HOLABIRD WESTERN AMERICANA COLLECTIONS, LLC WILL HOLD A DECEMBERDREAMS: PREMIER AMERICANA AUCTION, LIVE AND ONLINE, DECEMBER 17th -19th

The auction has more than 1,900 lots in a wide array of collecting categories and at price pointsthat will appeal to both novices and veteran collectors alike. Important collections will be sold.

Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC is famous for its five-day auctionsfeaturing thousands of highly collectible items in a rainbow of categories, but the firm will end2021 with a tidy, three-day affair, December 17th -19th , online and in the Reno gallery, boastingover 1,900 lots of rare books, art, mining, numismatics, stock certificates, postcards and more.

The December Dreams: Premier Americana Auction will begin at 8 am Pacific time all threedays. Highlighted collections include more parts of the Ken Prag postcard collection, the BillMcIver token and medal collection, the MacKenzie Montana collection and the Ron LerchWestern collection. These will be supplemented by world-class rarities from other collections.

Day 1 will contain over 600 lots of philatelic (stamps); military, political and firearms; gamingcollectibles; and model railroad and toys. Postcards, many of them from the Ken Prag collection,will include California (especially wine country), Hawaii, Disney, Titanic and Pioneer examples.The gaming section includes items from the Shirley Bovis Cowboy Museum in Tombstone, Ariz.

Of the 500 postcard lots from the Ken Prag collection, about 350 lots are California-related, but40 lots or so are Hawaii-themed. Lot 1361 - nearly 80 early Hawaii and South Seas Curio Co.postcards, including cards from the Aloha Nui series - has an estimate of $300-$600; while lot1447, a group of ten Titanic-related postcards from around the time of the tragedy, should realize$700-$1,500.

A highlight of items from the Shirley Bovis Cowboy Museum is lot 1552, a circa 1880-1890swell-used holster that appears to have been made for a medium-framed revolver with a Buntlinelength barrel (estimate: $800-$1,600). No maker's mark is visible, and it would be difficult toplace ownership of the rare holster, but good guesses are lawmen Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.

Tops in the firearms category is lot 1551: a model 1888 Gewehr 88 rifle (aka a commission rifle)made at the Amberg, Germany arsenal in 1891, in very good condition with bluing on the barrelsleeve and magazine well (estimate: $800-$1,000). A must-have for original European weaponscollectors, the rifle has a Mauser-inspired design but the Mauser arsenal didn't design this model.

Day 2, December 18, has 683 lots of books (featuring Part 1 of the Ron Leach Western directorycollection; mining artifacts and ephemera; and stock certificates and bonds, to include miningand railroad. There are about 200 directories from this first installment of the Ron Lerch collection. Directories are considered a material and, as such, are essentialaspects of historical research.

Two key pieces from the Lerch collection are the Wells Fargo & Co. Express Directory ofChinese Houses (all in California) from 1878, one of the most sought-after of all the Westerndirectories; and a Montana Territory History & Business Directory from 1879, when Montanawas not yet a state, 218 pages, with original fold-out map. Both have estimates of $3,000-$6,000.

Other Day 2 highlights include a handbill issued by Wells Fargo in 1866, extolling the thefts ofcompany monies used by several agents to gamble on mining stocks (estimate: $2,000-$4,000);and a Britton & Rey lithograph depicting life scenes of gold miners in the 19th century, titled BarRoom in the Mines and Long Tom, one of only five known copies (estimate: $ 1,000-$2,000).

From the Joe Elcano mining stock collection is a certificate for the Grosch Consolidated Gold &Silver Mining Company (Virginia City, Nev.), for one share, issued to Benjamin Nickerson,issued on Dec. 31, 1864, signed by the company president and secretary, showing two vignettes:a bare-chested allegorical woman and a gold prospector on the move (estimate: $1,200-$2,000).The certificate is important because the company was a scam market play on the originalComstock discoverers, the Grosch Brothers.

Day 2 lots 2455-2514 are Nevada mining stocks; the majority are from the massive Elcanocollection. This is the first one of multiple sales that will feature the Elcano Nevada mining stockcollection. The entire Day 2 mining section is strong, though, and features some really greatCalifornia Gold Rush material (to include letter-sheets), a huge Colorado section, and Montanaand Nevada.

The auction's final day, December 19th , promises to be a busy one, with 614 lots of NativeAmericana, art (featuring Ansel Adams, Salvador Dali, Thomas Kincaide, Japanese art andmore), numismatics (including coins and currency, medals and so-called dollars), tokens(featuring Part 2 of the Bill McIvor Nevada token collection), and general Americana.

As always, there will be a strong Native American section, featuring baskets (with more to comein the next sale), jewelry and art. Artwork will include three early Salvador Dali signedlithographic prints and a wonderful group of Japanese woodblocks and prints, many signed.

Antiquarian photography is a key category for collectors. Day 3 will feature historic and possiblyunique Western stereo-view cards and photographs, led by a fabulous Ansel Adams originalphotograph group from his Yosemite Series (all signed), including Moon and Half Dome (1960),print No. 10, considered one of Mr. Adams's greatest photographs (estimate: $10,000-$20,000).

Offerings from the Bill McIver Nevada token and medal collection are not to be missed. Theyinclude the centerpiece of his collection: possibly the finest known 12.5-cent token from ThePayteller (Rhyolite, Nev.), showing a bearded miner with a pick, shovel and lunch bucket, plus amountain and rising sun (estimate: $7,000-$10,000), octagonal in shape and 30mm in width.

The MacKenzie Montana collection continues with historical documents and ephemera. Aspectacular and large artisan pot by Montana artist Randall Blaze (b. 1949), 17 inches tall, isexpected to bring $4,000-$8,000. The pot is from an exhibition titled Shields by Randall Blaze,Oct. 16-Dec. 11, 1988, at the Museum of the Plains Indian and Craft Center in Browning, Mont.

A great numismatic rarity is found in a letter of 1851. Prior to the establishment of a Branch USMint in California, private firms made their own gold coins. Some came under fire in 1851 fornot containing sufficient gold. These firms, including Dunbar & Co., were in the localpress, which adversely affected their value. Directly reacting to this adversity, a letter hereaddresses how Dunbar would cure and defect. It is the first original document found to date todiscuss this important period.

The letter is signed by Dunbar & Co. and dated March 31, 1851, noting the receipt of 192 9/16ounces of gold dust at $17.125 per ounce to be paid in Dunbar & Co.'s (gold) coin on demand,"or if said coin will not pay at par at the time of such demand, the amount shall be redeemed atthe office of Dodge & Co. in current silver at the hands of Henry D. Cogswell, should rise to$3,000-$7,000.

A numismatic treasure is lot 3389: a 6th century BC ring of one troy ounce of solid 14kt gold,carefully holding a 1/3 stater gold piece with a lion motif (estimate: $7,000-$8,500). The ring has12 diamonds, six on either side in rows of two, with a combined weight of 0.84ct. It is one of theworld's first gold coins, is in great XF+ condition and comes with a certificate of authenticity.

Online bidding via iCollector.com, LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com.The full catalog can be viewed online now, at www.holabirdamericana.com.For those planningto attend the auction in person, regulations and protocols regarding COVID-19 will be enforced.

Color catalogs are available by calling 1-844-492-2766, or 775-851-1859. Also, anyone owninga collection that might fit into an upcoming Holabird Western Americana Collections auction isencouraged to get in touch. The firm travels extensively throughout the U.S., to see and pick upcollections. The company has agents all over America and will travel to inspect most collections.

Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC is always seeking new and major collections tobring to market. It prides itself as being a major source for selling Americana at the best pricesobtainable, having sold more than any other similar company in the past decade alone. The firmwill 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 HolabirdWestern Americana Collections, LLC and the December Dreams: Premier Americana scheduledfor December 17th through 19th , please visit www.holabirdamericana.com. Updates posted often.