This catalog was put together after the success of last year’s Ingot Catalog of the Bass Collection. We had overwhelming interest in ingots and gold rush items in general. I had been gathering material for a catalog of this nature for about a decade, and after the strong showing last year I went on a binge, trying to buy back many of the wonderful assay receipts I had sold over the past twenty five years. This catalog, then, is the result of years of collecting by many collectors – collectors who long ago understood the historical importance of rare western mining ephemera.
The categories that this catalog contain are few:
a. Precious Metal Ingots
b. Gold Rush Assay Receipts
c. Gold Rush Currency
d. Gold Rush Mining Stocks
e. Gold
f. Gold Rush Medallions
g. Gold Rush Photography
h. American Bills of Exchange
i. Private Gold Coiner Ephemera
j. Pony Express
k. Treasure Items
l. Key Historical Mining Reference Works
Within each of these categories are some of the most important and rare items ever offered publicly. Significant time was spent in an effort to tell the stories about the pieces in the manner that I have always used from the historical viewpoint of a mining geologist. These descriptions, therefore, vary greatly from those commonly provided by most other dealers of Americana.
The assay receipts have been a personal favorite for at least twenty five years. No list has ever been compiled of what exists, nor the attendant rarity. I wanted to share that knowledge for the first time with collectors, and have endeavored to do so here, applying the standard paper money rarity ratings as follows:
R1 1250+ Common
R2 500 – 1250 Not so common
R3 201 – 499 Scarce
R4 76 – 200 Very scarce
R5 31 – 75 Rare
R6 13 – 30 Very rare
R7 4 – 12 Extremely rare
R8 2 – 3 Nearly unique
R9 1 known Unique
It can be difficult to justify R9 or Unique Rarity Ratings for this first publication of Western Assay Certificates. Because of that, in many instances, even though we only know of one example extant, we may use the rarity rating of R8 and state, “possibly Unique.”
I have probably seen more than my share of California and Nevada assay receipts, but it should be noted that assay documents from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and other western states are exceptionally rare as well. With the possible exception of Cripple Creek and Salt Lake City, there are very few document archives that have made it into the collecting arena containing assay receipts from these western states. Rarity ratings from these states are therefore difficult to ascertain. I have been actively and fervently collecting these for nearly thirty years, but somehow few Arizona, New Mexico and some of the other western states assay receipts have ever crossed my desk. This catalog contains some of the finest collections assembled, including selections from old time California collections, the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, and the Art Kagin Collection. The highlights are items from and relating to the various California gold coiners. The goods offered here from Kellogg & Humbert alone may never again be assembled.
Gold Rush currency has always held a fascination with me. It has been difficult at best to collect the material, because there are no references to what was made or is available. Many of the notes are excessively rare with perhaps one to three notes known. Others may have less than six or so known. Regardless, stories of these notes, their makers and printers have never been published to my knowledge. I did my best on a short time schedule to bring fresh histories to those of you who appreciate these very rare and historic notes. Not every Gold Rush note is present here. There are at least three different pieces that slipped through my hands courtesy of auction buyers that were more aggressive than I, but all of those are mentioned in the text as a record for future reference. Historical write-ups of these notes are particularly problematic since there is little written about the early gold rush banks and bankers. Cross’ Financing an Empire; History of Banking in California is a key reference. Additional information was gleaned from the Alta Californian, and other newspapers. I would like to solicit those collectors who have other early western notes to bring to my attention exactly what you have, so that I may write a short booklet providing collectors with a composite checklist and short histories.
We were pain stakingly picky about mining stocks, photographs, gold and other ephemera that we selected to be featured in this catalog. In general, we placed only the very rare or exceptional material in this catalog. We have included a small cross section of our extensive inventory, and invite collectors to inquire about their collecting areas and interests.
The Bill of Exchange Collection is another grouping of several collections, including items from the Art Kagin Collection. The attention paid by collectors at last year’s ANA Summer Conference spurred me to include these wonderful items, since many collectors include these with their currency collections. Most of the Exchanges in this catalog are Gold Rush related, including a rare piece issued to and signed by James King of William.
No catalog of this nature would be complete without an offering of treasure related items. So many of the wrecks from the Gold Rush era are sought for their coins and bullion that I have included items from nearly all of the great wrecks, including the S.S. Republic, Brother Jonathan and more. We were even successful in locating an original treasure hunting archive from 1931-2. Several of these items are virtually unknown to the treasure fraternity, including a rare album of carte de visites from New Orleans with Navy officers and the Republic after its recapture by the Union Navy.
Our staff tremendously thanks all of you who so kindly support us through your interest in our goods. Our mission statement is to provide the best and most rare of Western Americana, and this catalog will exceed any expectations.
My research for the catalog has been assisted by several key persons (as well as all our staff), to which thanks is due: Steve Graham, Dan Owens, Bob Chandler, Eric Moody, Jacquie Sundstrand, Elizabeth Coachman, Al Adams Jr., Amy Baker, Carol Baker, Chris Martin, Brian Underdahl, and a few others who probably wish to remain anonymous.
Very special thanks to Don, Candace, Robin and Bill for encouraging me to explore my dreams.
Fred Holabird and staff
Holabird-Kagin Americana
Reno, Nevada
April 2008