Produced in 1911 by JP Cochrane, this (star) Challenger Patent golf ball
has stars
inside stars across the entire surface. The ball has lost much of its original paint, but most importantly, the original paint that remains resides in the stars. This is a beautiful ball!
The reason this ball is so dark is because the cover is made out of gutta percha or a gutty composite, as was used on most early rubber core golf balls.
This ball is top row, right in the accompanying group image.