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1911 T205 Gold Borders
15 April 2007
The hottest looking set from 1911 definitely has to be the T205 Gold Borders. Issued by the American Tobacco Company, the complete set consists of 208 colorful, lithographed cards.
Actually, 11 different cigarette companies - all under the ATC - distributed the Gold Borders. The set features players from both the major and minor leagues.
The cards could be found in packs of Drum, Cycle, Hassan, Honest Long Cut, Piedmont, Sovereign, Sweet Caporal, American Beauty, Broad Leaf, Hindu, and Polar Bear cigarettes. The most common advertisements are of Piedmont and Sweet Caporal.
Each card from the 208-card set measures 1-7/16" by 2-5/8" and shows a photomechanical print of the player in one of several poses. For example, some of the players are shown with or without caps. Also, some cards have autographs and some don’t. Players from the National League feature the facsimile autographs (the first ever in any major baseball card set).
The cigarette company advertised and the card fronts vary. For example, some cards feature the portrait of the player surrounded by a diamond background and various baseball equipment (bats, ball, catcher’s mask, etc.). In fact, all American League players are depicted in this way.
National League players feature an upper body portrait of the player on a plain background. Minor League players are shown almost in full body views, or in action shots.
T205 card backs render in-depth player statistics and biographies along with the usual cigarette advertisement.
Another first is the use of the player’s full name on the card backs (Major League players only). Minor League players do not have statistics.
Included in the Gold Border set are 12 cards depicting minor league players, five of whom are shown in the T206 set.
The values of the Piedmont and Sweet Caporal cards are generally less than the other more rarer cards.
An example of the value of these 100-year old cards is one of Home Run Baker. A PSA 8 graded example of Baker’s card can fetch more than $20,000!
T205 cards with little damage to the gold trimmed borders carry high values. In fact, locating any of these cards in the mid to high grade category is a battle.
Here are several additional cards from the 1911 T205 Gold Borders set:
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