RENO, Nevada - A five-day Holiday Treasures Auction packed with a staggering 4,379 lots in a wide array of collecting categories – including  Western Americana, railroadiana, gold, minerals, music memorabilia, mining, art, Native Americana, militaria, aviation, postal history, coins, tokens and more – will be held Thursday thru Monday, December 5th-9th, by Holabird Western Americana Auctions, online and live in the gallery at 3555 Airway Drive (Suite #308) in Reno.

Day 1, December 5th, will be the sale’s busiest day, in terms of the sheer number of categories. These will include art, militaria, Native Americana, firearms and weapons, general Americana, autographs, antiquarian books, bottles, clothing, comic books, cowboy collectibles, ephemera, entertainment industry, furnishings, 3D items, gaming, jewelry, maps, music and photography.

Also offered on Day 1 will be political memorabilia, postcards, saloon/beer/tobacco, spoons, tools, toys, Wells Fargo/Express, World’s Fair/Expositions, coins and tokens. An expected top lot is a reference library of 70 volumes of the world’s military fighting ships, published by Fred T. Janes beginning in 1898 thru 2002 and still a standard reference today (est. $12,000-$20,000).

An original oil on board sign for the world-famous Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada, dated 2003 and signed by the artist (“Miss Kitty”, who worked in the kitchen), 43 ½ inches by 48 inches (sight, no frame), should bring $1,000-$2,500. Also, an original, one-of-a-kind printing plate for the Adams Express Company of California Gold Rush fame, engraved in 1860 by J. Garcide (N.J.) and printed by National Bank Note Company (N.Y.) should make $1,000-$3,000.

The Red Dog Saloon sign is one of eight in the auction. “The archive of Red Dog signs is from the very beginning of the psychedelic era of rock ‘n’ roll,” said Fred Holabird, the owner of Holabird Western Americana Collections. “The Red Dog Saloon is where it all happened.”

Mr. Holabird added the Red Dog signs are just part of the “killer stuff” in the auction, adding, “With over 30 collecting categories, there really is something for everybody, at affordable prices. You won’t find Van Goghs or Picassos or other items reserved for the elite. It’s a sale for every collector in America, with rare and wonderful items across the board – just no $100,000 pieces.”

An early Native American squash blossom necklace, double-strand sterling with spider web turquoise stones set in a leaf design, 32 inches long, is expected to reach $750-$1,500. Also, a stock certificate for Edison Phonographs, Ltd., issued on April 5, 1922 to Henry Lanahan for one share and signed by Thomas Edison himself, as president, carries an estimate of $2,000-$4,000.

Other Day 1 highlights will include a quadruple silver plate coffee urn by Wilcox with two elk side mounts and an engraved elk on the front, plus a matching engraved elk tray with inscription (est. $800-$1,500); a rare blue and grey $2.50 early chip from Harrah’s Club of Reno and Lake Tahoe (est. $800-$1,200); and a giant boxful of Shazam comics, all no. 1-28 (est. $500-$1,000).

Day 2, Friday, December 6th, will feature stocks and bonds (mining stocks, petroliana stocks and other stocks), railroadiana, transportation, minerals and mining – 737 lots in all. The expected star lot of that session is a 4.51 troy ounce gold nugget from the Atlin mining district, just east of Skagway in Yukon, Alaska. The 2 ½ inch by 1 ½ inch gold nugget should fetch $9,000-$14,000.

Day 2 stock certificates will include a very rare certificate issued by the Wells Fargo Mining Co. (Virginia District, Nev.), for 20 shares of capital stock dated Jan. 15, 1876 (est. $1,000-$4,000); and an equally scarce certificate for the Humboldt River Gold & Mining Co. (Humboldt County, Nev.) for 240 shares, issued on Dec. 18, 1866, with signatures and vignettes (est. $500-$1,000).

Day 3, Saturday, December 7th, will contain 957 lots of art, militaria, Americana, antiquarian books, bottles, clothing, cowboy, ephemera, fire, entertainment industry, fraternal organizations, furnishings and 3D items, gaming, maps, photography, political, postcards, saloon/beer/tobacco, signs, spoons, tools, toys, Wells Fargo/Express and World’s Fair and Expositions and foreign.

Day 3 star lots will include a 30 inch by 22 inch print by Joe Kline, of Col. James Morehead, the highly decorated World War II flying ace, in his P-40 Warhawk plane, in battle over Darwin, Australia, with a note personally autographed by Col. Morehead (est. $100-$175); and a group of circa 1890s Wells Fargo, California covers, nine pieces in all, to include postmarks from San Francisco, Oroville, San Jose and Stockton, Calif. One of the covers is blank (est. $140-$200).

Day 4, Sunday, December 8th, will have Native Americana, minerals, mining, numismatics, tokens, postal history, sport and transportation – 750 lots in all. Fun lots will include a pair of sealskin “Muklucks”, Pacific Northwest in origin, with pink and green beads and seal fur trim (est. $100-$200); and a pair of circa 1950 Sugar Ray Robinson children’s boxing gloves made by SPORT FUN, in like-new pristine condition and with the original lacing strings (est. $50-$100).

Day 5, Monday, December 9th, will conclude the event with 1,227 lots of stocks and bonds, automobilia, aviation, industrial, mining, petroliana, railroadiana, transportation and other. The session will feature stock certificates for the Little Corinne Consolidated Mining Company in Leadville Colo., dated June 16, 1880, for 100 shares (est. $100-$200); and Nevada Blue Ridge Mining Company in Elko County, Nevada, dated Feb. 15, 1881, for 100 shares (est. $120-$200).

Start times each day are 8 am Pacific time. Previews will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 4th-5th, from 10 am-5 pm. To schedule a private preview call 775-851-1859. For those unable to attend the auction in person, online bidding will be facilitated by the platforms iCollector.com, LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, AuctionMobility.com and Auctionzip.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted. For details on how to bid, please visit www.fhwac.com.

Color catalogs are available by calling 1-844-492-2766, or 775-851-1859. Also, anyone owning a collection that might fit into an upcoming Holabird Western Americana Collections auction is encouraged to get in touch. The firm travels extensively throughout the U.S., to see and pick up collections. Last year it visited Boston, Florida, Seattle and New York, among other destinations.

Holabird Western Americana Collections is always in the hunt for quality Americana and coin consignments, bottles, advertising and other collections for future auctions. 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 him an e-mail at fredholabird@gmail.com. To learn more about Holabird Western Americana Collections and the Dec. 5-9 Holiday Treasures Auction, visit www.fhwac.com.