : the opera building and the bridge are reversed in the stamp (TONGA - 1988)


Inverted portrait West and East Germany, both issued a stamp to commemorate Thomas MANN. As can be seen by the haircut, on one of those stamps however, the portrait was inverted. (GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - 1956)


Inverted portrait - wrong birthyear The sculptor J.F. BOSIA was pictured twice on stamps from Monaco : the same portrait was used, but was inverted on one of the stamps. And on one stamp, 1769 is wrongly shown as his year of birth : the sculptor was born in 1768 ! (MONACO - 1948-68)


Inverted value As the value in arabic scripture appeared to be inverted, a corrected stamp was issued. (PAKISTAN - )


Inverted portrait The haircut cleaarly shows that the portrait of Franz Josef II was inverted on one of those stamps. (LIECHTENSTEIN - 1939)


Inverted portraits Both portraits were inverted on those stamps. (DENMARK - 1924)


Inverted 2 The 2 in local scripture was inverted on the 12-K stamp. Look at the 20-K stamp to see a correct 2 (LAO - 1958)


Inverted portrait Both stamps featuring Shakespeare used the same portrait, however inverted on one of the stamps. (UNITED KINGDOM - 1964)


Partly inverted On a printing plate, the stamp has to be inverted. The engraver started correctly, but changed his mind in the middle of the word SVERIGE (SWEDEN - 1991)


Inverted jacket Inverted portrait as for men the left part of a jacket always closes above the right part. (MONACO - 1956)


Wrong hand ? Raise your right hand and swear …. And not your left hand ! Except in Argentina, where they do the opposite. (ARGENTINA - 1946)


Inverted abbey Westminster abbey was shown inverted on a stamp issued by Ajman. An English stamp shows the correct representation. (AJMAN - )


Inverted moon An inverted Islam-moon was immediately corrected. (PAKISTAN - 1948)


Inverted king The haircut clearly shows that the Swedish King has been featured inverted on one of those stamps belonging to the same booklet. (SWEDEN - 1972)


Inverted portrait The portrait of the President appeared to be inverted on a stamp. This was obviously corrected when the stamp was reissued some years later. (HONDURAS - 1891)


Inverted portrait Inverted painting from Goya on a Spanish stamp. Loof at the Dubai stamp with the correct portrait … and the correct colours. (SPAIN - 1958)


Inverted portrait Both stamps featuring the poet Robert BURNS used the same portrait, however inverted on one of the stamps. (UNITED KINGDOM - 1966)


Inverted flowers Do the flowers of the marabunta-tree grow up or down ? They grow up, so a new corrected stamp was issued. (GUYANA - 1971)


Inverted message On monuments, the vertical writing always goes from top to bottom ! (ITALY - 1933)


Inverted stamp Inverted stamp on this preprinted postcard issued by the Kingdom of Bayern. (GERMANY - )


Inverted painting Pre-printed postcard with an inverted painting of VAN DIJCK. Compare with the real painting. (BELGIUM - 1999)


Inverted letter The engraver forgot to invert the letter Z in his own name ! (LUXEMBOURG - 1956)


Inverted centerpiece When the second colour was printed, the paper was put upside down, resulting in an inverted centrepiece. (ARMENIA - 1922)


Upside-down picture Cover picturing the famous Old Crooked Bridge in Hendrysburg, Ohio. The cover was reprinted when it was discovered that the picture had been printed upside down. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1932)


Upside down Jupiter is represented upside down (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1975)


Inverted flag Airmailstamp with inverted French flag (red color at the left side instead of blue). (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1989)


Two left shoes The buckles of ski boots buckle outward on both feet. This means that the skier on this stamp has two left boots (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1998)


Wrong flag The 1st stamp of the 4th row of this sheet shows the flag of the State Tennessee, with inverted centerpiece. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1976)


Wrong location and … inverted This stamp depicting a view of the Grand Canyon located in Arizona was first issued mentioning Colorado instead of Arizona. Only after the stamp had been corrected and issued, another error appeared : the complete scene was printed inverted. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1999)


Inverted colour When one sheet was discoverd with an inverted yellow colour, the US post office decided to print the same number of wrong stamps to avoid speculation. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1962)


Inverted monogram The monogram of Dürer in the lower right corner has been inverted. (ANTIGUA - 1980)


Inverted stars. Inverted stars on the European flag. See the correct stars on the French stamp. (AUSTRIA - 1969)


Inversion or not ? Seems an inverted Nazi-cross, but ...the blus swastika is a symbol a goor fortune in Finland, going back to 1918. (EQUATORIAL GUINEA - 1977)


Inverted N TUNA cancellation with an inverted N (BRITISH SALOMON ISLANDS - 1970)


Inverted picture As can be deducted from her haircut, Queen Giovanna has been pictured correctly … and inverted. (BULGARIA - 1930)


Inverted map Correct and mirrored map of the Dominican Island (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - 1900)


Inverted coat Women coats are always buttoned right over left. Or is the women wearing the coat of het husband ? (GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - 1964)


Mirror image Mirror image on the stamp, comparing to the original photo. (GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - 1965)


Inverted portrait Stamps made after the same painting, one is correct, the other one was inverted. (ECUADOR - 1949)


Wrong shoulder Soldiers always carry their rifle on the right shoulder (FRANCE - 1964)


Inverted image. Inverted image of the townhouse of Thorn. (GERMANY - 1940)


Mirror portrait. The design of this stamp was based on an existing protrait of Immanuel Kant, but has wrongly been mirrored. (GERMANY - 1974)


Upside down. This map was pictured upside down, with the nord at the bottom of the design. (GERMANY - 1969)


Missing color. Wrong colors in this rainbow- correct on the other stamp. (ISRAEL - )


Unexpected inversion. The correct name of this crab is Chionoecetes OPILIO. The second part of the name has been inverted to OILIQO on the same stamp issued in a booklet. (GREENLAND - 1993)


Reversed characters. Two Chinese characters were printed in reverse order. The aerogramme was recalled and replaced by a correct one. (HONG KONG - 1997)


Inverted portrait This portrait of Beethoven, from a drawinf of Klöber from 1818, is inverted (HUNGARY - 1960)


Mirrored and corrected. Correct and mirrored Bodhisattva statue (INDIA - 1949)


Left or right ? Look at the soldiers in the background : one is carrying his gun on the left shoulder, the other one on the right shoulder. (ITALY - 1943)


Inverted feet. Diver with inverted feet. (JAPAN - 1985)


Mirrored symbol. Mirrored representation of the communist hammer en sickle symbol. (LUXEMBOURG - 1945)


Mirror image The famous round stone on this stamp is a mirror image, making it impossible to read. (MEXICO - 1989)


Useless rifle. The trigger of one of the rifles was designed in an inverted position. (GERMANY - 1987)


Inverted postmark. Inverted postmark, soon corrected. (NIUAFO´OU - 1993)


Inverted shield. Series of 12 stamps, 8 with an horizontal design, 4 with a vertical design. The Rumenian coat-of-arms is shown correctly on het vertical design, but the small central shield is inverted on the horizontal design. (ROMANIA - 1927)


Strange mirror The image in the mirror looks to the wrong direction (GERMANY - 1963)


Inverted Inverted center piece (SOMALIA - 1903)


Reversed map. The map in the circle is reversed. Wheb the stamp itself is reversed, the map appears correctly. (HUNGARY - )


Inverted portrait One of those two stamps has tot be a mirror representation of a portrait of Pope Pius XII (VATICAN - 1940)


Inversion Inverted head (SPAIN - 1930)


Inverted towers The towers of this catheral are shown inverted (SWITZERLAND - 1960)


Wrong side Tower at the wrong side of the church. (SWITZERLAND - 1960)


Wrong and inverted. This is not the first landing on the moon on July 21st 1969, but an inverted picture of James Irving, taken during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 (SAN MARINO - 1993)


Inverted A Inverted A in postmark (KENYA - 2003)


Inverted portrait Inverted reproduction comparing with the original portrait in the museum of Versailles (FRANCE - 1949)


Inverted monument On the stamp the big statue is placed close to the left pillar. A photograph of the monument shows that the statue stands near the right pillar. (FRANCE - 1936)


Inverted painting Inverted picture of the painting 'Le cachet de cire' by J.B. Chardin. (FRANCE - 1946)


Inverted logotype The logotype on the plane tail is reversed. (PAPUA NEW GUINEA - 1970)


Upside down The Citroën sign on the front of the car is upside down. (MONGOLIA - 1989)


Upside down Fish was featured upside down (AJMAN - 1972)


Inverted Inverted painting, compare with original (LIBERIA - 1969)


Mirror image The Lira de Braccio has been reversed on this stamp, making it impossible to play (MALDIVES - 1985)


Inverted logo Inverted logo of the Australian Broadcasting Company ABC (AUSTRALIA - 1982)


Inverted and corrected As can be seen on the flag, a first stamp featuring President S. Niazov was inverted. A corrected stamp was immediately issued. (TURKMENISTAN - 1992)


Inverted overprint Inverted overprint CONGO. (BELGIAN CONGO - 1960)


Inverted cancellation This preprinted postcard was passed upside down through the cancellation machine : a used postcard with a mint stamp. (BELGIUM - 2000)


Turned centerpiece Is this horizontal bar fixed in the wall ? No, the picture of this stamp was just turned by 90 degrees. (RWANDA - 1980)


Two errors Two errors : plane is not an ME-109F but a Fiat-G50, name of the pilot is OIVA, not DIVA. (EQUATORIAL GUINEA - 1977)


Inversion The engraver Cz. Slania has signed all the stamps of this booklet ending with S C. On one of the stamps, however, the C is reversed. (SWEDEN - 1968)


Reversed protrait Queen Victoria ordered to be only pictured from the left side. For the composition of this stamp, an existing portrait had to be reversed. (BECHUANALAND - 1960)


Inverted center Inverted center - a corrected stamp was issued. (IRAN - 2008)


Wrong side The street signs were first designed at the wrong side of te road, the stamp was corrected. (NIGERIA - 1973)


Just in time The announcement leaflet showed a stamp with this statue facing right. The Post Office was forced to correct the stamp design before it was put on the market. (BELGIUM - 1989)


Wrong flags The Belgian and French flags are inverted, and the central image is missing on the Portuguese flag. (PORTUGAL - 1989)


Wrong side The projectionist stands at the left side of the film projector, instead of the normal right side. (CHINA - 1987)


Wrong side. The piano lid opens right on the stamp, on all pianos they open left. (CUBA - 1974)


Inverted Inverted portrait, compare with picture. (DAHOMEY - 1974)


Inversion Inverted statue of Liberty, (GAMBIA - 1986)


Inverted Inverted representation of this accordion (FRANCE - 1990)


Inverted picture It is strange that two left-handed people are shown on the same stamp. The most probable explanation : the original picture was inverted when the stamp was designed. (FRANCE - 1948)


Inverted picture ? Why represent a lefthanded handball player ? Probably because the original picture was inverted on the stamp ? (FRANCE - 1970)


Three errors The moon map is showed upside down, UHR after the landing time is not necessary as there is already an H after 22, an the landing happened two days before full moon, not after full moon as depicted. (GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - 1959)


Inverted sign The seeman is signalling a letter that cannot be found in the flagbooks. In mirror however, it suddently stands for a I or 9. (GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - 1962)


Inverted ? Lefthanded or inverted image ? (GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC - 1953)


Inverted Inverted portrait of J.S. BACH (GERMANY - 1935)


Mirror image The design of this stamp was based on an existing portrait of Jacob Fugger, but has wrongly been mirrored. (GERMANY - 1959)


Inversion Inverted portrait of J.S. Bach, comparing to the original painting of Hausmann. (GERMANY - 1961)


Inverted The anti-pollution logo is shown inverted. The olive branch which reaches the center of the stamp is shown right instead of left. (GERMANY - 1973)


Mirror newspaper Title of the newspaper at the wrong side. (POLAND - 1970)


Inverted Inverted portrait of the sculptor Jean Baptiste CARPEAUX. (FRANCE - 1975)


Inverted statue At the left, the statue of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius at the Capitlole in Rome is shown inversed. (FRANCE - 1963)


Inversion The view on the maximum card shows that the stamp represents an inverted view of the city St Tropez. (FRANCE - 2007)


Upside down Float of the fishing line is pictured upside down. (FRANCE - 1999)


Inversion This painting from Rubens is showed reversed on the stamp. (LIECHTENSTEIN - 1949)


Inverted Inverted representation on the stamp of the original picture. (FRANCE - 1937)


Upside down The message on the banner 'ADVANCE AUSTRALIA' is written upside down. (NEW SOUTH WALES - 1890)


Inversion The statue has been inverted on the stamp. (BELGIUM - 1914)


Missing shadow With this low sun in the back, a shadow in front of the legs would have been appropriate. (NYASALAND - 1934)


Inversion Inverted representation of the original painting. Correct on a stamp from Peru. (SPAIN - 1966)


Many problems Due to a paper shortage, old military maps were use to print stamps on their backside. But a lot of things went wrong : the stamps were printed on the already printed side of a military map, with an inverted black centerpiece. (UCRAINA - 1920)


Inversion Entrance of the Versailles castel inverted on the stamp. (SAINT TOME AND PRINCIPE - 1991)


Inversion View of Munchen on the stamp is inverted. (LIBERIA - 1972)


Inversion The 'Little Navigator' has been reversed from the original statue in the New Bedford Museum, and is therefore, performing an impossible function, holding the octant in his left hand. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1986)


Upside down Postcard cancelled at the post museum of Washington, with an upside down obliteration. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1998)


Inversion Inverted portrait of Robert Burns. (RUSSIA - 1956)


Lefthanded Lefthanded player, correct on stamp from UCRAINA of 1918. (ETHIOPIA - 1899)


Inversion Inverted year in postmark. (UNITED KINGDOM - 1951)


Upside down Inverted year and date in the postmark. (SWEDEN - 1893)


Inversion The word SWEDEN comes out from the Morse key in reverse order. (SWEDEN - 1979)


Inverted overprint Private issue celebrating the end of World War II. Inverted overprint and corrected stamps. (BELGIUM - 1950)


Inverted overprint Stamp with inverted and correct 'Red Cross' overprint. (GREECE - 1937)


Inversion Inversion : the featured high jumper Patrick Sjöberg normally starts running from the right, and thus ought to jump to the left. (SWEDEN - 1986)


Inverted and not Airmal letter with inverted cancellation. On the backside however, the concellation is correct. (CANADA - 1929)


Second overprint U.S. Postal card with a second inverted 1 CENT overprint in the left low corner. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - )


Inverted center Inverted center, after the prionting of the black colour, a sheet was inverted. (LIBERIA - )


Inversion Compare the haircut on the stamp with that on the picture : it is obvious that on the stamp, the scientist A. Calmette was represented inverted. (FRANCE - 1948)


Inverted letter The R of République is inverted. (FRANCE - 1900)


Upside down Inverted overprint (YUGOSLAVIA - 1941)


Upside down Inverted overprint (LIBERIA - 1921)


Wrong side Preprinted envelope with upside down stamp at the wrong side of the envelope. (INDIA - )


Inverted Inverted overprints. (RUSSIA - 1919)


Inversion Inverted overprint. (NEW CALEDONIA - 1883)


Inversion Inverted representation on the stamp, comparing to the original portrait. (SPAIN - 1955)


Inverted letter Inverted E in overprint - Wrong and correct stamp. (GREECE - 1936)


Overprint Inverted overprint. (BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA - 1918)


Overprint Stamp with inverted overprint. (COSTA RICA - 1911)


Wrong hand Statue of Liberty with the flame in the wrong hand. (GRENADA - 1986)


Inverted overprint Stamp of the Österreiches Feldpost with inverted and correct overprint. (POLAND - 1918)


Inverted colours The colours of this rainbow were inverted. (GERMANY - 1974)


Inversion Inverted Swiss flag (LIBERIA - 1956)


Inversion Inverted representation on the stamp, comparing to the original painting of Jeroen Krabbé. (NETHERLANDS - 2000)


Upside down The year 1986 was put inverted in the postmark. Compare with a coorect postmark. (IRELAND - 1986)


Inversion Inverted portrait of President Truman. (BRAZIL - 1947)


On her side The earth is shown inverted with a vertical equator. (ALGERIA - 2008)


Upside down overprint A change from 2F40 to 2F50 by an overprint seemed not successful, due to an inversion of this overprint. (BELGIAN CONGO - )


Inverted overprint The overprint had to hide the old facial value ... but was printed inverted on the stamp. (BELGIAN CONGO - 1967)


Inverted date Inverted date in the cancellation of this letter sent from the Stamp exhibition of 1986 in Stockholm : it should be 86 instead of 98. (SWEDEN - 1986)


Inverted Inverted name (SOMALIA - 1892)


Inverted overprint Fiscal stamp with inverted overprint. (GUATEMALA - 1890)


Inversion Inverted part of the flag. (LESOTHO - 1987)


Inverted Inverted portrait of Cervantes. (ARGENTINA - 1947)


Inversion The message 'Radio Vivo' is inverted on the banner. (SPAIN - 1931)


Inversion Inverted statue : Olive branch in left instead of right hand. (GREECE - 1997)


Inverted and corrected Stamp was printed inverted on a sheet. Was corrected afterwards. (SAINT VINCENT - 1987)


Inversion The portrait of Benjamin Franklin was inverted on this stamp. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1947)


Inversion As can be seen at his haircut, this is an inverted representation of Prince Charles. And Princes Diana was pourly pictured. (BENIN - )


Inverted Jenny Reprint by the US Post Office of the famous Inverted Jenny stamp. 95 years ago just one sheet of this stamp was sold before a customer identified the error. (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 2013)


Inverted portrait Inverted portrait. Was corrected on other stamps that were issued afterwards. (HONDURAS - 1891)


Wrong music The music shown on the piano is a pure invented, and certainly not composed by Beethoven. (GABON - 1977)


Inversion Inverted view, the steering bar is at the wrong side of this locomotive. (POLAND - 1976)


Inverted Inverted 12 in postmark (IRAN - 1973)


Inverted and wrong Inverted FA-key and the two first sharps are FA and DO, not LA and MI (GERMANY - 2003)


Inverted portrait Inverted portrait of G. STOKES, mathematician and physicist. (LIECHTENSTEIN - 2014)


Mirror image As this conductor was right handed, this is a mirrored portrait (MALDIVES - 1992)


Mirror image Mirrored featuring of this church (FRANCE - 1995)


Mirror letter Inverted Z in colonization (NEWFOUNDLAND - 1910)


Wrong hand The stick to push the hoop is held in the wrong hand (ICELAND - 1989)


Reversed Compare the stamp to the painting, the error is obvious ! (FUJEIRA - )


Inverted map The Norway map in the background is inverted (ANGOLA - 2019)


Inverted Inverted figure - the covered eye is at the other side (LIBERIA - 2008)


Upside down The stars on the American flag are iupside down (TURKEY - 1939)


Inversion Inverted statue: the torch is held in the right hand (PENRHYN - 2003)


Error in name and inverted Wrong: Henry - Correct: Henri. On one of the stamps he is featured inverted! (NICARAGUA - 1985)


Inversion Inverted on stamp - see original picture (ITALY - 1963)


Wrong side Thumb at the wrond side of the hand (SPAIN - 2020)


Inversion A new stamp was issued to correct an inverted view of the harbor (BARBADOS - 2000)


inversion Inverted picture (GERMANY - 1961)


Inversion Inverted letters on the motorcycle (MEXICO - 1940)


Inverted image The text on the outfit is inverted. Once inverted the real text SUOMI becomes visible (LAO - 1988)


Inversion The position of the stamps on the letter shows that the picture was inverted - see the inverted picture (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - 1885)


Mirror image Mirrored featuring of this player. Look at the inverted image (GUINEA BISSAU - 1984)


Inversion The portrait of Kennedy is mirrored on one of those stamps (PARAGUAY - 1970)