Mint State Americana & Numismatics Auction

We are honored to sell hundreds of Western bottles, ghost town finds, & associated collectibles from the collection of Mike Polak, lovingly known in the collecting community as the “Bottle King” and “Tonopah Mike.” Mike wrote the “bottle collection bible”, Antique Trader Bottles: Identification and Price Guide, which sold more than 100,000 copies during its eight editions. He passed away in October 2024. Polak bottles begin the auction on Day 1, and less expensive pieces can be found in the Timed-Only session on Day 4. You can read more about Mike Here.

We’re thrilled to auction the Numismatic ephemera collection of Fred Weinberg, leading error coin dealer for 50 years out of Southern California. This fantastic group of rare documents and ephemera includes the earliest US Mint material we’ve ever offered, such as the 1796 last will & testament of David Rittenhouse, First Director of the United States Mint (Lot 3284), as well as early correspondence from Robert Patterson, 6th Mint Director. Other items include US Mint and Treasury reports and documents, as well early coin catalogs and references, and newspapers with historic Numismatic headlines and content.

We have a new small, but choice batch of documents from an unnamed collection we have sold from over the last 10 years that included the fabulous Samuel Clemens signed receipt we sold in our Desert Riches 2025 auction. In this sale, the key piece is a partial ALS from famed conservationist and “Father of the National Parks” John Muir, written in 1872 from his cabin in Yosemite (Lot 1184). It includes Muir’s trademark philosophical insights and poetic language and was composed at a key point in his career as a naturalist and writer. You’ll enjoy Grant’s write-up for it! Also in this sale are more early Nevada pieces tied to Mark Twain, with signed documents from Twain’s brother Orion, as well as his close friends Clement T. Rice and Bob Howland (Lots 1224, 1225, and 1226). Be sure also not to miss Lot 1227, an incredible birds-eye view photograph of Carson City taken from the roof of the new Nevada capital building, c.1870, with the newly built Carson City Mint in view!

This auction is the start of us selling fun and unique Western collectibles from the Walnut Creek Antique Museum in Pinetop, Arizona. This first round features vintage advertising signs & memorabilia (incl. Coca-Cola); Western-style vintage furnishings; Native American art, rugs, weavings; cowboy collectibles (spurs, saddles, chaps); and RARE antique toys, including die-cast cars & trucks, a massive cap gun and gun belt collection, Buddy L Trucks, and showstoppers like an 1880 Colt cast iron cap pistol and a Buffalo Bill cast iron toy pistol!