Holabird's Online Spring Into Americana Auction, May 13-14, has Over 1,400 Lots Starting at Just $10

2024-04-24 11:27:51 Art & Entertainment

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Reno, NV, USA, May 9, 2023 -- An American Express Company stock certificate from 1861 signed by Henry Wells and William G. Fargo (two of the three founders of American Express and the founders of Wells Fargo & Company) is an expected highlight in a special two-day timed auction event titled ?Spring into Americana? slated for May 13th & 14th by Holabird Western Americana Collections.

The auction, starting at 8 am Pacific time both days, will be hosted exclusively on iCollector.com (Holabird?s preferred auction platform). Offered will be more than 1,400 lots in a wide array of collecting categories, including mining, bottles, numismatics, stocks, philatelic, art and general Americana. The majority of items have never been offered, and every lot starts at just 10 dollars.

?The ?Spring into Americana? auction is a mix of old and new, with many lower priced and entry level lots and larger groups ideal for dealers,? said Fred Holabird, the owner of Holabird Western Americana Collections. ?Featured are Ken Prag postcards and stocks; Gary Bracken medicine bottles and stamps; coins, medals and tokens; billhead and check collections; and much more.?

Mr. Holabird added, ?Starting each lot 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 thousands of collectors and we hope they all will find things to their liking.?

The American Express Company stock certificate signed by Messrs. Wells and Fargo is a Day 2 highlight lot, with an estimate of $500-$1,000. It?s very early ? No. 728, issued for five shares to William A. Elton of New York in 1861 ? and is signed by Henry Wells as president and William G. Fargo as secretary. It?s not cancelled, and has a nice locomotive and telegraph pole vignette.

Day 1, on Saturday, May 13th, will contain 697 lots of art, general Americana (to include geographic sort and miscellaneous categories, including newspapers, militaria, sports, and miscellaneous ephemera and hard goods); and philatelic (including postcards, covers, stamps).

A choice Tahoe Tavern sterling silver souvenir spoon with a fish handle and engraved bowl (?Tahoe Tavern? and Lake Tahoe, Calif.?), plus a vignette of the tavern building in the woods, has an estimate of $150-$300. The spoon is believed to have been based on a Harold Parker photo and sold in the Tahoe Tavern gift shop circa 1906-1910. The reverse is marked sterling.

Also sold on Day 1 will be an 1870 U.S. stamp A52 with fancy cancel (est. $100-$300); a group of six cowgirl postcards, four of them RPCs (Real Photo Cards) and two are printed, circa 1907-1915, from the Stuart Mackenzie collection (est. $60-$100); and a group of Mexican Hidalgo 1872 issues, stock sheets with 28 stamps (est. $100-$200), from the Gary Bracken collection.

Day 2, on Sunday, May 14th, will be packed with 715 lots of Native Americana, cowboy collectibles, transportation (air, automobile, railroad), mining, stocks and bonds (mining, railroad, miscellaneous), bottles, and numismatics (currency/scrip, coins, medals and tokens).

In addition to the American Express Company stock certificate, other rare antique stock certificates will also come up for bid. A few examples are as follows:

- A Tuolumme County Water Company stock No. 618, issued to James Mills for one share on April 24, 1854, with a fantastic Gold Rush sluicing vignette. A notation on the back says to transfer the stock to Edgar Mills, signed by D.O. Mills, one of the co-founders of the Bank of California and part owner of Virginia & Truckee Railroad (est. $200-$500).

- A Ruby Bell Gold and Silver stock from 1889, signed by Seth Bullock, a Canadian American frontiersman, business proprietor, politician, sheriff and U.S. Marshal. He was a prominent citizen in Deadwood, South Dakota, where he lived from 1876 until his death, operating a hardware store and a large hotel, the Bullock Hotel (est. $70-$200).

- A Manhattan Silver Pick Gold Mining Company (Arizona) stock certificate, No. 139, issued for 5,000 shares to ?Wilson? in 1907 and datelined Manhattan, Nevada. The certificate is signed by the president and secretary. It has a blue and silver border with a silver mining pick underprint vignette. Graded 63 Choice Uncirculated (est. $100-$150).

Telephone and absentee bids will be accepted. Color catalogs are available by calling 1-844-492-2766, or 775-851-1859. To learn more about Holabird Western Americana Collections, and the two-day, online-only ?Spring into Americana? auction on May 13th and 14th, at 8 am Pacific time both days, please visit www.holabirdamericana.com.