1936 WOLVERINE GUM "STRANGE TRUE STORIES" COMPLETE GUM CARD SET INCLUDING "THE BAT MAN" PSA GRADED W/WRAPPER.
Item Description
2.5x3". Set of 24. ACC# R144. Wolverine only produced one other issue, 1937's "Believe It Or Not" which is ACC# R21. Interesting card art on fronts, detailed text backs detailing the images shown along with tag line "True Stories From The Files Of One Of The World's Greatest Collectors Of Strange Tales." Back also notes the potential of 260 cards, but ultimately only these 24 were ever produced. Set deals w/some truly strange and macabre subject matter. Card titles include "Drowned By A Giant Clam, In The Grip Of The Python, Torture Of Galileo, Hari Kari, The Iron Maiden" and "Poisoned," just to name a few. The true highlight of the set, and a highly sought after card on several levels, is #24 "The Bat Man." This card came out a full three years before the first appearance of the superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27, published in 1939. This card on its own has recently sold at auction, in a much lesser grade (PSA 1 Poor) than the example we are offering in this complete set, for $4,320. With only two cards in the PSA census in our offered grade of 4 VG-EX and only one single card higher in a 5 EX, this card alone will be the pride of even the most advanced gum card collection, or a conversation piece for the comic book collector. The grades for the set are as follows- 7 NM (5), 6 EX-Mint (4), 6(MC) EX-Mint (1), 5.5 EX+ (1), 5 EX (4), 4 VG-EX (5), 4(MC) VG-EX (1), 2.5 GOOD+ (1), 1.5 FAIR (1) and 1(MC) POOR (1). Five of the cards are Pop 1 w/one higher while three tied for top Pop w/none higher, according to the PSA census, and due to these fantastic examples overall, this set registers number two overall GPA of 5.35, trailing the top set's score of 5.83 by just .48 points. The fact that there are five cards in 7 NM speaks volumes to the overall desirable nature of this offering. Single cards rarely come up for sale, a full set is an extreme rarity and the only such set we have offered in our 56 years. Specific card numbers/grades are available online. Not only is this one of the best sets assembled, it also includes the rarely seen wrapper. 5.25x7.25" waxed paper w/art similar to that of card #3 "The Fight With The Shark." All over scattered creases as originally folded, some small holes and tears w/clear tape repairs on back. Still clean w/strong colors and VG. John Grossman Collection.
Grades and number of cards per are as follows -
NM 7 (5 cards)- #3, 16, 20, 21, 23
EX-Mint 6 (4 cards)- #2, 5, 10, 17
EX-Mint 6(MC) (1 card)- #11
EX+ 5.5 (1 card)- #8
EX 5 (4 cards)- 4, 7, 15, 22
VG-EX 4 (5 cards)- #12, 13, 14, 19, 24
VG-EX 4(MC) (1 card)- #1
GOOD+ 2.5 (1 card)- #9
FR 1.5 (1 card)- #18
PR 1(MC) (1 card)- #6
