Starting in 1852, Wells Fargo & Co. quickly expanded into the American Frontier, providing transportation and banking services. A Wells Fargo office with its iconic signage was, in many ways, a symbol of the "arrival of civilization" to gold mining camps and newly established settlements. They quickly established themselves as the main service for transporting gold, mining supplies, mail, passengers, and any other materials needed for taming the West. Prior to the completion and expansion of railway routes throughout the Frontier, Wells Fargo & Co. Express stagecoaches and riders were the fastest and safest form of transport for goods throughout a Frontier that, in many areas, remained very wild. Signs such as this one would have hung outside of most of the many Wells Fargo locations throughout the West, showing the company's expansive reach. The sign is made of wood with most of the background painted black, the outer borders painted red, and the Wells Fargo & Co. Express nomenclature painted in metallic gold. It measures approximately 11 x 71 3/4 inches overall.

The sign is fine overall, retaining much of the original paint finishes with some moderate wear and age-related weathering overall, typical of a sign that hung for many years on a building in the American West. This would make a fantastic display piece for a Frontier arms collection or office!