founded in 2012
- 2012 Fred Holabird started Holabird Western Americana Collections
- August 2025 announced its closure and the owner’s retirement
Holabird Auctions
3555 Airway Drive, Suite #308
Reno, NV 89511
775-851-1859
holabirdamericana.com
About Holabird Auctions
Holabird Western Americana Collections was a Reno, Nevada, auction house founded in 2012 by Fred Holabird, a former mining geologist who entered the auction business in 1984 and managed Holabird-Kagin Americana from 2006 to 2014. The firm specialized in the history of the American West, including mining and Nevada collectibles, coins, bottles, advertising, Native Americana and antique firearms, and was known for Holabird’s historical research and for sales he auctioneered himself.
For gun collectors, the company’s best-known sale came in July 2019, when it auctioned about 2,400 antique firearms from the J.M. Davis collection at the J.M. Davis Arms and Historical Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma. Most had not been seen by the public in about 50 years, and proceeds were directed to preserving the state-run museum’s collection, which J.M. Davis began in 1894 and which grew to about 20,000 firearms and other items. In August 2025, Holabird announced his retirement and the closure of the company once a final schedule of live and timed auctions in late 2025 concluded, with plans to continue researching and writing about Western history.
Key Facts
- 1984: Fred Holabird enters the auction business
- 2006-2014: Holabird manages Holabird-Kagin Americana
- 2012: Holabird Western Americana Collections is founded in Reno
- July 26-28, 2019: About 2,400 J.M. Davis collection firearms auctioned in Claremore, Oklahoma
- August 2025: Retirement and company closure announced, with final auctions through late 2025
Sources
- Antique Trader: Holabird Western Americana Announces Retirement
- Artfix Daily: Rare Antique Firearms from the J.M. Davis Collection Will Be Auctioned
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