Germany Scott #89/89A Color Difference

Can anyone show me a side by side example of a Germany Scott #89 (magenta) and 89a (red violet)? I would be most grateful!! Thanks...Greg

My effort, let's see what the experts say........

Thanks guys!!

Using the Scott catalog to understand German stamps is a very bad idea. And, this stamp, in particular, is a good example why.

These watermarked Germanias are of two basic types: peacetime printings (1905-13), and wartime printings (1915-19). There are threads on SCF which delve into the differences. I don't believe Scott is helpful here.

The Michel catalog lists two printings of the peacetime 60pf stamp: 1.) gray-lilac to dark red-lilac (1911), and 2.) violet-purple (1912). There are three printings of the wartime printings: 1.) dark to blackish gray-lilac (1915), 2.) light brown-violet to gray-purple (1915), and 3.) brown-purple (1916).

Without understanding war vs. peace printings, and without reference (expertized) examples, it is impossible to make a good guess about these stamps. Even with expertized copies, the color ranges for the 5 different varieties can be quite broad.

I have no idea what criteria the folks at Scott publishing are using to define their colors/stamps.

Not trying to be difficult or "snooty" about this, just giving an honest viewpoint.

..and the forum is all the better for it.
Keep it up.

Well, Bob, thanks for being 'snooty'. I have to agree that the Scott catalogs leave a lot to be desired when it comes to these issues as well as many others. It certainly creates a dilema...how much does a collector need to spend on resources in order to determine the appropriate cat number/value of an inexpensive stamp?
I use philately as a way to relax...but between these and the Machins, that seems to be in theory only!! Thanks for all the expertise guys...

Thanks Rod and tgswanner. Here are some examples from my collection. The 2 stamps are peacetime printings, and the 4 stamps are wartime printings. The name under the stamp indicates the expertizer.

Perhaps Scott is trying to indicate that the peacetime/lighter colored examples are one of their types, and the darker/wartime stamps are their other type. Who knows?