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.
PSA has only ever graded 15 total examples of this 1909 Ramly T204, with
only five receiving a higher grade than the EX 5 offered here of
New York shortstop Jack Knight.
Centering
is just a hair east on the canvas, but looks nice overall. There
is some minor edge wear and chipping that is so common
with the set's gold
borders, particularly in the corners, but most of the gold has remained darker, bolder, and fuller than other Ramly examples we have seen. The portrait is bright and clean. The
reverse
is generally very clean, with only a few spots of soiling, most notably the bottom right and the middle of the left edge. 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. This is an extraordinary example seldom seen with this sort of visual appeal.