Oops! Pagsanjan Falls Error
This is a pretty famous and equally funny issue that I file under the “you’re fired!” category. Issued on May 3rd 1932 the stamp below depicts a lovely scene of the Pagsanjan Falls in Laguna, Philippines. The only problem is that the actual image on the stamp is of the Vernal Falls in Yosemite National Park, California. Oops !!
Printed in the U.S., this stamp was one of a 7 part set depicting tourist attractions and places of interest in the Philippines. Over 1,003,400 stamps were printed for use in the Philippines and a further 10,000 were sent to the Philatelic Agency in Washington, DC. Additionally, 30,000 Von Gronau overprints were also issued on 27th September 1932 to celebrate the first round the world flight.
While the problem was discovered several days after the stamp was released, it took about 6 months for the error to become public knowledge. 4 days after the press in Manila ran the story detailing the error, sale of the stamps was stopped. The media attention along with the withdrawal of sale significantly increased demand for the stamps amongst collectors.
According to records, 911,421 stamps were eventually condemned and destroyed along with 4,696 of the Von Gronau overprints – effectively reducing available stamp numbers to around 100,000 and just over 25,300 respectively.
It would be 39 years before the real Pagsanjan Falls would appear on a Philippines postage stamp (1971).