1936 National Chicle Fine Pens Premiums Set (R313)

Posted on October 4, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	R313 National Chicle Fine Pens
Year	1936
Size	3 1/4″ x 5 3/8″
Images	Black and White
Type	Candy/Gum
Number in Set	120

R313 National Chicle Fine Pens Overview

The 1936 R313 National Chicle Fine Pens release was a set of premium photos. The photos include black and white player images on the front along with a player’s name generally in cursive writing in a thin pen printing.

As opposed to Goudey’s famous Wide Pen issues, the R313 set signatures were done with a much thinner pen. For that reason, it’s referred to by most collectors as the fine pen issue. Here are some differences between the two sets.

Some collectors are hesitant to collect these. While often called cards, they are actually miniature photographs. Because they are categorized in the American Card Cataloged, though, they are often pursued by card collectors. The photos are on a thinner paper stock and easily damaged.

While most of the names were printed with some sort of cursive writing, several are curiously written in different font such as plain capital lettering or a different type of font. Perhaps, that was done to give the impression that the names were actual replica signatures.

The set is notable for its affordability. You can often buy these for under $5.00 and even most stars don’t sell for high prices.

One exception to that is Joe DiMaggio because this set contains a legitimate rookie ‘card’ of the Hall of Famer. DiMaggio does have earlier issues but they are minor league releases as 1936 was his first season in the majors. His card is a bargain rookie issue and can be bought for under $300 in low-grade condition. The original photograph for the iconic picture on the card has been discovered and auctioned off in the past.

Here are pictures of all of the photos in the set.