Lot # 500: 1911 T205 Gold Border Partial Master Set (144/221) Plus 66 Duplicates

Presented is a rarely offered partial master set of T205 Gold Borders consisting of 144 different cards (out of 221 in the set), plus 66 duplicates. The T205 Gold Borders set is universally recognized as one of the most classic of all tobacco-card issues and includes all the great stars of the era and many rarities that make it one of the most challenging and difficult-to-complete of all tobacco-card sets. Overall, this is a very attractive medium- to lower-grade partial master set. Condition is 21% Vg-Ex to Ex (including one Ex-Mt), 46% Gd to Vg, and 33% lesser (including some due solely to a small piece of tape on the reverse). Three cards have been professionally graded and encapsulated by SGC. This collection consists of the following: 1) Partial Master Set (144/221): The advertising backs for the set consist mostly of Piedmont and Sweet Caporal, with Hassan (30), Polar Bear (14), Honest Long Cut (11), Sovereign (9), Cycle (1), and American Beauty (1) also represented. Keys: Brown (Hassan, POOR 1), Clarke (GOOD 2), Crandall/"t" not crossed (Pr-Fr due to tape on reverse), Dahlen (Vg, Hassan), Dougherty/red sock (Vg-Ex), Fisher (Pr-Fr due to tape on reverse), Ford/white cap (Vg, Polar Bear), Graham/Cubs (Pr-Fr, Hassan), Grant (Vg, Hassan), Harmon/left ear (Vg-Ex+, Hassan), Hoblitzell/"Cin." after 1908 stats (Pr, Honest), Kleinow (Fr due to minor back damage, Hassan), Marquard (Pr-Fr due to tape on reverse), Raymond (Pr-Fr due to tape on reverse, Hassan), Rowan (Vg+, Honest), Scanlan (Fr, Polar Bear), Shean/Cubs (Vg, Hassan), Suggs (Pr-Fr due to tape on reverse), Sweeney (Fr), Turner (Fr due solely to small spots of paper loss on reverse), Vaughan (Vg+, Polar Bear), Wagner (Pr-Fr due to tape and small spot of paper loss on reverse, Hassan), and Wiltse/right ear (Pr-Fr due to tape and small spot of paper loss on reverse, Honest). Minor Leaguers (all Hassan backs unless noted): Adkins (Vg+), Batch (Vg), Cady (Vg, Polar Bear), J. Collins (Hassan, GOOD 2), Dunn (Pr), Hanford (Pr-Fr due to tape on reverse), Lee (Pr), Merritt (Pr-Fr due to tape on reverse), and Nee (Vg, Polar Bear). Missing the following 77 cards for completion: Archer, Baker, Barger/full "B", Barger/partial "B", Beck, Bender, Bergen, Bransfield, Bresnahan/mouth closed, Bresnahan/mouth open, Chance, Chase/gold frame extends, Chase/frame ends, Chase/left ear, Cicotte, Cobb, E. Collins/mouth closed, E. Collins/mouth open, Crandall/"t" crossed, Donohue, Doolan, Dougherty/white sock, Duffy, Evers, Ford/black cap, Frick, Goode, Gray/no stats on back, Gray/stats on back, Griffith, Hemphill, Hoblitzell/no stats on back, Hoblitzell/name incorrect, Hoblitzell/no "Cin." after 1908 stat, Huggins, Hummel, Jennings, Johnson, D. Jones, Joss, Karger, Kling, Latham/A. Latham on back, Latham/W. A. Latham on back, Leifield/"A" on front, Leifield/"A. P." on front, Lobert, Magee, Mathewson, Mathewson/1 loss, Mattern, McAllister, McGraw, Meyers, Mitchell, Moran/stray line of type, Murray, Phelan, Quinn, Reulbach, Speaker, Stahl, Steinfeldt, Stovall, Summers, Tinker, Wallace/with cap, Wallace/no cap, one line of 1910 stats, Wallace/no cap - two lines of 1910 stats, Walsh, Wheat, K. White, Wilhelm/"suffered" in bio, Wilhelm/"suffe ed" in bio, Wilson, Wiltse/both ears, and Young. 2) Duplicates (66 cards, 54 different): The advertising backs for the duplicates consist mostly of Piedmont and Sweet Caporal, with Polar Bear (10), Hassan (3), and Honest Long Cut (1) also represented. Keys: Two Clarke (Vg, Polar Bear, and Vg-Ex, Hassan), Dahlen (Gd+), Dougherty/red sock (Vg), Grant (Pr-Fr due to tape on reverse), Hoblitzell/"Cin." after 1908 stats (Pr-Fr. Polar Bear), Shean/Cubs (writing on reverse, otherwise Vg, Hassan), Turner (Pr-Fr due to tape and small spot of paper loss on reverse), and Vaughan (Pr-Fr, Hassan). T205 Gold Borders in these grades are understandably extremely popular as they represent one of the best values in all of vintage-card collecting. This is a very appealing collection, including several rare cards and five Hall of Famers, and would serve as an outstanding foundation for the assembly of a low- to mid-grade complete set. Total: 210 cards.