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 24 total examples of this 1909 Ramly T204, with
only eight receiving a higher grade than the VG-EX 4 offered here of Boston third baseman Harry Lord.
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 minor edge wear and chipping that is so common
with the set's gold
borders, particularly noticeable in the corners. Some snow affects the portrait area, most notably above Lord's left ear, but his image is still strong and stoic. The
reverse
is beautifully clean with only a few spots of soiling, along the right side, and in the left corners.
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.