T205s

I find the T205 set to have the greatest appeal, something that has probably been voiced here before. The gold borders makes it especially challenging when going for quality cards. Does anyone have any other words of wisdom, pros, cons, etc. regarding this set? Also...variations??? For example, the design of Collins open mouth is quite different from the design of the Evers. Why the difference?

not a big fan of them myself... sorry! I like t204's a lot more if you like gold.

Sacralidge! T204s look good but are bland compared to t205s. t205s are still the king of sets with gold

Jay

I am also not fond of the T205. At least not the fronts. The dark gold borders combined with the busy and dark portraits make the cards look so grim, and it does not remind me of baseball at all.

On the other hand, I love the back of the T205s. The descriptions and stats for the players is much nicer than most of the ad backs on most tobacco and candy cards of the era.

JohnV wrote:For example, the design of Collins open mouth is quite different from the design of the Evers. Why the difference?

Hi JohnV, I am an obsessed t205 freak. If I understand you correctly, the reason the design of the Collins (regaurdless of variation) is different than the Evers is because of leagues. If you see a baseball diamond around the player, he is in the AL. If he is in the NL, it will be a portrait of him with a replicated autograph(I think it's called Facsimile Autograph).

AL 110 cards


NL 76 Cards

When you really get into the set you will see 12 cards that look like this:




This is a minor league player. They are all in action poses unlike the rest of the cards. The gold borders are fancier in this one so some people don't know that they are all in the same set. Only two tobacco companies advertised on these cards:Hassan and Polar Bear.

You will also see the same cards sell for different amounts of money. This is mainly because of the tobacco company on the back. After each brand, I will put the percent of how many cards have this back out of a survey of 17,000 cards. I did not include ink variations. (rarest to common)

Drum .14%
Hindu .17%
Broadleaf .33%
Piedmont Factory 42 .96%
American Beauty 1.46%
Cycle 2.78%
Sovereign 8.45%
Honest Long Cut 8.80%
Hassan 11.80%
Polar Bear 12.06%
Sweet Caporal 15.81%
Piedmont Factory 25 37.25%

There are two Piedmonts as you can see. One factory (told on bottom of back of card) is much rarer than the other.
This is my Drum t205. Crappy but awsome!!!






-Randy

Although I no longer have some of these T205's, I though this would be neat to share.

Cool scan, Turner!

Speaking of Turner and T205 cards, check out: http://www.t205.org for a little more information.

Jay stated: "t205s are still the king of sets with gold"

I agree. Beautiful cards IMO.....

Tony

T205's has the better gold borders. This one looked really bright to me. It might be just the camera flash.



-Randy

If the t206 had gold borders, and the t205s were white, the t205s would still be the superior design, imo:

https://vbbc.forumotion.com/pre-ww2-cards-f1/t202-collection-my-set-t745.htm?highlight=t202

Randy, nice informative post!

Re: the Matty you posted...

Over time the majority t205's have lost their luster, but a small percentage have managed to retain their original gold "sheen". That is likely the case with the Matty (and nothing to do with a camera flash). When I was working on a t205 set I had a few like that and they are real beauties. They almost sparkle. I have no solid data on how many are still like that, but I'd venture to guess that less than 5% of t205's still have those shiny gold borders.

I would have a hard time choosing between t205's and Ramlys. Both are truly great sets.

Thanks Ben,
I could have kept going on about the article but I decided to save your eyes!

My vote is that the t205 gold is better than the t204 gold.

-Randy

Scene 25

HEAD KNIGHT: Nee!
Nee!
Nee!
Nee!
ARTHUR: Who are you?
HEAD KNIGHT: We are the Knights Who Say... Nee!
ARTHUR: No! Not the Knights Who Say Nee!
HEAD KNIGHT: The same!
BEDEMIR: Who are they?
HEAD KNIGHT: We are the keepers of the sacred words: Nee, Pen, and
Nee-wom!
RANDOM: Nee-wom!
ARTHUR: Those who hear them seldom live to tell the tale!
HEAD KNIGHT: The Knights Who Say Nee demand a sacrifice!
ARTHUR: Knights of Nee, we are but simple travellers who seek the
enchanter who lives beyond these woods.
HEAD KNIGHT: Nee! Nee! Nee! Nee!
ARTHUR and PARTY: Oh, ow!
HEAD KNIGHT: We shall say 'nee' again to you if you do not appease us.
ARTHUR: Well, what is it you want?
HEAD KNIGHT: We want... a shrubbery!
[dramatic chord]
ARTHUR: A what?
HEAD KNIGHT: Nee! Nee!
ARTHUR and PARTY: Oh, ow!
ARTHUR: Please, please! No more! We shall find a shrubbery.
HEAD KNIGHT: You must return here with a shrubbery or else you will
never pass through this wood alive!
ARTHUR: O Knights of Nee, you are just and fair, and we will return
with a shrubbery.
HEAD KNIGHT: One that looks nice.
ARTHUR: Of course.
HEAD KNIGHT: And not too expensive.
ARTHUR: Yes.
HEAD KNIGHTS: Now... go!