537 Red Or Carmine 3cent Victory?

Hello. Am I missing something here? The book only list the red carmine color for the 2 cent variety. I don't see anything for red? Any input?

I think you are missing a lot (with all due respect).
There is only a 3¢ version of this stamp, as you've shown, and they range from violet to deep red violet to light reddish violet to red violet. Yours might be along the light reddish violet line, but really I think it just looks faded.
Incidently did you know this stamp, though it is not labeled as such, is a War Tax stamp? The postal rate at the time (correct me if I'm wrong experts) was 2¢ for a letter. The extra penny on this stamp went to help pay for the war, which had ended the previous year.

I agree the stamp shown in the original post is extremely faded, probably from exposure to direct sunlight.

As to the War Tax, here's some documentation on the War Tax and the stamp (Scott 537) in question. (See Figure 7 at the link below, which includes the following quote):




http://www.linns.com/howto/refreshe...rcourse.aspx

Thanks for clarifying. Is this a 537a? Apparently, there's a rarer 537a classified stamp, I'm told?

Maverick... I'm just curious...

What year is the Scott catalog you have...

Here's a certified 537a for comparison:



Of course, if one were to read this article, it seems to differ from the above example, too. In fact, it goes on to suggest that:




http://www.ebay.com/gds/THE-US-VICT...45780/g.html

Diisi- 2015 black book. Thank you wt1. Very interesting!

The 537a picture on that cert is not representative of the true 537a color. I'm uploading a scan from my reference collection - one I did for a customer back in 2012.



The two left stamps show a range of (common) 537 shades - from a very deep purple to an "almost reddish" violet. The stamp on the far right is the scarce 537a deep reddish violet (w/ PSE & PF certs, note the intensity/depth of color) and the stamp to the left of it is a 537c red violet (also certified.) For whatever reason, (we must not have been discussing them at the time,) I did not include any light reddish violet (537b) examples in this scan.

This is another issue IMO where references are essential. Putting two common 537's side by side will almost always show one "redder" than the other, and it's not unusual for collectors to call the redder one 537b or 537c, even though they're really both 537's...

P.S. Agree that the original poster's stamp is some sort of changeling.

If by "2015 black book" you mean volume 1 of the new Scott catalog for the world, then for the more detailed study of US stamps that gets discussed in this part of SCF you might consider investing in a Scott U.S. Specialized for any of the last 3 or four years.

By "Black Book", I would assume the reference is as shown below. It's a basic catalog for the novice collector and does not contain the detail referenced in the Scott Specialized Catalog. Then again, it's only $9 as compared to $90 for a new Scott Specialized. (You get what you pay for!)

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the...780375723629

Was this stamp printed in all these shades or was the ink unstable?

Thanks for the great insight everyone! WT1 you are correct. I have the book you mentioned. I am definitely going to pick up a Scott's this weekend!

maverickx The new 2015 Scott's Specialized will be coming out in another month or two, I believe. You might want to hold off on buying one until then, since the prices of earlier versions will drop a bit. Unless you plan to spring for a new one, you will save even more on an older one.

If it's already out, then disregard what I'm saying here.

Thank you Essay! Will do.