1936 Muhlen Franck Olympia Set and Checklist

Posted on December 1, 2016 by Pre-War Cards

‘It’s In The Details’

Title	Muhlen Franck Olympia
Year	1936
Size	2 3/4″ x 4 1/8″
Images	Color
Type	Coffee
Number in Set	200 (?)

1936 Muhlen Franck Olympia Overview

1936 Muhlen Franck Olympia Set - USA Basketball The 1936 Muhlen Franck sets was one of many German issues of the 1930s. These often were associated with the 1936 Olympic Games, which were held in Berlin.

This set is one of those and includes a multitude of sports. It was produced by Muhlen Franck, a coffee company. Most of the Olympic sports were outside of the four major American sports, but the set does feature basketball with at least one card. The card shown depicts Team USA, which went on to win the gold medal.

The set is significant to basketball collectors as 1936 was the first year basketball was featured as a medalist sport in the Olympics. Games were much lower scoring than they are today and the most points scored in a game that year was 56 by Team USA in a win over the Philippines. Team USA first defeated the Philippines, before defeating Mexico and then Canada to win gold.

Like other international sets, the cards were produced in several series and more than 25 different series’, each containing several cards, were printed.

Jesse Owens Cards

The set includes numerous other sports. While basketball’s presence in the set is important, the key cards are two Adolf Hitler cards as well as several cards featuring track and field great Jesse Owens.

Owens is pictured on a total of four cards:

Running as individual
Hurdling
With Relay Team (on Track)
With Relay Team (in Warmups)

All four of the cards are popular, but the card showing Owens running as an individual is typically the most desired. That card typically sells for around $100 in decent condition while the others are closer to $50-$75 each.