NOT SOLD (BIDDING OVER)
0.00USD+ applicable fees & taxes.
This item WAS NOT SOLD. Auction date was 2025 Jan 31 @ 08:00UTC-08:00 : PST/AKDT
FINAL AUCTION RECORD The Auctioneer’s podium notes serve as the final, legally binding record of the auction results, superseding any electronic bidding records. See Terms and Conditions
A stock certificate for one share in the Tuolumne County Water Company, made out to Ambrose Hooker in 1860. No. 3759 issued. Cancelled. Excellent vignette of men at work at a water flume. Very good condition; trimmed tight at left, top, and bottom. Ambrose E. Hooker, the owner of the share, was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. national guard involved in the establishment of California's Camp Bidwell (later Camp Chico).
Large quantities of water were essential to large scale mining operations and the control of water became key. Miners were tied to the area by the availability of water, which eroded the gold from the mountains and deposited it in Columbia. Soon the control of water became the biggest and most complex struggle facing miners, and Columbia epitomized this struggle. The Hildreth party has been given the credit for discovering gold in the area, although other evidence points toward a small settlement of miners from Mexico. Nevertheless, the Americans moved in quickly once they heard of the plentiful gold and a ready supply of water. After their arrival in March 1850 a typical hot and dry summer followed. Winter brought miners back to the Columbia area following the rains and the return of the seasonal creek. Those merchants who managed to survive the summer quickly realized that maintaining their business relied on a steady supply of water, and local miners realized that a reliable supply of water was needed to find the gold all year around in this location. Together, they established to Tuolumne County Water Company (TCWC) in June of 1851. The Tuolumne County Water Company was set up as an employee owned and controlled company. Founders went to surrounding areas raising expectations and investors. At the end of June 1951, 160 shares of stock had been sold, the route had been surveyed, and workers were celebrating. Their efforts to tap into first Five Mile creek, then the south fork of the Stanislaus River was largely unsuccessful, as the creeks were dry and the rivers were low as was usual in the summer months. After almost a year water finally arrived, but there was not enough to sustain full mining operations, and the company was forced to borrow money for capital investments in sawmills, roads and equipment. The Tuolumne County Water Company incorporated in September 1852.
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Date: 1860
Country (if not USA):
State: California
City: Tuolumne
Provenance: Ken Prag Collection
Auction Location:
3555 Airway Drive Suite 308, Reno, Nevada, 89511, United States
Previewing Details:
Preview
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Nevada State Sales Tax
Taxes:
| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| NSST |
8.375% |
Nevada Sales Tax |
| CSST |
8% |
California Sales Tax |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
25% |
Additional Fees:
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Live Auction conducted by Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC (HWAC)
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10. TIE BIDS During the live auction, multiple internet platforms, floor bidders, and phone bidders compete simultaneously. When identical bids are received from these sources, they are referred to as tie bids. In the event of tie bids, the Auctioneer has sole authority to determine the winning bid, typically awarding the lot to the first recognized bid. Competing bidders may raise their bids if they wish to continue. Given the complexities of managing bids across multiple platforms, including potential delays or errors inherent in internet bidding systems, bidders are strongly encouraged to participate live or by phone to ensure their bids are recognized and accepted.
11. FINAL AUCTION RECORD The Auctioneer’s podium notes serve as the final, legally binding record of the auction results, superseding any electronic bidding records.
12. NEW BIDDERS: Bidders unknown to us, who anticipate an expenditure in excess of $20,000, must provide commercial references or a deposit of 25% of the amount to be bid in order for the auction staff to execute bids. Deposits will be credited towards lots won and any balance will be refunded within 10 business days after the auction has concluded. New bidders will be given a spending limit at their initial request to participate. In order to increase this limit, you may be required to provide a letter of authorization from your bank in addition to providing references. Please contact our office at any time if you have questions regarding spending limits or references required to bid.
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BE ADVISED: Auction participation through the live Internet bidding site is not 100% foolproof. The technology for this process is always changing, and the operation of it and the corresponding Internet connectivity issues are far beyond our control. Some folks have attempted to use the live Internet bidding process as their primary method of bidding, and have been quite successful. Others have failed completely. Depending upon your computer, server, host, and other factors, Internet signals may be delayed, such that bids may not be received in time. We cannot be held responsible for these delays, or for the lack of placed bids in a timely manner, or any other factors leading to unaccepted bids that are far beyond our control. Bidders should always have a backup plan for lots they highly desire. Live participation is best, followed by phone participation. We will not reopen lots for missed bids.
14. BIDDING INCREMENTS: All bids must be submitted in U.S. dollars and in whole dollar amounts only in the appropriate increments as outlined below. If you choose to submit bids in an increment not listed below, your bid will be rounded to the nearest increment and you will be expected to pay the amount to which the bid was rounded should your bid be the winning bid. If you have any questions about an appropriate bid amount, please call us.
From: to: Increment:
$1 $95 $5
$100 $190 $10
$200 $475 $25
$500 $1,450 $50
$1,500 $3,400 $100
$3,500 $9,750 $250
$10,000 $30,000 $500
$30,000 up $1000
15. RESERVES: Most of the lots in this auction are unreserved. Precious metals may be reserved at or near or slightly below spot, at the auctioneer's discretion.
16. BID REDUCTION: All winning absentee bids will be reduced, if necessary, to the next bidding increment up from the last competing bid, as long as the minimum bid requirement has been met. For example, if you submit an absentee bid of $1000 and the next highest competing bid is $250, then you will win the lot for $275.
17. BID INFORMATION: Collectors often ask in advance the price level of a particular lot. We will give out the current competitive high absentee bid until we close the day before the live auction. You may also view absentee bids online at www.holabirdamericana.com. While we try to update the absentee bids as often as necessary, bids received close to the bidding deadline might not be reflected online, and we disclaim any responsibility for any bids made in reliance upon inaccuracies on our website, which may be beyond our control. We do not own any of the live Internet bidding platforms, and thus many aspects of the Internet technology are out of our control.
18. BID CANCELLATION: If you wish to cancel or change a bid after you have submitted your bids to us due to an error, you MUST PHONE us to advise us of this. Bid cancellations through mail, email, or faxes are not advisable. Errors are easy to make. Please call us if you have any questions on this.
19. All stock certificates, checks, warrants, and other financial documents sold herein are sold as antiquities, and have no financial, securities, or public trading value whatsoever.
20. We reserve the right to reject any bid we feel is not made in good faith.
21. INVOICING: Invoices are mailed or emailed within two business days after the close of all portions of the sale. Within 15 calendar days of receipt of invoice, payment is due in full to Holabird Western Americana Collections, 3555 Airway Dr., #308, Reno, NV 89511. Late fees may be added if payment arrangements are not made within those 15 days. Sales tax will be added to all sales picked-up after the auction or shipped to Nevada addresses, according to Nevada State law, unless a resale certificate is provided.
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24. NON-PAYMENT: HWAC reserves the right to cancel any invoice not paid in full within 15 days. A cancelled invoice does not relieve the bidder from their obligation to pay seller fees and buyer’s premiums compensating HWAC for its services in conducting the auction. Interest shall run on all outstanding balances at the highest rate permitted by law. HWAC shall have a lien against the merchandise purchased by the bidder, and any other of bidder’s property then held by HWAC or its affiliates, to secure payment of the invoice, and with respect thereto HWAC shall have all the rights of a secured creditor under the Nevada Commercial Code, including but not limited to the right of sale. HWAC may sell the lot(s) securing the invoice to any under bidders in the auction that the lot(s) appeared, or at subsequent private or public sale, or relist the lot(s) in a future auction conducted by HWAC. A defaulting bidder agrees to pay for the reasonable costs of resale (including a 10% seller’s commission, if consigned to an auction conducted by HWAC). The defaulting bidder is liable to pay any difference between his or her total original invoice for the lot(s), plus any applicable interest, and the net proceeds for the lot(s) if sold at private sale or the subsequent hammer price of the lot(s) less the 10% seller’s commissions, if sold at an HWAC auction. If HWAC refers any invoice to an attorney for collection, the bidder agrees to pay attorney’s fees, court costs, and other collection costs incurred by HWAC. Any bidder who fails to follow the terms of payment will be reported to iCollector, Live Auctioneers, Invaluable, or applicable bidding platform, and may be barred from participating in future Holabird Western Americana auctions.
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26. UNCLAIMED MERCHANDISE: In the event that a successful bidder has paid in full for their merchandise but fails to settle outstanding shipping invoices or make arrangements for merchandise pickup within 60 days, HWAC reserves the right to declare the merchandise forfeited. This forfeiture will result in the merchandise becoming the property of HWAC and the successful bidder shall have no claim to or rights over the forfeited merchandise.
27. CONDITION: We strongly recommend that you attend the live preview to see lots in their entirety. Conditions are not always noted, and large lots may not be itemized due to catalog restraints. For questions, detailed information, or additional images of any lot please contact our office at 775-851-1859. Bidders are responsible for understanding the condition of items. Conditions noted are subjective, and may differ person to person. High resolution images of all items are available online for inspection. HWAC is not responsible for condition discrepancies; it is the bidders responsibility to determine condition prior to bidding.
28. RETURN POLICY: All items are guaranteed to be authentic unless otherwise noted. If authenticity is challenged, please call our office for assistance. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. You may only return any piece that was significantly inaccurately described by calling our office within 10 days of receipt of item(s) and notifying us of the error and reason for return. We do not refund postage or insurance. Please call us if you require a more specific condition report. Any items that are returned must be returned in the exact, unaltered condition. When we receive your bids we will assume you have read the description in the catalog, viewed the image of the item, have contacted us regarding any questions you may have on any lot and/or have previewed the lot in person.
29. This sale is being held under the laws of the State of Nevada.
30. HWAC shall not be held responsible for any problem due to the bidder’s failure to follow the rules, terms and conditions of this sale, or any failure to bid due to the loss of the online auction process provided by any of the online auction networks; or missed bids, changed bids or cancelled due the bidder’s failure to follow the proper bidding procedure outlined herein.
31. By placing a bid or otherwise participating in the auction, Bidder accepts these Terms and Conditions, and specifically agrees to the dispute resolution provided herein.
32. HWAC shall not be responsible for consequential damages, incidental damages, compensatory damages, or any other damages arising or claimed to be arising from the auction on any lot. Bidder’s sole remedy for any proven act or omission shall be rescission of sale and refund of the amount paid by Bidder.
33. Any claim, dispute, or controversy in connection with, relating to and/or arising out of the Auction, participation in the Auction, award of lots, damages of claims to lots, descriptions, condition reports, provenance, estimates, return and warranty rights, any interpretation of these Terms and Conditions, any alleged verbal modification of these Terms and Conditions and/or any purported settlement shall be exclusively heard by, and the parties consent to exclusive in personal jurisdiction of, the Superior Court of Washoe County, Nevada. The parties expressly waive any right to trial by jury. Any claim must be brought within one (1) year of the auction from which the claim arose or the claim is waived. In every case, the prevailing party shall be entitled to an award of its attorney’s fees and costs.