Puzzling German Stamp (1926/27 5-PF Schiller)

I find myself puzzled by the appearance of this stamp. Normal examples of this stamp are printed on white paper. However, this is is pinkish all over:



Despite the colour on the front, it's the normal white on the back:



How could this have come about? Surely, it can't have been due to chemical influences, as the white paper on the back would surely also have changed to pink.

Does anyone have a theory that would account for this?

Possibly layed on pink paper after being soaked off paper?

But wouldn't that affect the colour of the green area as well?

The green area is the exact same colour as all my other examples of this stamp.

The white area alone seems to have been affected!

Ask someone who does a lot of soaking
to understand how things can happen.
As soon as a stamp is "used" there are literally
millions of scenarios to change its appearance.
I agree with rileysan.

Wow, the rare Hindenburg pink head!

Russ,
it is outside my main collecting area,
I could be influenced to let it go for offers
above $50 (An SCF special price for members only)

The front of the Schiller stamp is evenly pink, but there is no pink on the reverse.

How could the front only of the stamp be affected?

How could the surface be affected in a manner that was completely even? (The Hindenburg stamp shown here is obviously extremely patchy.)

I think there's no comparison between the two items.

Jimjam

I have quite a few stamps from many coutries that look exactly like this. I've always chaulked it up to soaking or some other environmental issue

Dianne

I thought about this a little more, JimJam, and wonder if the ink from the stamp impression soaked in just enough to prevent the paper in that area from changing colors like the outside areas did. This doesn't adequately explain why there's no color change in the negative areas of the impression, but it seems a viable theory

So are you telling me it is up for auction ! (baited breath)

Most people I know throw a batch of on-paper stamps pretty much as a clump into the water to be soaked. I guess there might be a few out there who put the stamps in one by one (separately).

My point it, consider the following -- in the batch on top of the Hindenburg stamp is another stamp that happens to be on red/pink paper. It may be a short soak, but since the Hindenburg is touching the red paper directly, the face of the Hindenburg gets all pink. The back of the Hindenburg stamp is protected by its own paper. Soaker then takes the stamps out of the water, peeling the loose paper off the Hindenburg. Unfortunately, the red from other stamp backing has already stained the face of the stamp.

Possible?

Point it, of course, always take out stamps on green/red paper. If you have to soak them, soak them separate from other stamps. Unless it is a particularly valuable stamp, probably not worth the effort. (my opinion)

Interesting theory. I guess it just seems so implausible (that the surface of the stamp would be affected only where it was white, that the colour would be entirely even, and the back would not be affected at all).

Still, thanks for the suggestion because I certainly don't have a better one!

Have any kids who like to play with watercolors? Let's play "Paint the borders"!

LOL@Rileysan.

DianneEarl, care to show us a few?

I'd be particularly interested in seeing stamps with colour on the front but that remain white on the back.