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 25 total examples of this 1909 Ramly T204 of Athletics pitcher Charles Albert "Chief" Bender.
Centering
is slightly east and slightly south on the canvas. There
is some edge wear and chipping that is so common
with the set's gold
borders, particularly in the corners. There are minor creases in the top
left and bottom right corners, as well. There is some snow and soiling on the
image, but you can still easily make out Bender's
distinguished portrait. The
reverse has soiling, as well, particularly in the center and near the bottom. Soiling on the reverse 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. Despite any perceived cosmetic flaws, this is still an important issue of the Hall of Famer.