The auction will be held online, via several bidding platforms, and in Holabird’s Reno gallery.
RENO, Nev. – A massive, five-day auction featuring nearly 3,000 lots spanning many collecting categories – to include minerals, mining, Native Americana, bottles and glass, gaming, cowboy, tokens, numismatics (coins), railroad and Express items, postal history and philatelic history, firearms, weaponry, military collectibles, political, general Americana and ephemera – will be held October 19-23 by Holabird Western Americana, LLC, online and in the firm’s Reno gallery.
Internet bidding will be facilitated by several platforms: iCollector.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC’s gallery is located at 3555 Airway Drive (Ste. 308) in Reno. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. Start times all five days will be 8 am Pacific time. The catalog in its entirety may be seen at www.fhwac.com.
Day 1, Thursday, October 19th, will be dedicated to minerals and mining. Minerals will feature 178 lots of gold, ore, gem and mineral specimens. Mining collectibles will include candlesticks, explosives, mine lighting (carbide, oil and safety), hard goods, books, mining stock certificates, checks, photographs, postcards, maps, references and the Comstock revenue check collection.
Featured lots on Day 1 will include fancy custom miners’ candlesticks, an early miner’s carbide lamp, a dynamite warmer, a New York Blasting Company blasting machine, large plate photos of the Anaconda Copper smelter, oil rig and drill matchstick art, the seven-volume set of Mineral Resources West of the Rocky Mountains (1870-1876), mining sculptures and additional items.
The extensive selection of Western mining stock certificates and bonds will include Territorial Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Dakota and key Western autograph pieces. Mining photos from the Hugh Shamberger collection will be offered on Days 1 and 4. Day 1 will also feature a rare report on Comstock mine ventilation (Virginia City, Nev.), a Sutro Tunnel Co. vs. Virginia City Mine document (1885), and an 1881 framed billhead from a quartz hauler in Black Hawk.
Day 2, on Friday, October 20th, will focus on Native Americana (both Southwest and Northwest, plus books), bottles and glass, gaming and cowboy. Southwest Native Americana will include art, baskets, beadwork, moccasins, rugs, jewelry, kachinas, pottery and tools. Northwest lots will feature animal tools and art, clothing and moccasins, ivory art and tools, sculptures and more.
Antique bottles – another red-hot collecting genre rapidly gaining in popularity – will showcase examples from the major categories: bitters, poisons, medicines, mineral water, sodas, whiskeys, beer and more, plus insulators. Cowboy collectibles will have branding irons, cowboy ephemera and more – 55 lots in all. The 22 lots of gaming collectibles will round out the day’s offerings.
Day 3, on Saturday, October 21st, will feature tokens (69 lots of geographic sort), numismatics, railroad and Express, postal history and philatelic, firearms, weaponry and military collectibles. Numismatics will include ‘so-called dollars’ (medals of near-dollar size, like commemoratives from expositions), medals, coins, encased cents, currency, scrip and ephemera, ingots and assay.
Railroad and Express collectors will be treated to over 150 lots of books, locks and keys, stocks, bonds, ephemera, Wells Fargo and other Express items. Postal history and philatelic (stamp) lots will include first day and first flight examples, military, geographic sort and stamps and revenue. The firearms and militaria category will contain Civil War weapons, holsters, knives and swords.
Day 4, on Sunday, October 22nd, will focus on political items, general Americana and ephemera. The political lots will feature a 23-lot Theodore Roosevelt collection. General Americana will be led by art, books, hard goods, jewelry, miscellaneous other items and items of geographic sort – an awesome selection, 474 lots in all. Ephemera will include world collectibles and other items.
Day 5, on Monday, October 23rd, will have something brand new and never before offered at a Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC auction event: a Dealer Specials day, designed to stimulate dealer buying. The session will feature 416 lots of miscellaneous Americana and ephemera, stocks, bonds, mining, railroad and other items, specifically targeted toward dealers.
Color catalogs are available on request, by calling toll-free, 1-844-492-2766, or 775-851-1859. Also, anyone owning a collection that might fit into an upcoming Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC auction is encouraged to get in touch. The firm travels extensively throughout the U.S., to pick up collections. Boston and New York were cities on the firm’s 2017 itinerary.
Holabird Western Americana is always seeking quality bottle, advertising, Americana and coin consignments for future auctions. To consign a single piece or a collection, you may call Fred Holabird at 775-851-1859 or 844-492-2766; or, you can e-mail him at [email protected]. To learn more about Holabird Western Americana’s Oct. 19-23 auction, visit www.fhwac.com