Scott # 2433 Red Color Missing???

Hello fellows, is this a recorded error? I don't have access to the latest US specialized. No signs of alteration. Your opinions please.

faded....

If the red color was missing, there would be no design where the red is.

I'm more inclined to go with the "fading" observation. As we all know most colors are made up of a combination of other colors. The reds and browns are light sensitive and more fugitive. So I can see where the red faded out and left the other combinative color remaining. I'll have to put another example in my south window and see if I can replicate the phenomena. Thanks for your observations. Wolf-==-

Here is a stamp that could be fading as well but notice that the red color underneath the postmark is also missing. An the red seems to be missing from the background purple, making it more bluish.

Whenever I see a red "missing colour" stamp on offer, fading is the instant thought. I understand it to be due to the chemical make-up of the ink, with ultra-violet light acting as a bleaching agent. And it's not just stamps, of course. Look all around you and it will be the reds that are likely to have faded - European road signs being a case in point, where they have often turned extremely pale. GLENN