SOLD
25,000.00USD+ (4,375.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2011 Mar 16 @ 18:47UTC-7 : PDT/MST
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A full invoice should be emailed to the winner by the auctioneer within a day or two.
Over three to four decades of collecting, every few years a spectacular gold watch from the Gold Rush regions comes into the marketplace. We’ve seen perhaps a dozen great California gold quartz watches and one spectacular Alaska gold rush watch. Watches of this caliber were usually made by local jewelers for a mining client of substantial import – perhaps a mine owner or wealthy merchant. Only rarely are they ever identified on a personal basis. When this watch came in from one of the quintessential collectors, we lost our breaths.
It is a fully covered nugget watch from the Dawson gold rush of 1898, complete with a watch chain made of nuggets. The chain is 17”, weighing 2Troy ounces. At the center is a tie stud connected by a piece of gold with “Dawson, Y. T.” embossed. On the reverse side of the stud is the jewelers mark “Dawson 18k”, though no name is given. A 1” diameter gold medallion finishes the long chain with a three dimensional view of Dawson on one side, and two jewels (red [ruby]and white [a diamond replacement rhinestone added later) , nuggets, and a small ½” US Military insignia, clearly added after the piece was made. This is one of only three gold nugget watches we know in western collections, and is the finest quality watch of the three by far, though not necessarily the most ornate, yet it is truly spectacular.
The 2” in diameter watch was made by E. Mathey, one of the premier names in gold pocket watches from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s period, with the cover plate and reverse plate entirely covered with small nuggets. The inner works are 14kt, serial number 21152, of Swiss manufacture. The works cover plate has E. Mathey handsomely engraved on the outer plate along with the serial number. The watch appears in working condition, though there are only two hand engraved old jewelers marks inside indicating maintenance.
The wearing of bold, expensive, showy watch chains and expensive watches by wealthy mining men was commonplace in formal settings. The fancy gold nugget covered or gold quartz covered watches were an obvious sign of success and thus wealth, their trophy for all to see at important public gatherings. These watches would not have been worn in a normal business setting of day to day work, but rather on special occasions. In this manner, many ingots of gold or silver were also worn by mine owners on their watch chains, by superintendants and financiers as a sign of success, boldly hanging from the center of the chain. We have been fortunate to offer a number of these ingots in past sales.
Accompanying the watch are two choice Dawson gold souvenirs of the period – a wonderful, detailed gold shovel, nugget and sinking bucket stickpin with “98” attached on a gold chain (signifying 1898 as the year of the Dawson Rush), 2.5” long, with “Sept. 14, 1898” engraved on the back, a proud and meaningful date to the original owner, whose story is now lost to history. A second piece, a beautiful and fancy men’s gold ring embossed “Dawson” with figures of the mining industry all over, made of 14kt gold. This ring is similar in construction to the well known gold rings from Goldfield and Tonopah, Nevada, made circa 1905.
The story of Dawson is one that has been told and retold. It is well recounted in fascinating fashion by Pierre Berton in Klondike Fever (1958). Dawson is located just over the United States border in Yukon Territory. Serious placer gold mining started in 1896, when $300,000 in gold was mined. Within two years the gold coming out of Dawson reached $10 million, and in the first ten years of the Dawson rush, $112,804,362 in gold came from Dawson, highlighted by $22,275,000 in 1900. Because the Dawson gold fields were only separated from Alaska by a nearby geo-political border, American prospectors streamed into the area, accessing it from Skagway. Fully half the gold mined there made its way back into the United States, according to G. Carleton Woodward in his article “Klondike Gold Production” in Ore and Metals Magazine, page 200, May 20, 1907 published in Denver.
This watch is a spectacular artifact of the Alaska/Yukon Gold Rush, worthy of the finest collections in America.
Auction Location:
Each session will be held at different locations, Sacramento, California, 95815, United States
Previewing Details:
The auction for session C will be held at the Sacramento Convention Center 1400 J Street 95814 Room #308. Previews for this session will be on Tuesday March 15th from 12pm to 6pm, and on Wednesday March 16th from 10am to 4pm at the Convention Center in Room #310.
Tax Details: Nevada sales tax will be added to all orders pick up at our location in Reno, NV or shipped to an address in Nevada unless a valid resale certificate is provided prior to invoicing. California sales tax will be added to all orders picked up in California or shipped to an address in California unless a valid resale certificate is provided prior to invoicing. Resale certificates can be faxed to 775-852-8866 BEFORE the auction closes.
Taxes:
| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| NST |
7.725% |
Nevada Sales Tax: |
| CST |
8.75% |
California Sales Tax: |
| CSTx |
9% |
California Sales Tax |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
17.5% |
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
Shipping will be calculated prior to invoicing, based on the size and weight of your purchase. A $5
handling fee will be included in the shipping charge. The customer is responsible for all shipping charges.
We do not ship any purchases until the auction invoice is paid in full. Purchases will be shipped via
our approved, insured carriers, Federal Express or the US Postal Service. All items shipped Federal
Express will be insured for the full value determined at auction by Holabird-Kagin Americana at no
extra cost to the buyer. Federal Express shipments will be sent the Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday
following receipt of payment. Pick up is available from our Reno Office the next business day after
the auction. NOTE: Some shipments (of unusual size, dimension or weight) may require special
handling for which individual costs will be calculated and applied to the shipping charge on the invoice.
Payment Details:
A 3% cash discount is applied to the Buyer’s Premium on all sales. That 3% discount will be reversed is payment is made by credit card or through Paypal.
Accepted Payment Methods:
- VISA
- Master Card
- Money Order/Bank Draft
- Check/Cheque
- PayPal
- See Payment Details
- Wire Transfer
1. This is a Live Auction which includes an important Mail Bid/Absentee Only Section.
2. Live (Floor) Bidding: Please arrive a few minutes early to check in and receive your bidding paddle. We will open lots with more than one bid at the current high absentee bid or 50% of the low estimate at the auctioneer’s discretion. Please be sure to bid on the correct lots during the live auction. Our auction progress is at a rate of between 150 and 240 lots per hour. When the auctioneer says “sold”, he will identify the successful bidder by number and announce the winning bid amount. If you are not sure whether you won the lot or not, it is your responsibility to ask for clarification immediately. Tie bids are awarded to the first absentee bid placed if not advanced on the floor, or by a phone bidder, whoever is first. Auctioneer reserves the right to reopen the lot in the case of an immediate dispute at the actual time of the sale.
3. Telephone Bidding: Telephone bidding requests MUST be scheduled prior to this auction. If you do not schedule in advance, and choose instead to call on the day of the auction to request a line for bidding, you may find that we are unable to accommodate your request. Please limit your telephone bids to items of value greater than $500, or a string of items with a similar total.
4. Agent Bidding: There are numerous professional agents available to assist you should you require this service. Please contact the office for a list or to arrange for representation on the floor during the live auction.
5. Live Auction Absentee Bidding: Absentee bids for the live auction will be accepted until two hours prior to the start of the live auction. It is your responsibility to submit all lot numbers and bid amounts accurately. Absentee bids should be equal to at least 50% of the low estimate if an estimate is provided. Bids on “No Lots” or “Withdrawn” Lots are considered no bids. Bids made in amounts that do not conform to the bid increment table in item 9 below will be automatically rounded up or down by the computer, or rounded to the nearest proper bid increment at the discretion of the auctioneer.
6. Internet Bidding: Absentee and Live internet bidding are both available through our live auction network, ICollector. If you wish to bid LIVE via the internet, you MUST pre-register. A live video and sound feed will be accessible during the auction for those bidding via the internet. Absentee bids will also be accepted on this site until 8:00am PDT on the day of the sale. Bidding will reopen for the live portion when the auction starts. Absentee internet bidding for the Mail-Bid/Absentee Only Section of the auction will remain open until Tuesday, March 16th, 2011 5:00pm PDT.
7. Mail-Bid/Absentee Only Section Bidding: A portion of this sale is designated as “Mail-Bid” or “Absentee Only”. The Mail-Bid/Absentee Only portion of the sale will close after the live auction, Tuesday March 16, 2011 at 5pm PDT. It is your responsibility to submit all lot numbers and bid amounts accurately. Absentee bids should be equal to at least 50% of the low estimate if an estimate is provided.
8. Reserves: Most of the lots in this auction are unreserved. Gold is generally reserved at or near spot, though it could be slightly below spot.
9. 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:
$0 $29 $1
$30 $95 $5
$100 $190 $10
$200 $475 $25
$500 $1,450 $50
$1,500 $3,400 $100
$3,500 $9,750 $250
$10,000 $max $500
10. 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.
11. Bid Information: Collectors often ask in advance the price level of a particular lot. We will give out the current high absentee bid until we close the day before the live auction. You may also view absentee bids online at www.holabirdamericana.com.
12. 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 fax are not advisable. Errors are easy to make and we are happy to assist all callers.
13. 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.
14. We reserve the right to reject any bid we feel is not made in good faith.
15. The placing of a bid shall constitute the bidders acceptance of these terms of sale.
16. Buyers Premium: There will be a 17.5% Buyer’s Premium added to each lot. This premium includes a 3% discount for transactions paid with cash, checks, money orders or wire transfers. All other forms of payment are not subject to the 3% discount and the Buyers’ Premium will be calculated at 20.5%.
17. Sales Tax: Sales tax will apply, according to state law, for any items that ship to Nevada (7.725%) or California (9.0%) unless a current, valid re-sale certificate is faxed to us at 775-852-8866 before bids are placed.
18. Invoicing: Shipping charges will be added to all invoices. Invoices are mailed or emailed within two business days after the close of all portions of the sale. Payment is due in full within 15 days of receipt of invoice to Holabird-Kagin Americana, 3555 Airway Dr., #308, Reno, NV 89511. We accept cash, personal checks, money orders, wire transfers, etc. All returned checks are subject to a $25 fee. Cash received in amounts greater than $10,000 is subject to the filing of IRS 8300 forms, as required by law. Sales tax will be added to all sales picked-up after the auction or shipped to California or Nevada addresses, according to state law, unless a resale certificate is provided.
19. Payment: We accept Visa, Master Card, Money Order/Cashiers Check, Person Check, PayPal: HKAEbayRep@yahoo.com. A 3% discount is applied to the Buyer’s Premium on all sales. That discount will be reversed if payment is made with a credit card or through PayPal.
20. Shipping: Shipping will be calculated prior to invoicing, based on the size and weight of your purchase. A $5 handling fee will be included in the shipping charge. The customer is responsible for all shipping charges. We do not ship any purchases until the auction invoice is paid in full. Purchases will be shipped via our approved, insured carriers, Federal Express or the US Postal Service. All items shipped Federal Express will be insured for the full value determined at auction by Holabird-Kagin Americana at no extra cost to the buyer. Federal Express shipments will be sent the Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday following receipt of payment. Pick up is available from our Reno Office the next business day after the auction. NOTE: Some shipments (of unusual size, dimension or weight) may require special handling for which individual costs will be calculated and applied to the shipping charge on the invoice.
21. Return Policy: All items are guaranteed to be authentic. If authenticity is challenged, please call our office for assistance. You may return any piece that was significantly inaccurately described by calling our office within one week of receipt of item(s) and notifying us of the error and reason for return. We do not refund postage or insurance. We have attempted to describe the items and their condition accurately. If no condition is given, assume average. Please call us if you require a more specific condition report. Items may, or may not, carry lengthy descriptions, which is at the sole discretion of the auctioneer. Lengthy descriptions shall be considered as “industry standard.” Any items that are returned must be returned in the exact, unaltered condition. NGC certified tokens that are returned must be original, unaltered NGC holders. Any tokens removed from the original NGC/NCS certification holders or items returned in an altered condition are deemed not returnable under any circumstances. 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. Therefore, returns are only accepted if prior approval is given by Holabird-Kagin Americana.
22. This sale is being held under the laws of the State of Nevada.
23. Kagin’s, Inc. nor its subsidiary auction company Holabird-Kagin Americana shall not be held responsible for any problem due to the bidders failure to follow the rules, terms and conditions of this sale, or any failure due to the loss of the online auction process provided by any the online auction network; or missed bids, changed bids or cancelled due the bidders failure to follow the proper bidding procedure outlined herein.