Reno, NV, USA, March 13, 2023 -- Fresh off the wildly successful auction of items recovered from the S. S. Central America that tallied more than $1 million, Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC will jump right back into the fray with a special two-day, online-only “Collector’s Pot of Gold” auction on March 18th and 19th. The sale will feature Americana, philatelic and dealer items.
Start times both days will be 8 am Pacific time. The timed auction will be hosted exclusively on iCollector.com (Holabird’s preferred online bidding platform) and will contain collectibles in over ten categories, including mining, bottles, numismatics and philatelic (coins and stamps), sports, stocks, art and general Americana. In all, more than 1,300 lots will come up for bid.
“This sale is a mix of old and new material, with many lower priced and entry-level lots, plus larger groups ideal for dealers, as well as some rarities that have been previously run,” said Fred Holabird, the president and owner of Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC, based in Reno. “And, to celebrate the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, every lot will open at just ten dollars.”
Mr. Holabird added, “Starting at ten dollars doesn’t mean the collectibles are cheap, common or unwanted. What it does represent is a following of the worldwide numismatic market and of letting the bidder and the collector set the prices. If the lots start cheap, then all it takes is your bid. We have so many thousands of collectors, we hope they all will find things to their liking.”
Day 1, on Saturday, March 18th, will feature over 670 lots of general Americana (to include geographic sort and miscellaneous categories such as transportation, books, toys); and bottles.
A Gold Label Beer glass with partial gold around the rim, stenciled with, “It’s in The Brewing” / Gold Label Beer / Brewed and Bottled By / The Walter Brewing Co. / Pueblo, CO”, has an estimate of $500-$1,000; while a two-tone jug for Muller Merc Co. (“Wholesale Wines & Liquors / 503 Harrison Ave. / Leadville, Colorado”), 9 inches tall, should command $500-$900.
A Haag Bros. circus advertising poster with vibrant colors, paper on canvas, 29 inches by 44 inches, date unknown but printed by the Milwaukee-Riverside Print Co. #3272, is estimated to reach $400-$800. Also, six Big Little Books in poor to good condition, including four featuring The Phantom, plus two others with The Shadow and Captain Midnight, should bring $120-$300.
Day 2, on Sunday, March 19th, will be packed with more than 600 lots in categories that include art, sports, philatelic, mining, stocks and numismatics.
Advertising art for Maring Hardware (Ponca City, Okla.), with a classic image of a turn-of-the-century beautiful lady, in an ornate gold paster frame measuring 22 inches by 36 inches, has an estimate of $400-$800; while a rare and colorful poster proclaiming, “Mort H. Singer presents The Flirting Princess, a musical comedy, by Adams, Hough & Howard,” which premiered at the Princess Theatre in Chicago in 1909, 42 ½ inches by 28 ¾ inches, should finish at $400-$600.
An R-10 token from Oray County, Colorado for the Geneva Saloon (“Good For / 12 ½ Cents / At the Bar”), 26mm in diameter, carries a pre-sale estimate of $200-$800; as does a unique 1783 two reales coin counter stamped, “L. T. Nossaman / Central / City / Col. Ter.”, round and holed.
A Pepperill Gold & Silver Mining Company (Virginia City, Nev.) stock certificate, issued in May 1863 to J. M. Bell for five shares, signed by N. W. Winton as company president, who was elected the first president of Virginia City when it was incorporated in 1861, has an estimate of $400-$700. Also, a collection of Arizona mining stock certificates, a mix of issued and unissued with lots of variety, all but one from the first quarter of the 20th century, should make $150-$300.
A postal cover with postmarks for St. Louis, Mo., and Steamer City of Cairo, plus a four-page handwritten letter to William H. Pierce from his nephew, on letterhead of the Merchants Union Express Company, dated July 28, 1867, with a company vignette and a 3-cent U.S. stamp, has an estimate of $100-$500; and an early Hawaiian postal cover, target postmarked with a 2-cent Elua Keneta stamp, sent from Honolulu to Rev. S. E. Bishop on Maui, in 1871, should hit $100-$200.
A 1962 Topps baseball card for Wille Mays in fair condition is expected to change hands for $100-$120. There are other baseball cards from the era also being offered, as single lots, for Al Kaline, Camilo Pascual (two), Willie McCovey, Ted Kluszewski, Roy Face and Pedro Ramos.
This is a timed auction, so there will be no live auctioneer or audio/video feed. Folks can bid now, up to the day each session closes. On the 18th and 19th, they will be able to log in to a virtual console and bid live, per normal. Each lot will open with an automatic timer that’s reset with each live bid. Once the bidding stops and the timer runs out, the next lot is presented.
Internet bidding will be provided exclusively by iCollector.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted. Color catalogs are available by calling 1-844-492-2766, or 775-851-1859.
Anyone owning a collection that might fit into a Holabird Western Americana Collections auction is encouraged to get in touch. The firm travels throughout the U.S., to see and pick up collections. The company has agents all over America and will travel to inspect most collections.
To learn more about Holabird Western Americana Collections, and the two-day online-only “Collector’s Pot of Gold” auction on March 18th and 19th, at 8 am Pacific time both days, please visit www.holabirdamericana.com.
