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 13 total examples of this 1909 Ramly T204, with
only eight receiving a higher grade than the VG 3 offered here of Detroit shortstop Charley O'Leary.
Centering is very nice on this one. There
is some edge wear and chipping that is so common
with the set's gold
borders, particularly noticeable in the soft, rounded corners. Minor creases are found in each of the bottom corners,
with some snow and a spot of soiling within the portrait area. Luckily, O'Leary's
face and body is free from any major defects, leaving the image bold and powerful.
The reverse is generally clean, with light soiling along the left and right sides, and a couple small spots near 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.