Here is a Hobo Nickel I picked up this morning when we ran into town and made an antique shop stop. No nearly as good as some I've seen here before but it's my first and only one... $8.00 Take Care Ben
Hobo...I put you down as my sponsor.....the guy said " Ahhhhhh, Bruce, lol, know him well " . Seems your a regular charachter down there at the ANA offices. Anyways, thanks for the heads up, all the ANA folk were great people, and really went out of the way to welcome everybody and push the message " The NEW, better, ANA" Glad I joined
That was probably Cary. If so I'm sure I'll hear about it. As far as being a "regular character" at the ANA offices I'll admit to the "regular" part and I'm sure the ANA employees will agree with the "character" part.
I hate living in the big city. All they sell in our antique stores are overpriced furniture and Menudo vinyl records.
Hey, don't knock it. An original Menudo album autographed by Ricky Martin sells for big bucks on Ebay.
I dont understand Hobo nickels? What forces somebody to deface a coin like that? If you dont like it in its current state, send it to me and I will love it for the rest of my life!
I understand it maybe a form of art or a hobby, but I simply dont understand it. Isnt it worth more BEFORE you carve it up?
look up some posts by Billzach, he's a fantastic carver that posts his work here occasionally. you will see why the coins are worth far far more when he's done.
Hobo art ? It is starting to bring some really fine artists in to the fold. You can purchase coins done by real rail riders. Then if you want art on any size coin, you can drop a bunch on gold inlays etc. Many that are done are done by artist engravers as another venue. http://www.gmmnut.com/gmm/billzach/bill.html
Hobo nickels were made by hobos so they could exchange them for a meal, a ride on a train or something else they could not afford. Sometimes they sold them (but not for a lot). The buffalo nickel was the perfect pallet for their art. Early hobo nickels were carved on coins that were still in circulation and with little collector value (so they usually were not destroying a valuable coin). Early hobo nickels were usually carved on buffalo nickels with little wear but after the buffalo nickel was discontinued in 1938 it became harder and harder for a hobo to find AU and XF buffalo nickels in circulation. In the 1950s some coin dealers would give common date nickels in VF and XF to a carver and pay them (a pittance) for the carved nickels. A typical hobo nickel was created by removing the feathers from behind the Indian's head and the braid from the Indian's neck. (This was not done on hobo nickels less than "average".) Then a hat - usually a derby or bowler - was added to the Indian's head. Some hats had an elaborate band. A beard and hair were added to the Indian on most hobo nickels. Usually a collar was added to create the image of a coat. Sometimes the Indian's profile was altered (usually the nose). Some added a cigarette, stick pin or something else to make their coin special. Some hobo nickels were very crude while others were extremely well done. Most of the early carvers had crude tools - a knife, a sharp nail, etc. Some used gravers, punches and other such tools but almost without exception (the exceptions primarily being jewelers) the original hobo nickels were carved by hand by the light of a camp fire or lantern in a hobo camp. Modern carvers have the luxury of power tools, excellent light and good magnification (things the early carvers could not even imagine). I bought the following hobo nickel at a recent Heritage auction.
But see, to me, with the date so pronounced and clear, that would be a good buffalo nickle to have, why deface it?
I would tend to agree (to a point) if someone took a 1936 buffalo nickel today and carved it into a hobo nickel. But this hobo nickel was carved soon after this nickel was minted when buffalo nickels in circulation were plentiful and were only worth 5 cents. The hobo that carved it may have traded it for a good meal or a pair of shoes - something he could not have bought for 5 cents. There are some very good modern carvers (such as Billzach who is a member here at CT) that can take a coin such as this and turn it into a work of art. I would hate to see Billzach carve an uncirculated 3-Legged buffalo nickel but I am OK with him carving an XF 1936 buffalo.
I'm liking the hobo nickles I've seen. At one show there was a basket of 2x2's with various coins, mostly low priced coins. There I found a hobo nickle, very well done, for $25. I didn't buy it even though I was intrigued by it. Now, I figure I'll eventually buy one of these hobo nickles just because I like most of them. It's a well done collectors piece. I'm going to buy the next high quality one I find. Bruce
From one Bruce to another Bruce, I think you should buy a hobo nickel. Be aware there are tons of modern hobos that were carved to fool you into thinking it is an original hobo. You would need to do some reading (e.g., the Hobo Nickel Guidebook published by the Original Hobo Nickel Society) to learn all the particulars but a few things to look for are: A hobo nickel carved on a nearly smooth nickel may be a modern hobo. Original hobo nickels were almost exclusively carved by hand. If a nickel has been carved with a power tool (like the one from eBay shown below) it is almost certainly a modern carving. If the metal looks freshly disturbed it is probably a modern carving. Old carvings have had time to tone. There is much more to know but that is part of your hobo education.
