Fred Holabird, the president, owner and founder of Holabird Western Americana Collections, is riding off into retirement, but not before holding one more killer auction -- a five-day colossus.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | 18/10/2025 |
Reno, NV, USA, October 18, 2025 -- It’s the end of an era, folks. After conducting huge, multi-day auctions for over a dozen years, Fred Holabird, the president, owner and founder of Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC, is officially riding off into retirement, but not before holding one more killer auction, a five-day colossus, October 31st thru November 4th, online and live in the Reno gallery.
The auction – officially titled Fred Holabird’s Grand Finale – will start at 8am Pacific Time each day and is jam-packed with 2,800 lots, in collecting categories that include mining, numismatics, stocks, Native Americana, railroadiana, political and general Americana. Many items are coming to the market for the first time in decades. The gallery is located at 3555 Airway Drive in Reno.
Here is a link to the Day 1 catalog of the 5-day auction, on iCollector.com, Holabird’s preferred online bidding platform of choice: www.icollector.com/Fred-Holabird-s-Grand-Finale-Mining-Americana-Numismatics-Live-Auction-2025-October_as111574
This iteration of the company had its first sale in January 2013. The goal was to offer rare Western collectibles to collectors of all ages and pocketbooks, from those just beginning to advanced lifelong collectors and premier institutions. While many auction houses shied away from selling items under $1,000, Mr. Holabird had his eyes on the future: encouraging beginning collectors was going to be beneficial to the collecting community as a whole in the long run.
“After a decade of operations under this philosophy, we think we have been proven right,” Holabird remarked. “We’ve watched as the pool of collectors grows auction to auction. We love our worldwide network of collectors, dealers, and consignors that have made our company such a success and helped us rebuild many collecting markets. But it’s time for me to pass the baton.”
Fred Holabird’s Grand Finale auction features several outstanding collections, starting with the Douglas McDonald collection of mining stocks and Nevada history items. The numismatics section includes a superb grouping of Nevada scrip, with ultra-rare advertising notes from the Comstock, Eureka and more. Gold Rush, Express and banking items are in multiple sections.
Holabird’s second round of choice Native Americana jewelry will highlight the Ken and Carolyn Osborne collection. In June 1993, the couple founded 2 Spirits Trading, dedicated to promoting, selling and educating customers about cowboy, Western and Native American collectibles. They learned directly from Native American and Western artisans before representing their work.
Day 2 will begin with a choice group of Western paintings from artist Dan Muller, including a piece Mr. Holabird believes may have been the inspiration for the song Riders in the Sky. Five paintings that once hung in the Town House Saloon in Reno in the 1930s will come up for bid. The art section also has Arnold Friberg limited-edition prints and original limited-edition photos of Mt. Whitney from Alabama Hills, Inyo County taken by Holabird photographer Uwe Nikoley.
The transportation section on Day 5 has a great group of Nevada railroad passes, with early Carson & Colorado RR and Virginia & Truckee RR, plus scarce stage and steamer ephemera. Following this section are rare Wells Fargo and Adams & Co. exchanges, checks and ephemera, including a September 1862 Virginia City Pony Express cover, sent right at the time Samuel Clemens (better known as Mark Twain) got to Virginia City. Lot 5097 is a painting depicting a race between Wells Fargo and Pacific Union Express in the late 1860s at Virginia City, Nevada.
Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC may be reached by phone, at 1-844-492-2766, or 775-851-1859; and via email, at fredholabird@gmail.com. To learn more, please visit www.holabirdamericana.com. Updates are posted frequently.
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