Auction #11 - June 2022
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/26/2022
Gum, Inc issued the R145 Superman set in 1940. The set consisted of two series--a 48 card low number series and a very difficult 24 card high number series. Superman first appeared in DC's Action Comics on April 18, 1938. Like other superheroes of the time, he quickly got into the hearts and minds of America's youth and their growing imaginations. That this set came out only a couple years after Superman appeared tells us of the character's popularity. Action comics quickly became a mainstay in drugstores all across America, put DC Comics on the map and is still published today. Superman continues an over-70 year run of popularity as movies and TV shows have featured Superman over these many decades and all manner of collectibles have been created to supplement demand for his likeness. This set represents a good opportunity to get a clean, even set appearing about VGEX to EX. While it doesn't contain any high numbers, it is one of the most popular pre-war gum sets to be found.
Condition breakdown on this set of low number R145 Gum Inc Superman cards is generally VG to EX and mostly clean. There are 4-5 cards that are lower grade. (34) of the (48) cards in this low series set have had some ballpoint writing on the back--generally what appears to be a cursive letter "D". The cards without the writing include the following numbers: 11, 12, 15, 18, 23, 24, 25, 27, 32, 40, 41, 44, 45 and 46.
Card #1 is in VG condition with nice corners and some light creasing in the upper right. It is, unfortunately, one of the cards with the "D" written on the back. The card has good color and displays nicely with a clean back otherwise. The value of card #1 has grown exponentially over the last few years and low grade copies routinely sell for $1000 or more.
There is a single graded card in the set which is #20 Peril at Sea that has been graded PSA2 or Good. While there are some obvious condition issues with this set, there are some very nice cards that rise above those issues. R145 Superman cards have grown significantly in popularity in the last couple years.
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