Produced in 1911 by JP Cochrane, this (star) Challenger Patent golf ball has stars inside stars across the entire surface. The original paint is gone from the surface but remains in all the stars, giving this ball and highly attractive look. The ball itself shows little use with no strike marks.

The differences between this "Patent Challenger" ball and "The Challenger" ball in this auction are as follows. Instead of being stamped "The Challenger" on the poles, the ball in this lot is stamped "Patent Challenger" and its stars inside the stars are slightly smaller.  That and the material used to make the cover is noticably different in color.  See the final image to compare. Either ball is great!

The reason this ball is so dark is because the cover is made out of a gutta percha composite, as was used on most early rubber core golf balls.

This ball is top row, left in the accompanying group image.