Hobo "Nickels" (actually coin art) . . . . . let's see yours!

The Caveman...

 

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Not a carved coin but instead on a brass tube. Looks like Carmen Miranda. Found metal detecting

 

I did a FEATURED article on Hobo Nickels for CT in September of 2019. Anyone with a serious interest in this art form can find it in the website archives. CT member Ike Skywalker has a fabulous collection of these nickels & made many posts to that article . Pictured below is the only Hobo Nickel in my collection that was posted in that article, & it was carved in the early classic period.

 

ive gotta say the art work thats being created on some of these coins awesome. some of these artist should be designing our US Coins. im going with SensibleSal66 on picking a good one by Aleksey Saburov, great job Aleksey...

 

Any idea who the artist is on that one?

Z

 

Who can answer how these are made? With a small chisel or ? Your Hobo appears to be a high relief on a worn out coin. Very fascinated by these.

 

These nickels were made with a variety of hand made tools including iron chisels, punches, & standard engraving tools. The softness of the nickel composition made them easy to work with skilled hands. Buffalo nickels aren't easy to grade because they have a pebbly surface & are often weakly struck. I'd grade my coin at least F12, maybe a little bit better.

 

Winner winner chicken dinner

 

Steve does awesome work!! I have some of his hobos in my collection.
This is actually the best time of the year to look for hobo Nickels on ebay. The prices are lower because people don't buy as much after Christmas. As far as classics go I have found some deals. One I bought for a buy it now price if $60- when it was a $500 carving.
I carved this recen

 

What a great hobo!

 

Trying to forget about delivery items that DIDN'T get delivered, here is a piece that did make it to me successfully.

A piece from my favorite Hobo Nickel artist SteveOrino entitled "Uncle Freeman."

It is an amazing portrait of Morgan Freeman in nickel.

Z

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These have to be done with some sort of CNC machine, as that's just too much detail for carving.

 

It was someone with initials JCA....

 

Chris, I agree with you on many of these coins like the one Mike Estes & Sensible Sal have pointed out . I have a friend who has done similar work with a laser etching machine. From digital photos he has etched images of ancient coins in my collection on drinking glasses & glass jars. CNC machines can cut images with amazing detail. The human hand can't compete with the best of these machines.

 

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Chris / Al,

Truth be told, I thought the same until I did my homework. The coin above is hand-carved and the price (and quantity available) bear that out. Here is a link for your enjoyment. That one in particular is from his 2015 creatons.

https://www.saburovart.com/coins

Z

 

It is entirely possible & likely that there is a great deal of hand work on Saburov coins & knives. It is also likely that the main work was done by a CNC machine & the finishing was done by hand, se he can justify the claim that they are hand engraved.

 

@paddyman98 here's one for you. It's from his 2015 collection.

https://www.saburovart.com/coins

 

I stand corrected! Really taken the art form to new levels, What do those usually go for as i did not see any prices.

 

Who prefers old school Hobo's to modern carvers? Some are very nice, though i have had enough of skulls, T&A, and Bart Simpson...

 

I'm trying to remember where I saw the list of sale prices for his work. I think they originally sold for several thousand dollars. At auction, double or triple the sales price. I think the train themed one sold someplace for north of $4,800.

Here is a link to one he has currently for sale.

https://www.saburovart.com/product-page/original-hobo-nickel-the-pericles

Z