THE GOLDEN WEST AUCTIONS

Auction Details

The Golden West Sale encompasses three sessions of auctions covering some of the most important historical western material from the Gold Rush periods of California, Nevada and Colorado. The material has been assembled from many of the great western collections, as well as original material handed down within Gold Rush families, held intact for over 100 years.
Session A of the Golden West Sale encompasses the annual WESTS (Western States Token Society) token auction. This year the highlight is clearly and unarguably the finest Western Indian Trader, Fort & Territorial collection ever assembled at public auction. The more than 500 lot sale contains dozens of R9 and R10 tokens, many of which have not seen the light of day in at least four decades. Some ephemera also is included from Indian Trader sites. Indian Trader tokens are an important form of money exchanged between Indians and Anglos in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Trading Posts were a way of life in the isolated outposts of the western plains and mountains, swapping furs, rugs, coats and other items for food stuffs and equipment. There has never been a sale of this magnitude and importance. The end of this sale will include a comprehensive collection of Naval tokens never before offered and with NO ESTIMATES or MINIMUM BID REQUIREMENTS, as this offering will set the pricing precedent for naval tokens.
Session B encompasses many of the popular collecting categories. It includes a strong photograph collection of American saloon interiors, saloon ephemera and Gold Rush region saloon tokens, also known as Pioneer Minor Coinage. Part of the saloon section includes a large collection of the ultra-rare Good-for mirrors, one of the rarest forms of money, many with pictorial representations of the fabulous “gay-90’s” saloon girls, as well as advertising mirrors. This is the largest mirror offering since the Rosa sale of 1988. Most of the mirrors are so rare that only one to three specimens of each are known. The session will be rounded out by a collection of So-called dollars and Hibler Kappen related material, $50 slug facsimiles, Chopmarked coins, Golden Gate International Exposition Medals and more. Much of this section is from the well-known Bill Weber Collection.
Session C The highlight of the sale is certainly the newly discovered Washington Nugget, a nearly 100 ounce nugget (and several others) found in an unmined section of the Omega-Malakoff Tertiary Channel in February, 2010 that made national news. The nuggets are accompanied by two large original nineteenth-century bullion scales (Christian Becker, New York; Henry Troemner, Philadelphia), It is accompanied in the sale by some masterful original Gold Rush art, inclusive of a spectacular and early rendition of a miner, several broadsides- a miner in lithographic form, panoramic views of mining communities, a number of original Currier & Ives prints of the Gold Rush and Salt Lake City, stage coach pieces, and the Alaska 1893 Yukon/Alaska Miners Union Banner.
A massive Gold Rush banking collection covers the 1850’s through 1860’s in California and Nevada, with what is probably the largest Gold Rush period banking collection ever offered publicly. It contains more than 100 different Bills of Exchange, a form of the first circulating currency on the West Coast. A wonderful and large collection of Gold Rush banking documents augments this fine collection, along with original leather gold pokes and money belts.
Some of the highlights of the Gold Rush Collection are documents from the original 1910 San Francisco sale of the estate of James King of William, documents signed by Adolph Sutro, California coiner F. D. Kohler, and others. A very rare letter book from Nevada mining and railroad magnate Hume Yerington from the mid-1860’s contains incredible information about his life prior to his railroad successes.
A large collection of US Mint ephemera is included, including rare bullion receipts, photographs, lithograph, gold coin and other coin bank bags, as well as rare Carson City gold and silver coins. Accompanying the Mint ephemera is a section of California Counters and rare California Gold Rush tokens.
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Anchorage,AK - Municipality of Anchorage - c1900-1950 - Money Belt :2430 - Anchorage,AK - Municipality of Anchorage - c1900-1950 - Money Belt :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Brown leather belt, measures 47" x2.75”. Contains six notches lined in silver-toned metal (notch #4 is not lined); has four pockets, with snapp...
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 2,000.00 - 3,000.00
Sold to A*******e for 1,175.00
 
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Chilkoot Pass,AK - 1898/1899 - Klondike's Stereoview Collection :2431 - Chilkoot Pass,AK - 1898/1899 - Klondike's Stereoview Collection :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Lot of four. 1) View of line of Klondikers climbing Chilkoot Pass. Wooden restaurant structure in foreground. L better balanced tonally and focus clea
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
Sold to 9****k for 293.75
 
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Nome,AK - Nome County - c1900 - Dexter Mine Photographs :2432 - Nome,AK - Nome County - c1900 - Dexter Mine Photographs :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Lot of two cabinet cards of the Dexter Mine. 1) The image has a group of miners between two long sluice boxes on the right, with a third sluice box an
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 500.00 - 1,000.00
Sold to 9*****B for 235.00
 
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Valdez,AK - c1908 - Copper Block Café Gold Nugget Token : $1 - Genuine - 5225930-0102433 - Valdez,AK - c1908 - Copper Block Café Gold Nugget Token : $1 - Genuine - 5225930-010
Holabird-Kagin Americana
$1. This hotel and saloon operated from 1907-1917 by H.F. Suessdorf. It was billed as "The House of Comfort" with "finely furnished r...
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 1,000.00 - 2,000.00
Sold to 9***6 for 1,057.50
 
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Hackberry,AZ - Mohave County - December 21, 1878 - Hackberry Mill & Mining Company Ultra Rare $5 Not2434 - Hackberry,AZ - Mohave County - December 21, 1878 - Hackberry Mill & Mining Company Ultra Rare $5 Not
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Unique and Rare specimen! There are exactly two Hackberry scrip notes known - one for $2.50 and a $5.00 note. Borth are unique. No 83 Note payable to
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 5,000.00 - 10,000.00
Sold to 2***7 for 3,525.00
 
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Pinal County,AZ - January 24, 1881 - Pioneer Silver Belle Mill and Mining Company Stock *Territorial2435 - Pinal County,AZ - January 24, 1881 - Pioneer Silver Belle Mill and Mining Company Stock *Territorial
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Pioneer District. Incorporated in 1878. Certif. #95, issued to G.W. Burns, Trustee, for 6675 shares. Signed by J.P. Dyer, president, and by secretary.
Bidding Has Concluded
Start Price : 150.00 | Estimate : 300.00 - 400.00
 
 
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Yavapai County,AZ - 1903, 1904, 1908, 1909 - Yavapai County Mining Stock Certificates *Territorial*2436 - Yavapai County,AZ - 1903, 1904, 1908, 1909 - Yavapai County Mining Stock Certificates *Territorial*
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Lot of five. First stock is from the Consolidated Arizona Smelting Company. Measures 11’’x 8’’. Incorporated under the laws of Maine. No. c11056. I
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 200.00 - 400.00
Sold to 9***2 for 117.50
 
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CA - c1854 - Adams & Co. Express Token and Chapman Envelope :2437 - CA - c1854 - Adams & Co. Express Token and Chapman Envelope :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Lot of two. Adams & Co. Express Token, CA. c. 1854 and Chapman envelope. 1) Single token, 25 cent value; 1x1”; on glazed cardboard; tokens we...
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 250.00 - 350.00
Sold to 3***1 for 188.00
 
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CA - 1988 - California Gold Discovery Day Gold Medallion :2438 - CA - 1988 - California Gold Discovery Day Gold Medallion :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Struck in Gold by Medallic Art Co. Dies created by Don De Lue. 1897-1988. Obverse features a beautifully engraved high relief view of Sutter's M...
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 1,200.00 - 1,500.00
Sold to 8***8 for 1,762.50
 
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CA - Jan. 30th, 1849 - Chase, Salmon P.  Manuscript Speech about the Great California Gold Fields :2439 - CA - Jan. 30th, 1849 - Chase, Salmon P. Manuscript Speech about the Great California Gold Fields :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Important speech made by Salmon P. Chase, probably in Cincinnati, Ohio. When this speech was made, Chase had just been elected as a Senator from Ohio
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 2,000.00 - 4,000.00
Sold to 8***8 for 3,407.50
 
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CA - 1848 - Fremont's Upper California Geographical Memoir :2441 - CA - 1848 - Fremont's Upper California Geographical Memoir :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
A Senate publication from the 30th Congress, 1st Session, Miscellaneous No. 148, this paper covered volume is fully titled: ”Geographical Memoir Upon
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 400.00 - 600.00
Sold to 9***0 for 235.00
 
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CA - c1849 - Gold Poke :2442 - CA - c1849 - Gold Poke :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Dark brown leather poke, 47" x 1.25-4.25”. Cummerbund-shaped; pouch portion is 22.5” and is one piece of leather, folded and stitched on the b...
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 1,520.00 - 2,500.00
Sold to A*******e for 1,410.00
 
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CA - c1849 - Gold Poke :2443 - CA - c1849 - Gold Poke :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Deerskin sack measures 11" x 4.5”, taupe, with original wax seals (unreadable) and ink markings indicating “294.03 oz,” and an arrow indicatin...
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 1,000.00 - 1,500.00
Sold to j**********o for 1,116.25
 
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CA - c1850s - Gold Rush Coin Purse :2444 - CA - c1850s - Gold Rush Coin Purse :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Fabulous silver engraved gold rush coin purse. No maker is shown. The vignettes of coin presses on this coin purse are unique. The clear inference is
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 5,000.00 - 7,500.00
Sold to 8***8 for 6,168.75
 
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CA - c1857 - Gold Rush Coinage Conversion Chart, Unique! :2445 - CA - c1857 - Gold Rush Coinage Conversion Chart, Unique! :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Very rare conversion chart for California Pioneer & Foreign Gold Coinage and Foreign Silver Coinage. Hand written on soft blue lined paper. Sol...
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 500.00 - 1,000.00
Sold to 8***8 for 352.50
 
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CA - c1848-1855 - Miner Photographs :2446 - CA - c1848-1855 - Miner Photographs :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Unique and unusual pair of Daguerreotypes in excellent condition with the original case of a young man in his business attire and with another view of
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 4,000.00 - 6,000.00
Sold to 1***4 for 4,112.50
 
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CA - 1849 - New-Brunswick & California Mining & Trading Co. Stock :2447 - CA - 1849 - New-Brunswick & California Mining & Trading Co. Stock :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
This is an important, perhaps earliest known, California Gold Rush stock certificate. A blank certificate for one share, unissued and unsigned. &qu...
Bidding Has Concluded
Start Price : 500.00 | Estimate : 1,000.00 - 2,000.00
 
 
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CA - c1885 - Pacific Express Co. Cover Face :2448 - CA - c1885 - Pacific Express Co. Cover Face :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Scarce Express cover, face only with Scott U277. Unused.
Bidding Has Concluded
Start Price : 50.00 | Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
 
 
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CA - Alpine County - December 26, 1868 - Pennsylvania Gold and Silver Mining Company Stock :2449 - CA - Alpine County - December 26, 1868 - Pennsylvania Gold and Silver Mining Company Stock :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Silver Mountain District. Incorporated in 1863. Cert. # 557, issued to Iver Dawson for 8 shares. Signed by O. M. Gilman, president, and by John A. Joh
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 600.00 - 900.00
Sold to 9***8 for 587.50
 
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CA - 1850s-1880s - Wells Fargo & Co. California Cover Collection :2450 - CA - 1850s-1880s - Wells Fargo & Co. California Cover Collection :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Nice collection of 18 covers with good variety. This is an original grouping, none are repaired, and most have natural edge tears, some into the stam
Bidding Has Concluded
Estimate : 500.00 - 1,000.00
Sold to o****9 for 293.75
 
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