U.S. one-cent error stamp from 1901 makes $5,500 at Holabird's Western Americana Auction April 21-24

RENO, Nev. - May 5, 2022 - PRLog -- A U.S. one-cent stamp commemorating the Pan American Exposition of 1901 with an inverted center – an error stamp and one of the great philatelic rarities – sold for $5,500 at Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC's four-day Western Americana Auction held April 21^st thru 24^th, online and live in the Holabird gallery located at 3555 Airway Drive in Reno.

The stamp, Scott Catalog #294A, was green in color and came with a service certificate from the American Philatelic Expertising Service dated May 19, 1976. It showed a graphic of a steamship (upside down) in an oval above the words "Eastlake Navigation". The stamp probably would have sold for considerably more, but it wasn't well centered, a strike against it with collectors.

Another commemorative stamp – a $5 stamp for the Columbian Exposition of 1893, honoring 400 years since the discovery of America by Columbus, with a profile graphic of Columbus – went for $1,250. Another Day 1 top achiever was a Navajo squash blossom turquoise and coral necklace with a matching set of earrings signed by the famed Navajo artist, Victor Moses Begay, circa 1970s-1980s ($1,438). It was a double-sided set (turquoise on one side, coral on the other).

Day 2, Friday, April 22^nd, was super-busy, with categories that included jewelry, attire, bottles, toys, circus, gaming, liquor, tobacciana, menus, the entertainment industry, sports, calendars, advertisement, autographs, photography, maps, transportation, militaria, firearms and weaponry, general Americana (geographically sorted) and miscellaneous collectibles – a total of 637 lots.

Day 3, April 23^rd, also saw brisk activity. Categories included mining, fossils, minerals, tokens and numismatics, which featured bullion, ingots, coins, currency, dies, ephemera, foreign and medals, plus exonumia (numismatics, but other than coins and paper money; a few examples are tokens, medals and scrip). All combined, Day 3 saw 628 lots in a wide array of categories sold.

One of the star lots of Day 3 (and the auction as a whole, in fact) was a US Mint San Francisco 23.06-ounce silver ingot, 999.75 fine, sizable at 2 ¼ inches by 3 ½ inches, with original Mint patina strong throughout ($8,125).  The San Francisco small oval punch was at top center, as usual. These are among the most popular of all US silver ingots, this one being a larger example.

To learn more, visit www.holabirdamericana.com.