December Dreams Premier Auction: Western Americana, Mining, & Numismatics (December 2021)

Auction CurrencyUSD Auction Location3555 Airway Drive Suite 309, Reno, Nevada, 89511, United States In Person PreviewPreview

Auction Details

Welcome to our "December Dreams" Premier Auction, our final sale of 2021!

December Sale Highlights
This December Sale includes many highlighted collections, including parts of the Ken Prag Postcard Collection, Bill McKivor Token and Medal Collection, MacKenzie Montana Collection, and the Ron Lerch Western Directory Collection, all supplemented by some world-class great rarities from other private collections nationwide.

Fresh to the market is the Ron Lerch Collection of Western Directories. The collection numbers nearly 700 different directories, and here are presented about 200 directories as the first part of this major historic and all-important reference material collection, picked somewhat randomly from the collection. Most of the Western states have several directories offered in this first sale. Some of the key pieces in the December sale are the two very rare San Francisco Chinese business directories, as well as a number of very rare county directories of the nineteenth century. Directories are considered “primary source” material, and as such are essential in aspects of historical research. Few of the directories in the Lerch Collection have been digitized (with the Langley’s San Francisco an obvious exception).

Yes, the Prag Collection keeps on giving! This sale contains about 500 lots of postcards, but the majority, perhaps 350 lots, are from California. This large group offers some of the best and rarest postcards we’ve offered yet, from Pioneer cards (Private Mailing Cards, c1898-1902) to rare artists and themes, such as Disney (1930s cards) and the Titanic (both pre-sinking and post sinking from 1912).

Within these two massive collections is a common theme: Hawaii. The Prag Collection offers about 40 lots of vintage Hawaii postcards, and there are about 7 Hawaiian directories from the Lerch Collection.

Antiquarian photography is another key category for collectors, including many historic and possibly unique western stereo-view cards and photographs, and an absolutely fabulous Ansel Adams original photograph group from his Yosemite Series (all signed), highlighted by “Moon over El Capitan”, print No. 10, considered by many as one of his greatest photographs.

As always, we have a strong Native Americana section, with baskets (more coming in the next sale), jewelry and art. Speaking of Art, we have three early Salvador Dali signed lithographic prints, and a rather wonderful group of Japanese wood block and lithograph prints, many with original signatures.

The MacKenzie Montana Collection continues, with several hundred lots of historical Montana documents and ephemera.

The Railroad and Mining sections contain selections from several private collections with a number of rarities. This sale features premier California Gold Rush and Nevada Territory mining collections!

Our Numismatics section includes a collection of So-Called Dollars and new offerings from the Bill McKivor Nevada token and world-medal collection, not to be missed!

Make sure to use the Keyword search tool to find items in your collecting areas across the three auction days. As usual, our team is happy and ready to answer questions.

And please send us those great collections for 2022! Yours could be the next world record!

--Fred Holabird & Team--


Auction Schedule

Day 1, Friday, December 17th, 2021, Lots 1000-1610
Philatelic (1000-1527)
Military, Political, & Firearms (1528-1558)
Gaming (1559-1577)
Model Railroad & Toys (1578-1610)

Day 2, Saturday, December 18th, 2021, Lots 2000-2683
Books feat. Ron Lerch Directory Collection, Part I (2000-2229)
Mining Artifacts & Ephemera (2230-2363)
Stock Certificates & Bonds (2364-2683)
Mining (2364-2551)
Railroad (2552-2624)
Miscellaneous (2625-2683)

Day 3, Sunday, December 19th, 2021, Lots 3000-3614
Native Americana (3000-3044)
Art feat. Ansel Adams (3045-3087)
General Americana (3088-3388)
Geographically Sorted
Misc. Categories incl. Coffee Mill Collection
Numismatics (3389-3613)
Coins & Currency (3389-3397)
Medals & So-Called Dollars (3398-3447)
Tokens feat. Bill McKivor Nevada Tokens, Part II (3448-3614)
SHIPPING & HANDLING: Shipping is subject to a minimum charge of $19.00. Shipping and handling cannot be estimated prior to invoicing as it is based on the size and weight of your purchase. Additional shipping and handling costs, if required, will be re-invoiced for the balance due. Items are not shipped until the invoice is completely paid. Many buyers purchase a number of lots. Every effort will be made to include all lots in a single shipping charge calculated to cover the weight and size.SHIPPING & HANDLING: Shipping and Handling cannot be estimated prior to invoicing, based on the size a...
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Georgetown Assay Receipt Collection [123639]2300 - Georgetown Assay Receipt Collection [123639]
Holabird Western Americana Collections
Lot of 4. Three different Georgetown assay works. 1) Rarest piece is 1872 Colorado Assay Office. Assay report for the Silver Wing in the Snake River D
Bidding Has Concluded
Start Price : 130.00 | Estimate : 260.00 - 400.00
 
 
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Georgetown Territorial Assay Office Assay,  1872 [123570]2301 - Georgetown Territorial Assay Office Assay, 1872 [123570]
Holabird Western Americana Collections
Dated Dec. 6th 1872. Assay report on a sample lot #2425 from the Stevens Lode in the Argentine District in Clear Creek county from E. W. Thayer. Resul
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 300.00 - 500.00
Sold to c*********p for (150.00 + 37.50BP) = 187.50
 
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Georgetown Bird's-Eye View Cabinet Card by Jackson [123597]2302 - Georgetown Bird's-Eye View Cabinet Card by Jackson [123597]
Holabird Western Americana Collections
c. 1885. No. 1814. "Georgetown from Green Lake Road." High to medium contrast. Suffers from minor yellowing, but the focus is sharp. There...
Bidding Has Concluded
Start Price : 200.00 | Estimate : 400.00 - 600.00
 
 
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Georgetown Bird's-Eye View Cabinet Card by Martin [123567]2303 - Georgetown Bird's-Eye View Cabinet Card by Martin [123567]
Holabird Western Americana Collections
A great shot looking down the expansive Clear Creek Canyon showing the difficult terrain surrounding Clear Creek Valley. Cabinet card photograph measu
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Start Price : 150.00 | Estimate : 300.00 - 600.00
 
 
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Georgetown Cabinet Card by  McKirahan & Whitter [123598]2304 - Georgetown Cabinet Card by McKirahan & Whitter [123598]
Holabird Western Americana Collections
Cabinet card photo of three miners, their stone cabin, and six fully loaded pack mules in the snow. Some discoloration. Crisp details. Revere has prin
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Start Price : 100.00 | Estimate : 200.00 - 300.00
 
 
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Three Georgetown, Colorado Stereoviews [123610]2305 - Three Georgetown, Colorado Stereoviews [123610]
Holabird Western Americana Collections
Lot of 3 different. 1) Kilburn Bros. No. 4401. Looking down a main street. Nice contrast. 2) W. H. Jackson, Denver. No. 1720. Clear Creek Series. Ove
Bidding Has Concluded
Start Price : 300.00 | Estimate : 600.00 - 1,000.00
 
 
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Whitter Mine, Griffith Mt., Georgetown, Colorado Cabinet Card [123623]2306 - Whitter Mine, Griffith Mt., Georgetown, Colorado Cabinet Card [123623]
Holabird Western Americana Collections
Fantastic view of two miners, a mule and the front door to the mine. The mine has the same name as the photographer. J. Whitter photographer and Rober
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 240.00 - 400.00
Sold to b****3 for (120.00 + 30.00BP) = 150.00
 
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W. S. Moore Assay Billhead and Business Card (Golden & Independence) [123641]2307 - W. S. Moore Assay Billhead and Business Card (Golden & Independence) [123641]
Holabird Western Americana Collections
Lot of 2. 1 ) Great business card for The Moore Mining and Smelting Company. Oversize at 3 x 5.5". "Special prices for ore high in lead an...
Bidding Has Concluded
Start Price : 75.00 | Estimate : 150.00 - 250.00
 
 
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Idaho Springs Assay Collection [123640]2308 - Idaho Springs Assay Collection [123640]
Holabird Western Americana Collections
Lot of 7. 1) J. J. Elliott Assay report with 18 lines. Although this is unused, it might be the most interesting for rarity. 1880s. 2) JJ Elliott blu
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Start Price : 150.00 | Estimate : 300.00 - 600.00
 
 
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Idaho Springs Assay Group [123617]2309 - Idaho Springs Assay Group [123617]
Holabird Western Americana Collections
Lot of 4. 1-3) W.J. Chamberlain. 1891 value $194.80 to Sam Washington for the Good Enough Mine. 1893 value $111.76 to Alexander for the Trojan Mine. A
Bidding Has Concluded
Start Price : 75.00 | Estimate : 150.00 - 200.00
 
 
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