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 13 total examples of this 1909 Ramly T204, with
only seven receiving a higher grade than the VG 3 offered here of Detroit second baseman Germany Schaefer.
Centering
is gorgeous on this one, helping the eye appeal as much as it helps the grade. There
is some light edge wear and chipping that is so common
with the set's gold
borders, particularly in the corners and along the left edge. There is some creasing on the right side, near the center and in the lower corner. The bold, dark color of Schaefer's uniform provides a brilliant contrast to the rest of his bright, clean portrait. The reverse is beautifully clean, with only a small spot of soiling at the center of the bottom 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 at this - or any - grade.