LONDON (AP) – A rare U.S. stamp that was printed upside down and is coveted by collectors will be offered for sale at an auction in Britain this week.

The 1918 inverted Jenny stamp is expected to fetch at least 150,000 pounds ($215,000) when it is sold on Wednesday.

The 24-cent air mail stamp features a Curtiss JN-4 Jenny biplane, but was mistakenly printed upside down. Only 100 of the red, white and blue stamps were printed.

Ian Hunter, a stamp valuer at auctioneers Warwick and Warwick, said Sunday that the stamp is being sold by a British collector and is the first time in 50 years that one has been sold outside of the U.S.

“This is a particularly popular stamp, probably one of the top 10 most famous in the world,” Hunter said. “It has become a great icon of philately and certainly something that every U.S. collector would want to own.”

An inverted Jenny sold in New York in October for $388,125.

The British auction will take place in the Court House, in Warwick, central England.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.