1936 World Wide Gum Set (V355)

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	V355 World Wide Gum
Year	1936
Size	2 3/8″ x 2 7/8″
Images	Black and White
Type	Canadian
Number in Set	135

1936 V355 World Wide Gum Overview

For the third time in four years, the World Wide Gum Company mirrored the American Goudey company in the production of a baseball card set. But unlike the 1933 and 1934 issues, the 1936 issues were distinctly different.

Created by the World Wide Gum Company, the 1936 V355 set is close to the 1936 Goudey issues in terms of look. Both are black and white and the cards are about the same size. But there are significant differences, too.

The Goudey cards contained replica signatures of the players on the front and the backs were actually part of a game. The World Wide Gum cards didn’t have any such autograph (instead, they only had the player’s name and card number inside of a box) and backs were standard biographies (in both English and French).

For the first time, the World Wide Gum set is much larger, too. The 1936 Goudey release consisted of only 25 cards while the World Wide Gum cards had a whopping 135 in their set. It was the largest World Wide Gum set, in fact, of the three that mirrored Goudey issues in 1933, 1934, and 1936.

The cards are nearly impossible to find in high grade as PSA has not assigned any cards a 9 or 10 grade (and only ten cards have received straight PSA 8s).

Joe DiMaggio Rookie Card

There are several noteworthy cards but, without a doubt, the key is the rookie card of the legendary Joe DiMaggio.

Simply put, DiMaggio’s card in this set is one of the most important gum issues of all time. And while he has other rookies in some premium sets, his World Wide Gum card is easily his most desirable card. Even in low-grade condition, it is a very expensive card because of its rarity and prestige. The card, even in bad shape, generally sells for more than $10,000.

The fact is, that it is one of the most valuable pre-war cards out there. Even in lower-grade condition, it’s a five-figure card. A PSA 2, for example, sold in a Heritage Auction in 2017 for more than $13,000. A PSA 3 sold on eBay in 2018 for over $20,000.

Here’s a closer look at the DiMaggio card and its overall importance.

Card No. 135 Philip Weintraub

Collectors pursuing this set should note the rarity of the final card, No. 135 Philip Weintraub. The Weintraub card is considered to be shortprinted and is usually quite expensive, selling for hundreds of dollars even in low grade condition.

The card is so rare that when 1936 World Wide Gum sets are advertised for sale, they are often done so without the Weintraub.