Have I just discovered a never-before-seen color error?  

 

Hi all,

I was looking through a pile of Japanese stamps and I came across a multicolored one that appears to be missing one of its reds. This is the original one, Scott #2088 (Michel 2042; Sakura C1337) from 1991.



You can see in mine, however, that the lady has no mouth and the man has no embroidery in his shirt. I checked in Scott, Sakura, and JSDA, but I don't see anything about a color error. What exactly am I looking at here?

In my opinion a used stamp is very difficult to use as evidence of a 'color missing' variety since it could have been exposed to environmental issues. Light, chemicals etc. could have easily changed this stamp. Mint stamp and multiple examples are typically needed to prove a previously unknown error.
Don

Red is always the first color which goes missing over time. No idea about this one but I am In the printing business. I am not sure if they use pigment or dye ink but even pigmented inks after a while will fade, especialy red.

All the colors of both stamps are somewhat different, I especially notice the background color also. As stated by the others I agree that a variety of factors may have affected your used stamp.

Mike

Very much agree.

I think it's pretty rare to have this kind of consensus on a stamp forum. I guess I didn't win the lottery after all.

Thanks all!

I beg to differ. The original printed colour for the two backgrounds seem different. You may want to check a catalogue to see if there is a different colour variation. Reminds me of the gb prussian blue, looks almost similar to the cheap stamp.

Just to add, there is a distinct error in the used one with the mouth missing from the face. You may have struck gold with this one, I am not sure but you need to research more.

Haha. I should have known that the consensus wouldn't last long.

It makes sense to me that the red has faded out from some kind of exposure. That would account for the overall tanning/disoloration of the paper, too. Also, I can't find any reference to a color issue in either of the Japanese catalogs I've looked at.

Still, I won't throw it away just yet. ;)

What are the odds of finding a previously unknown error stamp after 27 years? Virtually zero. But if you wanted to prove it to yourself simply get a mint stamp and place it in a southern facing window sill for month or two. As CP2018 mentioned, red inks can be quite fugitive. Occam's Razor - simplest solution tends to be the right one.
Don