T205 Borders - Color Variance

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Posted By: Mark

I have heard that T205’s that were not “golded” are green in appearance. Does this hold true? Are others black or any other color?

Thanks,

Mark
mrios@hotmail.com

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Posted By: George Gogol

Mark,
I was wondering the same thing after I read my REA catalog. I have never heard about the gold being held off of T205's and would appreciate more guidance on this issue as well?

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Posted By: Russ Bright

what lot #? I would like to read the description.

I know I have received T205's that look green and some appear to have been a product of water-damage (the gold washes off) and some look downright moldy.

Yes I have seen some that look "un-gilded" - some people say a sure-fire way to tell a counterfeit, but there are genuine ones out there with less than stellar borders.

I guess the question was about the ones without the gold - Yes, they look green

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Posted By: davidcycleback

The T205 borders were gilded, meaning they are covered in metal dust. Gold wasn't used, but some cheaper gold-colored metal. This metal often tarnished over time, including into a dark copper color and sometimes with a greenish tint. So variations in color are usually caused to variations in aging/tarnishing. How they were stored likely effected the appearance. The Stature of Liberty has a lot of copper in it, which is why it turns green.

T205s without any gilding, like with scraps, will have light yellow borders.

If you have an antique card, cabinet photo or collectible where the gilding is gold-colored and bright and shiny as new, it's probably real gold. A common property of gold is that it doesn't tarnish. They used gold on some 1800s Allen & Ginter non-sports cards and, I believe, the N173 Cabinets. I'm not aware of anyone using gold on trading cards in the 1900s-- excepting those Highland Mint-type cards.

The word gild, or guild, literally translates to gold. However, over the years other metals have been used, including silver and copper.

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Posted By: Russ Bright

found the lot... Strange description... I CAN say that a couple of the ones that I have with the "green borders" have that same overall hourglass shape (the sides seem to bow inward and the corners seem extra rounded) The Young and Sweeney are very obviously that shape in the picture...

IMHO it seems that they ARE more well worn, Still may be handcut but...

I don't think any T205 collector would willingly pay a premium for these, they look dingy - the "green border" really detracts from the overall attractiveness of these cards.

If there was concrete evidence that they were printer's scraps or from an uncut sheet maybe, but there isn't proof...

Some nice cards though even if they ARE Poor, I'd still get them for my Low grade collection...

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Posted By: Mark

In T205 reprints, what color variance is there in regards to their borders? Or are all T205 reprints gold bordered?

I would assume that T205's missing the last process (gold) would indicate a layering or a multi-step process - hence, authentic T205's. Would someone do the same lengthy process for just reprints?


Thanks,

Mark

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Posted By: davidcycleback

Tarnishing (dark brown, green) is a good sign of authenticity. Modern metal printing on cards doesn't tarnish, and certainly doesn't turn green. If it's a homemade computer reprint, there will be no metal, just the picture of metal. The metal on a T205 shines differently than the rest of the card and you can feel the texture with your finger.

As T205s have a metal dust, the borders have a dusty, speckly surface. If the borders are super smooth, like with a bar of gold, it's modern.

Gilding was the last step in making the cards. Technically, it's considered a type of printing, though is obviously different than the standard ink printing. First, glue was applied to the borders, then the metal dust was sprinkled on, the dust sticking the glue. Again, if dust is missing, the borders behind are light yellow. The borders underneath were probably printed yellow to hide any metal chipping, flaking.