Press Release

Reno, NV, USA, April 23, 2025 -- Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC will hold a four-day “Mint State” Americana & Numismatics Auction on Friday, May 2nd, thru Monday, May 5th, starting at 8am Pacific time each day. The first three days are live sessions, online and in the Reno gallery. May 5th is a timed-only session; bids can be placed online, in-person or over the phone with an agent.

The four-day sale features over 2,400 lots in multiple collecting categories. These include numismatics (coins, medals, tokens and US Mint ephemera), bottles, mining, minerals, Native Americana, general Americana, toys, militaria, railroadiana, art, stocks and more. Internet bidding will be facilitated by iCollector.com, LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com.

Notably, in the week following the auction, Holabird will have a booth at the Grass Valley Old West Show, May 8-10, at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley, Calif. It’s considered the best Western Americana show in the U.S. “We’ll be there, ready to discuss your collectibles and take in items for our future auctions,” said Fred Holabird of Holabird Western Americana Collections. “It’s a great event with the best and friendliest Americana dealers in the country.”

As for the auction, the name ‘Mint State’ is “a nod to the fabulous numismatic section in this sale,” Mr. Holabird remarked. “It will be led by material from the Fred Weinberg numismatic ephemera collection, along with many rare coins and medals. Mint state is the highest rating in numismatics. It also perfectly describes the other unique historical collectibles up for bid.”

There are several important collections in the auction. The Fred Weinberg collection features rare documents and ephemera, including rare early US Mint material (such as the 1796 last will and testament of David Rittenhouse, the first Director of the US Mint), early correspondence from Robert Patterson (the 6th Mint Director), plus reports, documents, catalogs and newspapers.

Also offered will be hundreds of Western bottles, ghost town finds and associated collectibles from the collection of Mike Polak, nicknamed the “Bottle King” and “Tonopah Mike.” Mr. Polak authored the book Antique Trader Bottles: Identification and Price Guide prior to his 2024 death. Polak’s bottles will kick off the auction on Day 1; less expensive pieces will be in Day 4.

The Sierra Nevada History Collection will showcase a partial autograph letter signed by John Muir, the famed conservationist and “Father of the National Parks,” written in 1872 from his cabin in Yosemite; early Nevada pieces tied to Mark Twain; and an incredible circa 1870 bird’s-eye view photograph of Carson City, Nevada, with the newly built Carson City Mint in view.

The auction will present the first in a planned series of sales dedicated to the Pinetop Arizona Museum Collection, filled with fun and unique Western collectibles, such as vintage advertising signs (including Coca-Cola); Western-style vintage furnishings; Native American art; rugs and weavings; cowboy collectibles (spurs, saddles, chaps); a huge cap gun and gun belt collection; Buddy L toy trucks; an 1880 Colt cast iron cap pistol; and a rare Buffalo Bill cast iron toy pistol.

Minerals and mining collectibles on Days 2 and 4 will feature fossil and mineral specimens from the Chunlin Zhu Collection; large gold specimens from Canada (Yukon and Timmins), Arizona (Meadview), and California (Sierra County); and rare assay ephemera (California and Nevada), such as an invoice for a gold dust shipment on the ship the S.S. Panama from September 1849.

To learn more about Holabird Western Americana Collections and the four-day “Mint State” Americana & Numismatics Auction on Friday, May 2nd, thru Sunday, May 5th, starting at 8am Pacific time each day, please visit www.holabirdamericana.com. Updates are posted frequently.

Organisation Profile: