I’m honestly not sure. I glassed him during the season and even video taped him with the zoom as much as I could zoom in and still get a clear pic. Looked like velvet kinda then too.
It only becomes black in my experience once they rub the hair off it. In my mind it looks just like the freeze dried racks with velvet on them that I have seen. It is definitely not still in the growing phase, no bulbous tips. I feel like it grew the antlers, but then did not have the hormones kick in for it to start rubbing trees and brush to remove the velvet.
Had one like that a few years ago. She was 9 or 10 when I quit getting pics. Took awhile to get a pic from behind. Most years the tines would freeze and she would just have stubs till next growing season. Never had a fawn.