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 39 total examples of this 1909 Ramly T204 of Hall of Fame Chicago first baseman Frank Chance.
Centering
is nice, save for some minor diamond cutting which leaves the top left corner just a hair higher than the right. There
is some edge wear and chipping that is so common
with the set's gold
borders, particularly in the corners. There is a small crease in the top left corner, and another in the lower left quadrant, as well. While there is some soiling on the front, and a bit of snow, the portrait of the Hall of Famer is still clean and bright. The reverse has some significant
soiling and staining, not unusual for these
cards,
where the
embossing can act like a dust magnet. Luckily, this does not affect the condition or eye appeal of the front of the card. Some of the text on the back has begun to fade, but every word is still very legible.
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 of the Hall of Famer.