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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San Francisco,CA - 1860 - Molitor, S. & Co. Assay Receipts2064 - San Francisco,CA - 1860 - Molitor, S. & Co. Assay Receipts
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Lot of 2. Assay results. Weight before melting 28.90 oz, after melting 28.85 oz, .935 fine, value of gold $557.61. Very Fine
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Start Price : 125.00 | Estimate : 250.00 - 350.00
 
 
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San Francisco,CA - 1860/1861/1863 - Molitor, S.  & Co. Assay Office :2065 - San Francisco,CA - 1860/1861/1863 - Molitor, S. & Co. Assay Office :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Lot of four: 1) S. Molitor & Co., 110 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA. May 31, 1860. No.1146: Bullion deposit and assay results signed S....
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 1,200.00 - 2,000.00
Sold to 4***4 for (1,300.00 + 227.50BP) = 1,527.50
 
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San Francisco,CA - March 11, 1863 - Molitor & Co. Assay Office :2066 - San Francisco,CA - March 11, 1863 - Molitor & Co. Assay Office :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
418 Montgomery Street No. 540: Memorandum of Gold Bullion deposited and assay results; weight before melting 28.90 oz, after melting 28.85 oz, .935 fi
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Start Price : 200.00 | Estimate : 400.00 - 800.00
 
 
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Cherokee,CA - Aug. 10, 1863 - Murphy, J. B. Gold Dust Merchant Receipt for Gold Dust Purchased :2067 - Cherokee,CA - Aug. 10, 1863 - Murphy, J. B. Gold Dust Merchant Receipt for Gold Dust Purchased :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Issued to Mr. John Ryan for the balance of $10.72 in gold dust. Light blue paper "Gold Dust Bought. Quicksilver For Sale, by the Pound or Flask...
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 150.00 - 300.00
Sold to p********n for (160.00 + 28.00BP) = 188.00
 
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NV - 1886-1927 - Nevada Assay Collection :2068 - NV - 1886-1927 - Nevada Assay Collection :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Lot of nine Nevada assay items. This is a nice selection of assay receipts including some from important mines. The items are as follows: 1) Assay rec
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 200.00 - 400.00
Sold to t********n.. for (100.00 + 17.50BP) = 117.50
 
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Austin,NV - Lander - 1867 - Nevada Assay Receipts :2069 - Austin,NV - Lander - 1867 - Nevada Assay Receipts :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
This handsomely framed item includes three revenue stamped receipts of specimens deposited for assay and assay results. These are three different vari
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 2,000.00 - 3,000.00
Sold to p********n for (1,600.00 + 280.00BP) = 1,880.00
 
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Eureka,NV - c1875-85 - Nevada Assayer's Bottle :2070 - Eureka,NV - c1875-85 - Nevada Assayer's Bottle :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Rare embossed light purple, 5" drug store bottle for W. H. Stowell "Druggest and Assayer". Stowell was a prominent Assayer and Drugge...
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 120.00 - 200.00
Sold to p******k for (750.00 + 131.25BP) = 881.25
 
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Eureka,NV - Dec. 22, 1883 - Nevada Silver Camp Assay :2071 - Eureka,NV - Dec. 22, 1883 - Nevada Silver Camp Assay :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
The Richmond Mining Co was one of two major silver mines in Eureka, and one of the largest silver producers of its time. Lot of 4. 1) Issued for gold
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 250.00 - 700.00
Sold to r***6 for (100.00 + 17.50BP) = 117.50
 
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Virginia City,NV - Storey County - January 20, 1894 - Occidental Consolidated Assay Office :2072 - Virginia City,NV - Storey County - January 20, 1894 - Occidental Consolidated Assay Office :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Memorandum of gold and silver ore assay, deposited by R. Keating from Savage Battery, signed by Alan Kinkead. The Occidental is the key mine on the Oc
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 150.00 - 300.00
Sold to F*******d for (75.00 + 13.13BP) = 88.13
 
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Virginia City,NV - Storey county - January 16, 1894 - Occidental Consolidated Assay Office :2073 - Virginia City,NV - Storey county - January 16, 1894 - Occidental Consolidated Assay Office :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Gold sample came from the stamp battery in the mine, deposited by R. Keating. The gold value is $3.10 and the silver value is $10.34. The memorandum i
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 250.00 - 500.00
Sold to F*******d for (75.00 + 13.13BP) = 88.13
 
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Nevada City,CA - Nevada County - c1860 - Ott Assay Office (Sheet of two) Receipt :2074 - Nevada City,CA - Nevada County - c1860 - Ott Assay Office (Sheet of two) Receipt :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Ott is perhaps best known as one of the first assay offices to assay Comstock ore in June, 1859. On a special day in June, 1859, when word got out of
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Start Price : 75.00 | Estimate : 150.00 - 300.00
 
 
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Virginia,NV - Storey County - January 17, 1878 - Pacific Mill and Mining Company Memorandum of Bulli2075 - Virginia,NV - Storey County - January 17, 1878 - Pacific Mill and Mining Company Memorandum of Bulli
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Was found by John Mackay and James G. Fair to process Comstock ores. Bars 391, 392 and 393 were assayed weighing a combined total of 5093.7 ounces val
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 150.00 - 300.00
Sold to F*******d for (60.00 + 10.50BP) = 70.50
 
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Folsom,CA - April 9, 1861 - Palmer & Day Assay Office :2076 - Folsom,CA - April 9, 1861 - Palmer & Day Assay Office :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Receipt number 3513 for materials received from Conrad Loucke. Signed by Palmer & Day. Printed by Towne & Bacon, Printers, San Francisco, CA...
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 100.00 - 200.00
Sold to 8***8 for (80.00 + 14.00BP) = 94.00
 
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San Francisco,CA - September 5, 1881 - Price, Thomas Assayer :2077 - San Francisco,CA - September 5, 1881 - Price, Thomas Assayer :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Memorandum of Gold Bullion deposited by Wells Fargo & Co. Receipt totaling $1490.12. From a gold ingot weighing 76.96 ounces of high fineness, 9...
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 500.00 - 600.00
Sold to 4***4 for (350.00 + 61.25BP) = 411.25
 
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San Francisco,CA - September 15, 1884 - Price, Thomas Assayer :2078 - San Francisco,CA - September 15, 1884 - Price, Thomas Assayer :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Memorandum of Bullion Deposited by Wheeler and Roger's. Receipt totaling $2196.88. Printed with black ink on white paper by Britton & Rey, ...
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Start Price : 200.00 | Estimate : 400.00 - 600.00
 
 
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San Francisco,CA - October 14, 1886 - Price, Thomas Assayer :2079 - San Francisco,CA - October 14, 1886 - Price, Thomas Assayer :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Memorandum of bullion deposited by Thomas Bell & Co. to Thomas Price, Analytical Chemist, Assay and Bullion Melter, at his office at 524 Sacrame...
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Start Price : 225.00 | Estimate : 450.00 - 650.00
 
 
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Prairie City,OR - Grant County - July 20, 1892 - Reedy, J.R.  Assay Office Receipt :2080 - Prairie City,OR - Grant County - July 20, 1892 - Reedy, J.R. Assay Office Receipt :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
The specimens submitted by McFarlane & Co and Geo E. Robinson & Co were from Prairie City. It was incorporated as an official town by Oregon...
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 100.00 - 300.00
Sold to 9***1 for (50.00 + 8.75BP) = 58.75
 
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Okanogan County,WA - June 20, 1892 - Reedy, J.R.  Assay Office Receipt :2081 - Okanogan County,WA - June 20, 1892 - Reedy, J.R. Assay Office Receipt :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
The specimens submitted by Messu, Cohwerd & Western were from the Okanogan County in Washington State. There is date present for three samples s...
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Start Price : 75.00 | Estimate : 150.00 - 300.00
 
 
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Weaverville,CA - Trinity County - December 31, 1853 - Rhodes & Lusk's Check :2083 - Weaverville,CA - Trinity County - December 31, 1853 - Rhodes & Lusk's Check :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
No 308. It cleared January 1, 1854, which is written across the center. The check was made payable to Wary Bill for $123.54. It is signed by assayer F
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 750.00 - 1,500.00
Sold to F*******d for (300.00 + 52.50BP) = 352.50
 
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San Francisco,CA - January 3, 1866 - Riehn, Hemme & Co., Assay Receipt :2084 - San Francisco,CA - January 3, 1866 - Riehn, Hemme & Co., Assay Receipt :
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Charles F. Riehn got his start as an assayer in San Francisco in 1863 when he formed a partnership with August Hemme and opened an assay office on Mon
Bidding Has Concluded
Quantity : 1 | Estimate : 2,500.00 - 3,500.00
Sold to F*******d for (1,000.00 + 175.00BP) = 1,175.00
 
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