T204 Ramly Cigarettes cards of 1909 feature a beautiful black-and-white
portrait of each player encircled in an ornate border with
the player's name, position, and team affiliation printed at the bottom.
The cards, which are embossed and highlighted with gold ink, are extremely condition-sensitive because they are
printed on flimsy paper. The gold borders are also very
susceptible to chipping, as is the case with most gold-bordered cards.
Between the outstanding player selection and the overall beauty of the
issue, higher-grade examples from the set are extremely pricey, making
affordable specimens tough to find.
SGC has only ever graded 11 total examples of this 1909 Ramly T204, with
only six receiving a higher grade than the Good 2 offered here of New York left fielder Red Murray.
Centering
is east and slightly north on the canvas. There
is some light edge wear and chipping that is so common
with the set's gold
borders, particularly in the corners and along the top edge. Creasing is evident in three of the corners, with another appearing at the center of the left edge heading down toward Murray's chest. A little snow and some light soiling affect mostly the background parts of the portrait area, leaving Murray's face and body bright and clean. The reverse has some general toning, with soiling particularly evident in the top right quadrant and one larger spot in the center.
Soiling is not
unusual for these
cards,
where the
embossing can act like a dust magnet.
Attractive Ramlys are among the
most beautiful cards in the hobby, but
the eye appeal of the issue can sometimes suffer in the lower grades. The scarcity of this issue far outweighs any perceived cosmetic flaws on this example.