LAS VEGAS.- Collectors came panning for gold at Morphy’s Old West & Native American Art Auction held January 23 in Las Vegas, as three of the four top-selling lots were solid gold items that brought a combined $204,180. The auction was held at the Westgate Casino & Resort, alongside the Las Vegas Old West & Native American Art Show and the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show held January 23 and 24.

Gold certainly glittered, but the 569-lot auction was also filled with art, antiques, jewelry, home décor, cowboy paraphernalia, important and historical Western and Native-American art and antiques; apparel, saddles, spurs, bridles and other equine tack; Wild West Show items, and other early memorabilia. The emphasis was on quality and authenticity. By the time the final gavel fell, the sale had tallied over $1.5 million. All prices quoted include the buyer’s premium.



The top-selling gold item, and the overall top lot of the auction, was a stunning heavy gold chain made from solid gold nuggets. All of the gold tested for at least 20K, with most of it testing just under 24K. Measuring 30 inches in length, the hefty chain weighed 474 grams and displayed solid workmanship. It carried a pre-sale estimate of $50,000-$80,000 but sold for $92,250.



Runner-up honors went to a 2-inch-by-1-inch gold bar from the Felix Grundy Hoard, referring to an assayer from Fiddletown in Amador County, California, in the heart of the gold fields just outside Sacramento. The bar displayed Hoard’s stamp in a large circle followed by "No. 2206 / 7.75 OZS. / 999 THOUS / FINE.” A small group of these gold ingots was discovered in the late 1960s. In all, only a couple of dozen specimens are known today. This one fetched $67,650.



In fourth place was a beautiful gold bar from Star Mining Company which operated in Rose Creek, California, from 1870 to 1895. The bar – serial number 521, graded 995 fine and weighing 5.43 ounces – featured bright yellow-gold surfaces and excellent luster. The name of the mining company was signified by a five-point star above the letters “MINING CO.” These bars are extremely rare, and this example changed hands for $44,280.

The only non-gold item to crack the top four lots was a circa-1902 framed poster for “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West and Congress and Rough Riders of the World,” featuring a mounted warrior with rifle and vignettes of a buffalo, tipi, snowshoes and tomahawk. The poster was cut to resemble a Native-American tanned hide and is one of the only examples extant. The artwork blew past the $6,000-$8,000 estimate to realize a final price of $49,200.



Buffalo Bill actually made several appearances in the sale. A large-format announcement poster for Buffalo Bill and his Rough Riders in Belgium, featuring a dynamic bucking bronco and cowboy in woolly chaps, rang up $20,910. The framed, French-made poster, 44 inches by 68¼ inches, was produced by Wieners lithography, London and Paris. It exhibited good, unfaded colors and came with an original postcard from the event in good condition.



A US Cavalry model Colt Single Action Army revolver with officer’s field desk ensemble, serial #4812 and Ainsworth-inspected, of the type issued to Custer's 7th Cavalry prior to the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn, hit the mark for $39,360. The firearm was part of an outstanding militaria grouping housed in an attractive replica quarter-sawn oak campaign desk with the inside of the lid mounted with a heart-shape mirror. Inside were period accessories like those Custer’s officers might have used, including period clothing, a Bowie knife and ammunition.

The auction included two large and ambitious dioramas by Andy Anderson (1893-1963). One, titled General Store, contained six figures and multiple items in a general store setting. It was illustrated in The World of Andy Anderson by High Noon Western Americana, pages 44-47. The dimensions were 32½ inches by 21½ inches by 15¼ inches. A signed copy of the book was included with the lot, which commanded $27,060.



An exceedingly rare and historically important prison-made pair of spurs that had been custom-crafted for Fred Harman (1902-1982), the creator of the immensely popular Red Ryder comic strip, left the room for $23,370. The spurs were constructed in the classic Canon City Prison style and were large and impressive in size. They were also personalized with silver panels along the bands with "RED RYDER" hand-engraved in large letters, plus an "R" on each heel button.



A bronze sculpture by Harry Jackson (American, 1924-2011), titled Plantin’, depicting a group of cowboys grouped around a makeshift grave as they bury one of their fallen comrades while horses and a dog look on, sold within estimate for $22,800. The 29-inch by 13-inch by 10¾-inch bronze was mounted on an oak wood pedestal that showed the title and artist’s name on the front of a brass plinth,, and was inscribed in bronze “Harry Jackson 59.”



A circa-1880s .45 cartridge belt made by John Patton of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, a seldom-seen maker in the antique gun leather collecting world, got strapped to a new waist for $16,800. Patton was a saddler located across the street from the OK Corral at the time of the famous fight in 1881. Any of Patton's marked cowboy leather pieces are quite rare and desirable in any condition, let alone an example this nice.

The Las Vegas Antique Arms Show brought together hundreds of leading exhibitors from across the country, while the Las Vegas Old West & Native American Art Show offered the finest authentic Western art, artifacts and collectibles for public sale. The extraordinary mix of vintage and contemporary Western and Native American material were beautifully displayed across hundreds of exhibit tables, with items that included pottery, baskets, bits, textiles, spurs, jewelry, Western and Native American art, kachinas, saddles, antique firearms, rare artifacts and more.

To discuss consigning to a future Old West & Native American Art Auction, or other auction hosted by Morphy’s, call Dan Morphy at 877-968-8880 or email info@morphyauctions.com. All enquiries are kept strictly confidential, and there is never an obligation to consign. Online: www.morphyauctions.com.