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 22 total examples of this 1909 Ramly T204, with
only nine receiving a higher grade than the VG-EX 4 offered here of Chicago third baseman Harry Steinfeldt (erroneously spelled "Stienfeldt" on the card).
Centering is slightly west on the canvas, with some minor diamond cutting which leaves the top left corner just a hair higher than the right. There
is some very light edge wear and chipping that is so common
with the set's gold
borders, particularly in the corners and along the right edge, but the
gold has remained darker, fuller, and bolder than many Ramlys we have
seen, even at this grade. There is some light creasing in the top left corner, and some snow and faint soiling in the portrait area, but the image itself is mostly undisturbed, leaving Steinfeldt bold and clean. The reverse is generally clean, with some light soiling spots near the perimeter.
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.