Hobo nickels I carved

Coincidentally, there's a Numismatist article this month on Hobo Nickels. I had skipped it at first pass but now that I saw your work, I went back to read it. If you're interested, here it is:

 

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So here comes a member that has a talent, and wants to share that talent with his CT brethren, and what's the FIRST response? A negative comment slamming the OP for taking an essentially worthless, and yes, I do mean worthless coin, and turning it into a piece of art, yes... art. The value of that coin has also been increased a few thousand percent, incidentally.

And for those arguing that a coin altered by Nic-A-Date is "different", it isn't. Coins are like women - either they're pregnant or they're not. There's no picking and choosing which it is to suit your opinion. An altered coin is an altered coin.

Oh, and I like the OP's ARTwork!

 

Thanks for the article!! I am a member of the ANA also but I have not read the article- it looks really interesting!
I carved 2,500 hobo nickels. I need to sign, sort, and photograph all of them! It's going to be a long process!
I am going to tell my fellow coin carvers to post their work on coin talk!
I have 25 hobo nickels that I am donating to the ANA. I am mailing them off next week.

 

Some people dont like hobo nickels! It's ok! All the hobo nickel carvers hear it at some point.
I have met a lot of people that work at the Mint and they are a great group of people. When I see them outside the mint I give them hobo nickels which they like a lot. I took a tour of the mint once and brought hobo nickels to give to the mint employees. But one interesting thing about the mint is that you can't take any coins out of the mint. So they took the hobo nickels to a back room and showed their co-workers- but no one able to take a coin. I ended up giving them to people that were taking the tour with me.
The US mint actually has one of the best displays of hobo nickels. The Smithsonian and the Money Museum also have nice displays of hobo nickels. The best collections of hobo nickels are privately held. One vintage carving sold for $25,000! It's really appreciated a lot and it's worth over a $100,000 today.
There were over 2.1 billion buffalo nickels minted so there are plenty of nickels. eBay has some great deals on buffalo nickels. I bought a box of 4,400 no date nickels. The box was super heavy and I am surprised it arrived with the box intact. I carved 2,500 hobo nickels and the rest will be carved early 2021. I like the well circulated nickels because they have a lot of character! I used to only carve full dates but it's really more fun to carve no dates. I think every 500-1000 nickels I carve I learn something new.

 

They made over 2.1 billion buffalo nickels so a few carved coins is not going to deplete the supply! I also like to carve washington silver and clad quarters, ike dollars, sba dollars, silver half dollars, large uk pennies, and UK pound coins.

 

They are interesting! I wish the vintage ones would come up for sale more often- and that they prices were more affordable.

 

A lot people that collect hobo nickels don't collect other coins so I think it does build interest in the hobby.

 

That is ironic!! I

 

Thanks!

 

That's a cool coin!!

 

Some people only collect vintage hobo nickels. I bid on a lot of vintage hobo nickels but I always end up getting outbid!

Some people only collect vintage hobo nickels. I bid on a lot of them but I always get out bid on ebay. There is one vintage hobo nickel on eBay that I really like- it's selling for $8,000! One carver I really like is John Durosa. He was a coal miner that carved hobo nickels in the 1980's. His coins look great and they have a vintage look to them.

 

Interesting point! One of my favorite hobo nickels that I have ever seen was a photo of a coin that was carved by soldier after World War I. He was stationed in Russia and it's a very interesting coin. Hobos carved a lot of coins but jewelers and soldiers also carved a lot. I can see why hobos carved them because from my own personal experience they are easy to trade for food and even movie tickets.

 

Brent, I love your artwork. I totally appreciate the craftsmanship it takes to carve such detail on a medium that is basically no bigger than a thumbnail.

Great job mate. I actually think you're salvaging dead dateless buff nickels that have one foot in the grave. Keep up the good work.

 

@Captain Sully
Back in the depression era they (the hobos) would carve the nickels and use them as barter...maybe get a ham sandwich.
Me I like them and have owned many over the years.
I'm a rail fan so most were railroad related.
I even had commissioned one to be carved

 

Thanks! It's a really fun hobby! I use an optivisor and some funny glasses for magnification that watch makers wear so the coin looks like as big as a dinner plate! Once a tiny spider ran across a coin when I was engraving one- and under magnification it looked like a giant lol. It even paused for a moment before completing it's journey.
Dateless buffalo nickels are not that interesting but once they are transformed into a hobo nickel they become something amazing! I have fun looking at the coins I carve

 

So, you've never did the 'train tracks' with coins as a kid? Good, clean fun!

 

I really like this one a lot!!

 

We used to put coins in the railroad tracks!!

 

No, never did.

 

If you are talking about laying coins on the tracks so the train can run over them, I did it once when 6-7 yrs old. We were really wild as the rumor was that it would derail the train. After the deed was done and no train derailed, we spent the next 10 minutes or so trying to find it.

I personally think to each their own. There are things I do that don't sit well with some folk...hunting...shooting...gun collecting....smiling at pretty girls...

Anyway, I think it's great that the OP has fun doing it. Destroy some nickels? Who am I to point the finger. I brought home a 1958 Corvette in perfect condition...tore out the interior, tore out and replaced the engine...and went racing. Think how many thousands went down the drain there.

I would like to have a hobo nickel but never got around to buying one. Not a bunch of them, just one nice one.