Reno, NV, USA, Sep 8, 2023 -- It was bottoms-up at Holabird Western Americana Collections’ four-day “Raise a Glass to Yesteryear” auction held August 24th-27th, as beer trays, beer signs and rare antique soda bottles all brought nice high prices. The event was held online as well as live in the Reno gallery. Internet bidding was facilitated by iCollector.com, LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com.
The auction was packed with over 2,000 lots in a wide range of categories, to include saloon, bottles, brewery, mining, numismatics, philatelic, general Americana, stocks and bonds, fine art, display minerals, vintage toys, US coin sets, ingots and assay, fractional gold, medals and tokens.
The trays, signs and bottles were all offered on Day 3, which featured bottles; saloon, brewery and a beer tray collection; gaming; cowboy collectibles; railroadiana; military memorabilia; firearms and weaponry; license plates; signs; toys, musical items, furnishings and other items.
The beer trays included a Pointer Bottle Beer (Clinton, Iowa) tray ($2,625); a Neef Brothers Brewing Company (Denver, Colo.) tray ($2,750); two Buffalo Brewing (San Francisco Exposition) trays ($2,750); a Standard Brewing Co. (Mankato, Minn.) tray ($1,625); and a Jung Beer (Milwaukee, Wis.) tray ($1,562). Dazzling graphics and superb condition attracted bidders.
The rare antique bottles category was highlighted by a James Talbot, J.T. (Elko, Nev.) soda bottle ($3,750); a Washington Bar (Tonopah, Nev.) bar pint pocket flask with cap ($3,375); an emerald green W. S. Wright (Virginia City, Nev.) soda bottle ($2,375); a group of three Indian Territory soda bottles ($2,125); and an Elko Bottling Works (Elko, Nev.) soda bottle ($1,875).
Trays and signs featured a Wunder Brewing Co. (San Francisco, “Wunder Quality”) metal sign in a frame ($4,125); a Coburger Beer (Hoboken, N.J.) metal advertising sign ($3,000); and an old Nevada City saloon sign (“Miners ‘Arms’ Saloon, Thomas Woon Prop.”). It finished at $3,000.
Other Day 3 top lots included a Fly Studio cabinet card depicting thirteen Tombstone (Arizona Territory) notables from the 1870s ($1,875); and a collection of 60 circa 1927-1990s license plates from the U.S. and Canada, with related collector magazines and a guide book ($2,500).
Day 1, on Thursday, August 24th, featured art and artifacts from around the world, including paintings, prints, Native American artifacts, sculptures, textiles, boxwood root sculptures and viewing stones; display minerals and fossils, to include calcite, fluorite, mineral groups and quartz; and stocks and bonds, to include mining, railroad, petroliana and other subject matter.
Tops in the stocks and bonds category was Virginia (Nev.) Truckee Railroad Company stock Certificate No. 34 for 500 shares, made out to Thomas Bell dated June 21, 1869 ($2,000). The company was capitalized at $3 million; 30,000 shares at $100 each and incorporated in Virginia, Nevada, 1850. The stock issue was tightly held, with probably never more than 50 shareholders.
Day 2, on Friday, August 25th, contained general Americana, to include antiquarian books, transportation, ephemera, autographs and photographs; mining collectibles, to include mining equipment, ore specimens and ephemera; and tools. Nearly 500 lots came up for bid on Day 2.
A 30 inch by 30 inch land deed signed by Benjamin Franklin on April 11, 1787 for 282 acres of land known as “Powersburg” in Pennsylvania was the auction’s overall top lot ($11,250). The deed mentioned the land “from the late purchase” (the land recently purchased from the Indians). A royalty of one-fifth of the minerals produced was due to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Also on Day 2 was a 1905 panorama photo of the Byron Hot Springs (Calif.) Hotel, 20 ¼ inches by 64 ½ inches ($1,500); an 1861 Miner’s Compendium and Guide ($1,300); an Alsop & Co. (San Francisco) exchange note from 1856 ($1,375); a copy of the 1892 book Experiences of a Forty-Niner Wm. G. Johnston ($1,250); and a Colorado Mining Directory from 1883 ($1,250).
Day 4, on Sunday, August 27th, was highlight by philatelic items, to include postal history, postcards, stamps, Wells Fargo and Express; numismatics, to include bullion, coins, “potty” coins, U.S. Mint sets, fractional currency, foreign coins, ingots, assay and medals; and token.
A gorgeous set of NGC certifies MS 69 U.S. mint silver eagles (1986-2021) sold for $9,812; an album containing a Commemorative Type Set of 46 U.S. half-dollar coins (1892-1954) rose to $8,125; two mint state $25 U.S. gold eagle coins, each one a half-ounce of fine gold, realized $5,500; and a rare 1860-1861 Pony Express cover with a red 3-cent Washington oval hit $3,750.
Also on Day 4, a complete U.S. Peace Dollar coin album with 24 uncirculated coins hit $3,750; a Spanish Colonial 8-Reales coin salvaged from the sunken ship Nuestra Senora De Atocha, with provenance, made $3,125; a dealer lot of 199 U.S. Mint coin sets, most in the original Treasury Department envelopes, 1962-1975, earned $1,769; a large Franklin Mint locomotive ingot collection went for $1,769; and a collection of Playboy Playmate medallions achieved $1,750.
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 their upcoming events, visit www.holabirdamericana.com. Holabird was recently voted “Best of Reno” in the antiques category for 2023 – their first time.
About Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC:
Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC is always seeking new and major collections to bring to market. It prides itself as being a major source for selling Americana at the best prices obtainable, having sold more than any other similar company in the past decade alone. The firm will have its entire sales database online soon, at no cost – nearly 200,000 lots sold since 2014. To consign a single piece or a collection, you may call Fred Holabird at 775-851-1859 or 844-492-2766; or, you can send an e-mail to fredholabird@gmail.com. To learn more about Holabird Western Americana Collections and their upcoming events, visit www.holabirdamericana.com.
