1911 Gold Border T205 Guide
Set Description
In 1911, the American Tobacco Company released one of the more distinctive looking sets ever produced. The T205 set stands out in part for its gold flaked borders placed around the card. There are 208 different cards in a complete set. Card design is based on the league the player was in. For National League teams, a lithograph featuring the player from the shoulders up appears on a plain background with a facsimile signature. For American League team, the lithograph appeared with a baseball diamond. Bats, mitts, and baseballs were added below the image, along with a banner containing the players last name and team. Backs contained one of 11 possible advertising brands. Of note, 12 minor league players were also included in this set. The set is known for containing many errors and variations. One of the most valuable variation cards, Hoblitzel (no stats), appears in this set. The T205 set is also heavy on Hall of Famers, with Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, and Cy Young all being featured. The gold borders are highly susceptible to cracking and wear. High grade examples are tough to come by for this reason.
Set Information
Manufacturer: American Tobacco Company
Year: 1911
Cards in Set: 208
Card Size: 1-7/16" x 2-5/8"
Advertising Back Rarity
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Piedmont (most common)
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Sweet Caporal
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Polar Bear
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Hassan
-
Sovereign
-
Honest Long Cut
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Cycle
-
American Beauty
-
Broad Leaf
-
Hindu
-
Drum (least common)
Notes
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The gold border are extremely fragile and susceptible to chipping. High grade examples are difficult to come by because of this.
Subsets
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None
Errors and Variations
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E.B. Barger (full "B" on cap vs partial "B" on cap)
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Roger Bresnahan (mouth open vs closed)
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Hal Chase (only left ear shows vs both ears show either gold frame to shoulder or gold frame below shoulder)
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Eddie Collins (mouth open vs closed)
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Otis Crandall ("T" crossed in name vs not crossed)
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Patsy Dougherty (Red Sox emblem vs White Sox emblem
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Russ Ford (black cap vs white cap)
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George Graham (Rustlers vs Cubs)
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Dolly Gray (stats on back vs no stats on back)
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Bob Harmon (both ears show vs left ear)
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R. Hoblitzell (no stats vs stats)
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A. Latham (A. Latham on back vs W.A. Latham on back)
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A. Leifield ("A" on front vs "A.P." on front)
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J.D. Miller (bio shows John D. vs John B.
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P.J. Moran (stray line below stats vs no line)
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David Shean (Rustlers vs Cubs)
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Bobby Wallace (with caps vs no cap)
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Irvin Wilhelm ("suffered" misspelled vs correct)
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George Wiltse (both ears show vs right ear only)
Key Cards/Hall of Famers
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Ty Cobb
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Walter Johnson
-
Cy Young
-
Christy Mathewson
-
Tris Speaker
-
Ed Walsh
-
Addie Joss
-
Hoblitzell (no stats)
-
Bobby Wallace
1911 Gold Border T205 Baseball Checklist
Ed Abbaticchio
Doc Adkins
Leon Ames
James Archer
Jimmy Austin
Bill Bailey
Home Run Baker
Neal Ball
E.B. Barger (Full ‘B’ on cap)
E.B. Barger (Partial ‘B’ on cap)
Jack Barry
Emil Batch
John Bates
Fred Beck
Beals Becker
George Bell
Chief Bender
Bill Bergen
Bob Bescher
Joe Birmingham
Lena Blackburne
Bill Bransfield
Roger Bresnahan (mouth closed)
Roger Bresnahan (mouth open)
Al Bridwell
Mordecai Brown
Bob Byrne
Hick Cady
Howie Camnitz
Bill Carrigan
Frank Chance
Hal Chase (frame stops at shoulders)
Hal Chase (only left ear)
Eddie Cicotte
Fred Clarke
Ty Cobb
Eddie Collins (mouth closed)
Eddie Collins (mouth open)
Jimmy Collins
Frank Corridon
Otis Crandall
Lou Criger
Bill Dahlen
Jake Daubert
Jim Delehanty
Art Devlin
Josh Devore
W.R. Dickson
Jiggs Donahue
Red Dooin
Mike Doolan
Patsy Dougherty
Tom Downey
Larry Doyle
Hugh Duffy
Jack Dunn
Jimmy Dygert
Dick Egan
Kid Elberfeld
Clyde Engle
Louis Evans
Johnny Evers
Bob Ewing
G.C. Ferguson
Ray Fisher
Art Fletcher
Johnny Flynn
Russ Ford (black cap)
Russ Ford (white cap)
Bill Foxen
Jimmy Frick
Art Fromme
Earl Gardner
Harry Gaspar
George Gibson
Wilbur Goode
George Graham (Cubs)
George Graham (Rustlers)
Ed Grant
Dolly Gray (no stats)
Clark Griffith
Bob Groom
Charlie Hanford
Bob Harmon (both ears)
Bob Harmon (one ear)
Topsy Hartsel
Arnold Hauser
Charlie Hemphill
C.L. Herzog
Dick Hoblitzell (with 1908 Cin, correct name spelling)
Danny Hoffman (white base)
Miller Huggins
John Hummel
Fred Jacklitsch
Hughie Jennings
Walter Johnson
Davy Jones
Tom Jones
Addie Joss
Ed Karger
Ed Killian
Red Kleinow
Johnny Kling
Jack Knight
Ed Konetchy
Harry Krause
Floyd Kroh
Frank Lang
Frank LaPorte
A. Latham (A. on back)
Tom Leach
Atty Lee
Sam Leever
Lefty Leifield (with A. in signature)
Ed Lennox
Paddy Livingston
John Lobert
Bris Lord
Harry Lord
John Lush
Nick Maddox
Sherry Magee
Rube Marquard
Christy Mathewson
A.A. Mattern
Sport McAllister
George McBride
Amby McConnell
P.L. McElveen
John McGraw
Harry McIntyre
Matty McIntyre
John McLean
Fred Merkle
George Merritt
J.T. Meyers
Clyde Milan
John Miller (Middle initial ‘B.’)
Mike Mitchell
Pat Moran
George Moriarty
George Mullin
Danny Murphy
Jack Murray
John Nee
Tom Needham
Rebel Oakes
Rube Oldring
Charley O’Leary
Fred Olmstead
Orval Overall
Fred Parent
George Paskert
Billy Payne
Barney Pelty
John Pfiester
Jimmy Phelan
E.J. Phelps
C. Phillippe
Jack Quinn
A. Raymond
Ed Reulbach
Lewis Richie
John Rowan
George Rucker
W.D. Scanlon
Germany Schaefer
George Schlei
Boss Schmidt
F.M. Schulte
Jim Scott
B.H. Sharpe
David Shean (Cubs)
David Shean (Rustlers)
James Sheckard
Hack Simmons
Tony Smith
Fred Snodgrass
Tris Speaker
Jake Stahl
Oscar Stanage
Harry Steinfeldt
George Stone
George Stovall
Gabby Street
George Suggs
Ed Summers
Jeff Sweeney
Lee Tannehill
Ira Thomas
Joe Tinker
John Titus
Terry Turner
James Vaughn
Heinie Wagner
Bobby Wallace (cap)
Bobby Wallace (no cap)
Ed Walsh
Zack Wheat
Doc White
Kirb White
Irwin Wilhelm ‘suffeed’
Ed Willett
Owen Wilson
George Wiltse (both ears)
George Wiltse (one ear)
Harry Wolter
Cy Young