U.S. Army Captain George Armstrong Custers gun holster, dispatch case, belt and brass buckle from the Civil War climbed to $37,500, taking top lot honors in a five-day, 3,100-lot November Wonders: Western Americana Auction held Nov. 18 to 22 by Holabird Western Americana Collections, online and live at the gallery in Reno, Nev. The holster was standard issue for officers during the Civil War to fit the Colt model 1860 Army revolver. There are two photos in the book Custer in Photographs (Katz, 1985, pages 12 and 13) depicting Custer wearing this rig, about 1863. Close examination reveals that the same holster is worn with the same cut-away in the Army issue holster, where the captain has carved out a notch. The auction was loaded with Western Americana, mining, numismatics, stock certificates, rare books, art and more. This was supposed to be an end-of-year, under-the-radar clearance sale, so we didnt market it too heavily, but the results were a pleasant surprise, said Fred Holabird of Holabird Western Americana Collections. Collectors are out in full force with money to spend. All prices include the buyers premium. Day one contained just over 600 lots of art, firearms and weapons, foreign items, political memorabilia, militaria, tools, Native Americana, sports collectibles and items pertaining to transportation. The Custer Civil War holster and dispatch case was the undisputed first session highlight, but other offerings from the aforementioned categories also fetched nice prices. Day two was dedicated entirely to stocks and bonds (in categories that included mining, railroad, brewing and express). An 1891 stock certificate for the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company for 100 shares, issued to wealthy oil tycoon and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, signed by Rockefeller on the back and with a steam engine vignette, brought $750. Day three featured 609 lots of minerals, mining, numismatics, tokens and philatelic and postal history. One of the top achievers was the ca. 1910 10-cent token for the H. (Henry) Champagne Bar in Genoa, Nev., the only known token merchant from Genoa, a fact that wasnt lost on bidders, who drove the final price of the 23 mm brass octagonal token to $3,750. Other tokens also did well. A rare, round, brass 12 half-cent token for the Oxford Bar in Contact, Nev., the only known merchant for this town located in Elko County, 21 mm in diameter, rose to $1,952, while an equally scarce ca. 1905 scalloped aluminum token, good for one drink at the R. G. Dickson bar in Empire, Nev., situated on the Carson River, 28 mm, realized $1,037. Two lots in the third session drew identical selling prices of $938. One was a ca. 1960 replica Wells Fargo & Co. Express (Goldfield, Nev.) cast-iron strongbox, spectacular and showy with loads of eye appeal, made as a museum display piece. The other was a banded gold in quartz matrix ore pulled from an unknown mine locale but perfect for being made into amazing jewelry pieces. Day four was a busy one, with many collecting categories: geographically sorted ephemera, general collectibles, souvenir plates, spoons and flatware, entertainment, circus, toys, marbles, bottles, saloon, tobacciana, gaming, cowboy and clothing, nearly 250 lots in total. The auctions final day had 614 lots of Worlds Fair (Express and Expositions), firefighting memorabilia, fraternal organizations, badges, maps, books, furnishings, jewelry, music and photography. Online bidding was facilitated by iCollector.com, LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and Auctionzip.com. For further information, call Fred Holabird at 775-851-1859 or 844-492-2766 or visit www.holabirdamericana.com.