1940 Gum Inc Lone Ranger trading cards are among the most popular sets of all time. The checklist is a simple 48 cards but the artwork of Charles Steinbacher is stunning and pops off of each card.
Cards were sold for a penny along with a “big piece of chewing gum”. Cards 37-48 are considered short prints and are incredibly difficult to find, resulting in full sets being quite rare in top condition.
The original concept for this set had a 60 card checklist and Steinbacher had produced artwork for those 12 additional cards. This art was discovered in his personal safe after his passing and the “Twelve Unpublished” were issued as an insert set for 1997 Dart Lone Ranger trading cards.
Collectors who sent in their wrappers could receive 8×10 pictures from this series. Five wrappers could be exchanged for one of these large prints and 25 wrappers could get the entire set of five. These premium flyers are also incredibly rare and can sell for several hundred dollars.
1940 Gum Inc Lone Ranger Checklist
Base Set – 48 Cards
| # | Card Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | A Silver Bullet Stops a Hanging |
| 2 | Tonto and the Secret Mine |
| 3 | Tonto’s Race with Death |
| 4 | The Giant Ghost |
| 5 | The Wrecked Stagecoach |
| 6 | Ghouls at Work |
| 7 | Poisoned Waters |
| 8 | Hawk’s Prey |
| 9 | The Fight over the Water Hole |
| 10 | The Substitute Dispatch Bearer |
| 11 | The Run-Away Herd |
| 12 | The Lasso Duel |
| 13 | The Counter Attack |
| 14 | The Underground River |
| 15 | The Tree Trap |
| 16 | Silver Charges the Horse Thieves |
| 17 | The Interrupted Coach Robbery |
| 18 | Barrier of Fire |
| 19 | The Burning Shack |
| 20 | Thirsty Burros |
| 21 | Saving Tonto’s Scalp |
| 22 | Firebrands on the Ledge |
| 23 | Threatening Hoofs |
| 24 | Smoke Signals |
| 25 | A Double Hold-up |
| 26 | The Vicious Circle |
| 27 | Midnight Branding Party |
| 28 | Trial of the Killer |
| 29 | Blasted Canyon |
| 30 | Tonto in War Paint |
| 31 | Dead Man’s Leap |
| 32 | The Phantom Rider |
| 33 | Paradise Regained |
| 34 | Fire Trap |
| 35 | The Haunted House |
| 36 | The Cattle Rush |
| 37 | His Father’s Son |
| 38 | Broken Windows |
| 39 | Smugglers’ Love Letters |
| 40 | A Piece of Gingham |
| 41 | The Price of Sealed Lips |
| 42 | Storming the Indian Camp by Night |
| 43 | The Bank Bandits |
| 44 | Round-up Time in Prairie Gulch |
| 45 | Horseshoes for Bad Luck |
| 46 | Gun Girl |
| 47 | The Rescue of the Wagon Train |
| 48 | Silver’s Vigil |