1935-37 Gum Inc. G-Men & Heroes of the Law (R60)

Total Cards: 168

Size: 2 1/2" x 3 1/8"

Rating: TBA
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1935-37 Gum Inc. G-Men & Heroes of the Law (R60)

Notes

The R60 Series contains three distinct sets produced between 1935 and 1937.

(1) 1935 Gum, Inc. G-Men & Heroes of the Law (ACC# R60-1 / R60a) The first set in this series is a 24-card set released in 1935 by Gum, Inc. The cards are sequentially numbered from 1 to 24. These cards can be distinguished from the other sets by the lack of a copyright on the card front and smooth (non-rouletted) borders. Although originally classified as “R60-1” in the American Card Catalog (ACC), many modern collectors refer to this set as “R60a”.

(2) 1935 Anonymous G-Men & Heroes of the Law strip cards (ACC# R60-2 / R60b) The second set in this series is a 24-card sequentially numbered set released in 1935. It is unknown if this set was released by Gum, Inc or if it was produced by another company using Gum, Inc.’s design. The cards in this set can be distinguished by the presence of at least one rouletted side border indicting that it was part of a strip. Additionally, the ink/paper combination results in brighter colors on the card front and the card number on the back of the card is slightly taller. Although originally classified as “R60-2” in the ACC, many modern collectors refer to this set as “R60b”.

(3) 1936-37 Gum, Inc G-Men & Heroes of the Law (ACC R60-3 / R60c) The final set in this series is a 168-card skip-numbered set that was produced from 1936-37 by Gum, Inc. The set was produced in eight separate groups, each with their own distinguishing characteristics. Although originally classified as “R60-3” in the ACC, many modern collectors refer to this set as “R60c”.

Group 1: “Common Low Numbers” (ACC # R60c-1) Group 1 cards are sequentially numbered 1 through 24. These cards all bear a 1936 Gum, Inc. copyright on both the front and back. The ampersand (“&”) found on front in the set title (G-Men & The Heroes of the Law) is printed in yellow. They are about twice as plentiful as either of the other two available varieties of cards #1-24.

Group 2: “Common Low Numbers” (ACC # R60c-2) Group 2 cards are skip-numbered between #26-96. The color of the ampersand symbol (“&”) on the front is yellow. This group comes in two variations. Variation A contains the text “series of 240” in the last paragraph on the card back. Variation B: does not contain the text “series of 240” on the card back. Group 2 contains the following card #’s: 26, 29, 33, 36, 40, 42, 44, 47, 50, 53, 55, 58, 62, 65, 69, 72, 74, 77, 80, 84, 86, 89, 93, and 96.

Group 3: “The Red Ampersands” (ACC # R60c-3) Group 3 cards are skip-numbered between #56-142. The color of the ampersand symbol (“&”) on the front is red. This group comes in two variations. Variation A contains the text “series of 240” in the last paragraph on the card back. Variation B does not contain the text “series of 240” on the card back. Group 3 contains the following card #’s: 56, 60, 63, 67, 75, 79, 82, 91, 98, 101, 104, 106, 109, 112, 114, 117, 120, 123, 126, 128, 132, 135, 139, and 142.

Group 4: “Common Low Numbers” (ACC # R60c-4) Group 4 cards are skip-numbered between #25-166. The color of the ampersand symbol (“&”) on the front is yellow. This group comes in two variations. Variation A contains the text “series of 240” in the last paragraph on the card back. Variation B: does not contain the text “series of 240” on the card back. Group 4 contains the following card #’s: 25, 32, 39, 46, 51, 59, 66, 81, 87, 92, 97, 103, 111, 119, 125, 129, 131, 137, 147, 151, 155, 158, 162, and 166.

Groups 1 through 4 are often collectively referred to as “The Common Ninety-six”.

Group 5: “Left Hand Lows” / “Low Skips” (ACC # R60c-5) Group 5 cards are skipped-numbered between #28-196. Group 5 cards can be distinguished from “The Common Ninety-six” by the word “TRADEMARK” which appears on the card front and all front card numbers are located in the lower left hand corner. The card backs never contain the text “series of 240”. Group 5 cards are often further divided into sub-groups based on commonly accepted levels of scarcity. Five cards are commonly classified as “rare” and are often referred to as the “Big 5” (card #’s 28, 57, 88, 94, and 100). Seven cards are commonly classified as “scarce” and are often referred to as the “Big 7” (card #’s 38, 45, 49, 64, 76, 83, and 107). The remaining 12 cards (card #’s 115, 121, 127, 136, 149, 156, 169, 177, 181, 185, 191, and 196) are commonly classified as “semi-scarce”.

Group 6: “The Red Ampersands w/variations” (ACC # R60c-6) Group 6 cards are skipped-numbered between #126-191. All Group 6 cards contain a “Red Ampersand” and do not have a reference to “240” on the card back. The cards in this group are all reprints of cards produced in previous groups. Nine of the cards are reprints of cards in Group 4 (129, 131, 137, 147, 151, 155, 158, 162, and 166). Since Group 4 cards have a “Yellow Ampersand”, this creates a “Red Ampersand” variation for this grouping of cards. An additional nine cards are reprints of cards in Group 5 (127, 136, 149, 156, 169, 177, 181, 185, and 191). The Group 6 cards are indistinguishable from the Group 5 cards and creates DPs of these cards. The same is true for the remaining six cards in this group (126, 128, 132, 135, 139, and 142) which are reprints of cards from Group 3.

Group 7: “1936 High Numbers” / “200’s” (ACC #R60c-7) Group 7 cards display a 1936 copyright date, front card number located in lower left hand corner and contain the word “Trademark” on the front. Group 7 contains the following cards: 201, 203, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214, 219, 227, 233, 239, 242, 248, 253, 257, 262, 266, 269, 271, 275, 277, 279, 281, and 283.

Group 8: “1937 High Numbers” / “300’s & 400’s” (ACC #R60c-8) Group 8 cards display a 1937 copyright date, front card number located in lower left hand corner and contain the word “Trademark” on the front. Group 8 contains the following cards: 307, 311, 319, 326, 335, 343, 349, 355, 362, 371, 381, 389, 397, 401, 405, 411, 415, 419, 424, 427, 431, 437, 445, and 451.