I'm Going To Be
The I'm Going To Be trading card set was released by Schutter-Johnson sometime in the 1930's. There were 25 cards in the set, each measuring 2-1/8" by 3-1/8".
A curious little card set that is beloved by vintage card collectors, I'm Going To Be gave kids the chance to peek at various professions (baseball player, fireman, auto racer) so that they could dream about what they would do when they grew up.
The card fronts feature a piece of color artwork depicting the particular profession; this is surrounded by a thin blue frame, then a white border. The name of the profession is superimposed over the image. The card backs give the set title, the card number, and the name of the profession, then a block of text describing the job. At the bottom is an ad for various premiums that the child could mail away for when all 25 cards in the set were collected.
The trick was, Schutter-Johnson had rigged the game so that practically no one could get their hands on card #4, Strongman. Apparently only one known copy exists within the hobby, and even it is stamped VOID on the back (presumably by the issuer) with holes punched in it to keep it from being sent in to redeem a prize. The Strongman card is one of the rarest non-sports cards, if not the rarest. Do other copies exist, voided or unvoided? Perhaps some day a collector will come forward with another extant copy.
Note: Because of this incredible scarcity, the price for this series assumes the other 24 cards to be a complete set.
Value: Individual cards from this set, in Excellent condition, can bring as much as $10.00 to $18.00 each. A full set of 24 might cost about $250.00 to $450.00.