Is It A Mistake In Michel's Catalog?

Agree with both Johan and Don.

And this is why I find color distinction and nomenclature the most difficult and frustrating aspect of collecting. Environmental factors and the subjective nature of individual color perception make for constant disagreement. I can't help but wish that catalogues would more often list just a stamp's prime color and add that "shades exist." We could then collect as many of the latter as we like without struggling to name the shades and argue with others who prefer a different name.

Question: Even with chemical or spectographic(?) analysis wouldn't the age and life experience of a given stamp, i.e., degradation, prevent certainty about the original color? And for current color, wouldn't different examples therefore produce different results?

Eric

I read and saw on the site many discussions about color deterioration.
I have problems with color identification and that's why I bought a Michel Color Guide a year ago.
I don't think that's the case with the color of the overprint.
All my stamps with overprint black (ish) green do not show any color damage. Only the overprint "2 millionen" shows this overprint black (I checked them with the minimicroscope and they do not have the color green).
I am still waiting for the German stamp collectors to check these stamps and to confirm / or not , the hypothesis that it is a catalog mistake.

I tend to agree with you that the 2 million overprint seems black. The member that might know is StampmasterGS. Unfortunately, his GermanStamps.net does not name the overprint colour.

Call me foolish, but I wonder what difference it makes--seriously now--whether an overprint is black or blackish-green. If we're not talking about a possible variant, but only about the overprint's normal color, what difference does it make what the catalogue calls it? Especially when it's a matter of so minor a distinction of shades?