T205 Gold Borders 1911

1911 · American Tobacco Company

208-card 1911 tobacco issue distinguished by its ornate gold frames. 11 different back advertisements across all major brands.

Key Facts

Release: 1911
Manufacturer: American Tobacco Company
Distribution: Inserted in cigarette packs across 11 brands (American Beauty, Broadleaf, Cycle, Drum, Hassan, Hindu, Honest, Piedmont, Polar Bear, Sovereign, Sweet Caporal)
Card stock: Lithographed cardstock with embossed gold-leaf borders, 1⁷⁄₁₆″ × 2⁵⁄₈″
Printer / Designer: Printed by American Lithographic Co., New York
Series: Major League portraits · Minor League frame portraits
Total cards: 208

Ty Cobb
The set's premier hitter; Cobb's gold-bordered Detroit portrait is the headline card.
Christy Mathewson
Big Six in his prime — fresh off Giants' 1911 NL pennant.
Walter Johnson
The Big Train mid-career, well before his Triple Crown peak years.
Cy Young
Issued the year Young retired; one of the last contemporary cards of his playing career.
Tris Speaker
Pre-Indians Spoke Speaker, a year before his 1912 MVP season.
John McGraw
Little Napoleon — Giants manager and arguably the era's most influential field general.
Mordecai Brown
Three Finger Brown, Cubs ace in his final dominant season.
"Home Run" Baker
Athletics' slugging third baseman, soon to earn his famous nickname in the 1911 World Series.
Hoblitzell (Corrected)
Famous name-spelling correction — the "Hoblitzel" original is the desirable error variation.
Eddie Collins (Mouth Open)
Two pose variations exist; Collins's mouth-open portrait is the scarcer of the pair.
Chief Bender
World Series workhorse for Connie Mack's $100,000 infield era.
Rube Marquard
"The $11,000 Lemon" who turned into a 24-game winner the year this set was issued.