The early 1900s may have been a pivotal time in America, but while the economy was transforming further into manufacturing the sport of baseball was becoming more widespread. It was also a period where tobacco companies were inserting baseball and other collector cards into their packs of cigarettes. These were considered to be advertisements in some aspects, but the real effect was that it lured smokers to buy their cigarettes over other brands. The T204 Ramly set is second-fiddle to the T206 baseball set, but the cards cost a major premium and for good reason.

Collectors Dashboard has focused on many key tobacco card sales over time. There is a lot more to consider than some of the high prices the T-cards (for tobacco) have commanded. One set that stands out among vintage baseball card collectors is the T204 Ramly tobacco card set from 1909. The prices have moved into the investment zone in recent years, and the number of sales and available cards are too sporadic to make bold predictions.

The T204 Ramly set is not as widely known as other T-cards of the era. It also has a very mixed reputation from collector to collector. Some collectors will differ in opinion with the “visually stunning” description used in the PSA CardFacts assessment of the black and white photos surrounded by embossed gold. What is not up for debate about this 121-card set is that the T204 set is fairly rare, which leads to scarcity that helps drive up the value of collectibles.

One key issue that Collectors Dashboard would also point out about future demand is that many collectors just do not know very much about the T204 set. The Ramly set was issued mostly in the New England region from a Massachusetts factory by the Mentor tobacco company. This narrower geography certainly helped contribute to the set’s scarcity in time. The set also has a rather boring back that says “10 for 10 cents,” and this further opens the debate over its eye appeal.

PSA’s base grading as of May 5, 2021 included just 2,541 total graded cards in the set. There were another 263 “+” grades and 72 graded samples with “Q” included to making just under 2,900 PSA graded T204 cards with any grade. All in all, and to show scarcity, that is barely 1.1% of the number of T206 cards that PSA has ever graded.

SGC’s population report counts 2,338 graded samples of Ramly T204 cards, and 101 having the T.T.T. backs. There is also a low population of T204 Ramly cards with blank backs, and there is also a sheet cut group of these cards that have been tallied up from the “Nagy Collection.”

T204 cards were inside of the namesake Ramly brand and the much less common T.T.T brands of Turkish tobacco. There were variations on the cards with a few players having a square frame and the majority having oval frames around their photos. It is the square variations which are much more rare, and they command prices that can be 10-times (or more) higher than the oval frames. According to the Baseball Card Emporium site, the six players with square borders were likely proofs and had a connection to Worcester where the Massachusetts cigarette factory was located. Those six players are Anderson, Bancroft, Bransfield, Burkett, Dinneen, and Moran.

The T204 set’s gold edges and embossed surface made these cards very susceptible to visible chipping. It also makes any visible nicks on the corners stand out much more to hurt its overall eye appeal compared to the more prominent T206 cards of the same era. The golden ornate design of the times may have been to help it appear Turkish per the brand’s name, but it also makes any damage seem to jump out much more than most tobacco cards.

Walter Johnson is the capstone card of the 1909 T204 Ramly set. This players dominance in pitching with a slight side-winder pitching would have been even more legendary had he actually played for a better team. Some of the other Hall of Fame players are Chief Bender, Mordecai Brown, Frank Chance, Johnny Evers, Eddie Plank (Ed) and Joe Tinker. There were just 20 PSA graded cards of Plank and Tinker, and 22 of Bender.

The photo of the Walter Johnson card is one of a young skinny Walter Johnson. His light collar and dark jersey are exact opposites of Johnson’s T206 portrait card that has an exponentially higher sample of graded cards. With 33 base grades from PSA and 29 graded by SGC, the Johnson card is not the rarest card of the Hall of Fame players in the set. That does not prevent this card from being the most valuable card in the set by far.

While there are two Walter Johnson samples graded at a PSA 8 and one sample at PSA 7, there are six samples each at the PSA 6, PSA 2 and PSA 1 grades, followed by 2 authentic grades from trimming or other issues. There is also one graded sample of the Johnson card having a blank back. The PSA cards of Johnson just do not come up for auction all that often.

Sale prices for the T204 are also often at a significant premium against the much more common T206 cards. Here are some of the Walter Johnson sales that point to Johnson being the capstone of the set:

• A January 2019 auction of a PSA 3 through PWCC (eBay) fetched $8,800 but PWCC more recently had a SGC 2 graded sample sell for $13,700 in a March 2021 auction.
• The highest known sale price was in a Memory Lane auction back in January 2018 which fetched $132,000 for one of the two PSA 8 samples.
• Another auction of a SGC 96 under the old SGC grading standard went off at $59,250 back in 2014.

Another issue with the T204 set on top of the geographic location was that 5 of the players who ultimately became Hall of Famers of the era are not included in the set. Look at who the Ramly set is missing: Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford, Nap Lajoie, Christy Mathewson, Tris Speaker, Cy Young, AND there is no Honus Wagner.

While there are usually many common and Hall of Fame T204 cards available for sale on eBay, most sellers just keep a “Buy It Now” price to avoid potentially low sale prices. It is difficult to expect purchases of the Hall of Famers to sell for under $500, and if they do the condition is not going to be very solid. Most sale prices of the graded common cards also have tended to go for higher prices than the $50 to $90 range indicated by PSA for the respective “1” and “2” grades.

While it is undeniable that collectibles have matured into an alternative asset class, collectors and investors alike need to understand that the price paid one day is not assured to be higher the next sale. Some cards and other collectibles can also fall out of favor and see their prices plummet.