Some of them I've seen on ebay even are absolutely INCREDIBLE! One question though, would these pieces be considered "defacing" currency to some?
This is very interesting. What tools are used to carve these coins? Nickel is generally avoided by artists because Nickel Alloys are very hard and difficult to work with. Softer metals like Bronze and Copper are more common. Amanda
You see? This is why I joined Cointalk! I had no idea Hobo Nickels even existed. Thank you for expanding my horizons everyone!
Thank you for your kind words about the Hobo Nickel. I use chisels and a scratch awl, all of my Hobo Nickels are hand carved without the use of power tools. I use a special toning process to add color to the hair, beard, mustache, or hat, etc. I use no chemicals to tone the coins, only a natural oxygen generating process. God Bless, "SG"
awesomeitems, At auction about a year ago I had the good fortune of buying 3 Hobo nickels. Two of the were signed by SG. The two bys were labels "Old 49er Gold Prospector" and "Base Ball Player with Cap" I thought they were both high quality and done extremely well. I like the style where the original rim is left on the coin. It seems like some carvers take the coin down to nothing and have a complete field to work on but I don't think that is the traditional method for a Hobo Nickel. Although some of them are fantastic. The third one I bought is kind of iridescent. When you hold it in the light and move it, it shines differently. A mechanical iridescent. Regards, King_George_Va
Check out this link to some pretty impressive hobo nickels posted in Coin Chat the other day... http://www.ebay.com/csc/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=howard+thomas+nickel&LH_Complete=1&rt=nc
Sorry for the delay in writing back to you. Thank you for your nice words about my hobo nickels. I'm glad that you were able to buy two of my nickels from my Ebay auctions, and I'm glad that you liked the quality and designs. It is always nice to get good feedback from a satisifed buyer. I also like Hobo Nickels that have been done in a more traditional method, changing the portrait of the Indian. I have done some that have completely changed the coin, but it is always a challenge to change the indian to look like someone else using a beard or hat, etc. Again thank you for your input about my Hobo Nickels.
Heres a neat hobo 'nickel' http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOBO-KENNED...77?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item35ca77a909
Here is a Hobo nickel with 2 of you carvings. https://www.cointalk.com/threads/hobo-nickel-on-an-1918-nickel.278187/