In 1949, Bowman released a series of trading cards inspired by stories from G-Men Detective magazine. The set, “America Salutes the FBI – Heroes of Law” contained 36 cards with original artwork on the front and a brief synopsis of the crime on the reverse.
G-Men Detective Magazine published 112 issues between 1935 and 1953 under two different titles, the other simply being G-Men.
There are two known wrappers for this collection. The nickel wrapper is among the most rare of the era with some collectors speculating that it was a test printing and never issued to the public. The more well-known wrapper is the penny wrapper which was issued later in 1949 with some debate between whether or not the penny pack was a replacement to the nickel or simply the only issued pack.
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1949 Bowman America Salutes the FBI Checklist
Base Set – 36 Cards
| 1 | The Capture Game in the Lobby of a Hotel |
| 2 | A Compartment on a Speeding Train |
| 3 | Disguised as a Returning Osage Indian |
| 4 | Jap Spies Made a Mistake |
| 5 | $2,000,000 of Stolen Securities |
| 6 | Trapping the Conference Men |
| 7 | Scant Feet from a Hamburger Stand |
| 8 | In a Home Made Elevator |
| 9 | The Matchbox Clue |
| 10 | Twice Stopped for Speeding |
| 11 | FBI Sharpshooters in Chicago |
| 12 | A Son of the Rising Sun |
| 13 | Hook, Line and Sinker |
| 14 | Catching a Big Fish |
| 15 | Rendezvous at Mitchell Field |
| 16 | Madame Kasenkina Wins Her Fight |
| 17 | Tell-Tale Gun Markings |
| 18 | His Disguised Handwriting Actually Betrayed Swimming Pool Manager… |
| 19 | The Paroled Convict Problem |
| 20 | Oscar Bites the Dust |
| 21 | The Killer Telephoned |
| 22 | Mary Stole a Car |
| 23 | FBI Portable Telephone |
| 24 | A Trail of Hot Money |
| 25 | The Man was a Nazi Spy |
| 26 | The Four Gasoline Cans |
| 27 | Doctor, Lawyer, Killer |
| 28 | A Real Crime Search |
| 29 | Behind the Disguise |
| 30 | With Little More Than “7N” of a New York License Number Noted |
| 31 | Vitale Had One Foot on the Gangplank |
| 32 | He Noticed the Tiny Thread on the Tire |
| 33 | Checking Marine Security |
| 34 | The Suicide was Faked |
| 35 | Strapped to his Chest was a Camera… |
| 36 | Exposing the Soviet Plot |