Brent, Your photo only shows a partial close-up view of your medal , I'd like to see a complete view of both sides if possible . Pictured below is a photo of both sides of my "classic hobo nickel", the only antique one I have.
The first piece with the iridescent color in the cuts looks like a NYMike coin, he sold a LOT on Ebay a few years ago and used heat to tone his coins, it gave that coloring on the fresh cut metal
Hi, i dove deep into these, and have built up a nice collection. the first ones are all newer ones, not worth much. The condition of the Buffalo is important, original ones did not have much if any wear. That 1937 is pretty interesting done by a newer carver & sandblasted for that nice matte finish. The 1913 is really nice and could be a valuable named one called Nostrildamas, as it has many of the features, ear over the brim, open nostril, similar nose & hat, and bow tie. He is here; http://www.hobonickels.org/QuickID/...php&nick=Nostrildamas&by=Stephen_Alpert_LM102 and you can see them all here. Quite fascinating as each one is based on a buffalo nickel, yet are so different! http://www.hobonickels.org/quick_id.php
Chris, Many thanks for your helpful info, I think you "hit the nail on the head" ! My hobo nickel has all the characteristics you carefully pointed out . I bought the coin from a dealer/friend many years ago who had a small coin shop in Leroy, NY, John Cooper. One time when I stopped by for a visit John was grumbling that business was very slow. I didn't see anything in his shop that fit my collecting interests that day but remembered the hobo nickel he showed me, so I asked if he would be willing to sell it . He quoted me $100.00 & I came home with the coin . I still treasure the coin .
the value of the Hobo nickels are doing quite well, that coin could be anywhere from a couple hundred to near $1,000. I think the record is $30k or more for some of the most famous carvers, a fascinating niche to say the least!
The back is just a Morgan dollar- David signed the front. QUOTE="Al Kowsky, post: 8322574, member: 97383"]Brent, Your photo only shows a partial close-up view of your medal , I'd like to see a complete view of both sides if possible . Pictured below is a photo of both sides of my "classic hobo nickel", the only antique one I have. View attachment 1474475 [/QUOTE]
I have given up trying to buy Hobo's at auction, it gets crazy pricing. Though when i go to sell, i guess i should consider them, though don't they double dip, charging 20% or more on both ends?
You can negotiate with them depending on the size of your consignment . If your consignment is large enough you may not pay anything for a sellers fee. Some auction houses like CNG may even give you a percentage of the buyers fee if the coin sells high enough.