Hobo nickel is the most common term for the art of carving coins, giving them a new life. The modern hobo nickel artists and the original hobo nickel society are dedicated to both memorializing the unnoticed. The purpose, methods of creation, and the components of hobo nickels are discussed. Alperts artist galleries hobo nickel guidebook chapt. Other subjects include ethnic figures, hatless men, soldiers, women, famous people, and altered buffaloes changed into a man or a different animal. Riding the rails with hobo nickels littleton coin blog. Then theres this quote from the article the term hobo nickel is a generic term for altered nickels, and does not imply that hobos made most of the early carved nickels. And once every ten years or so, another writer hops a freight and writes a book about it.
The society also holds an annual hobo nickel convention. Description confirmed chain gang nickel by bert signed prisoner nickel, carved in 1933 bert 33 hobo nickel by bert wiegand. How a century of homelessness shaped america by todd depastin. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. These newer pieces are exciting because they boast more. Alpert, which presents an up to date guide to hobo nickels and their. Hobo nickels are artistically engraved coins of various denominations. The classic style hobo nickel is pretty easy and it is great for practice. Hobos of that era for some reason took buffalo nickels and reengraved them, possibly.
Sep, 2011 38 impressive hobo nickels these nickels certainly dont feature thomas jefferson. The origin of the term hobo nickel as i understand it goes something like this. About two years we featured a great selection of skull nickels, a numismatic curiosity where miniature bas relief sculptures are carved into coins, an artform thats broadly. Jun 05, 2018 brent pearson is raising funds for hand carved hobo nickels carved into old buffalo nickels on kickstarter. The offered coin, which is plated in del romines book the hobo nickel, is the sole listing of its kind and a classic political nickel by bo. First carved in 19, the heyday of hobo nickels was back in the 1930s, used as a way to pass the time during. Hobo nickels can be found at all price levels antique trader. Featured in the new guide is a large section on hobo nickels.
Nov 21, 2007 the original hobo nickel society has just published its hobo nickel guidebook authored by stephen p. And the appendix includes a feature on the only classicera hobo nickel carver of whom a confirmed photograph exists. He got his start by literally copying the famous hobo nickels made by bo and bert and then. Buy hobo nickel silver rounds online at jm bullion. To make this last longer hobos would take coins, usually nickels and modify them by adding funny faces or designs. More classic old hobo nickels were made from 19dated nickels than any other pre1930s date. These newer pieces are exciting because they boast more detail and a wider variety of designs, thanks to newer tools and technology. The us nickel coin was favored because of its size, thickness and relative softness. This accounts for the quality and variety of engraving styles found on carved 19 nickels. A hobo nickel is a coin that has had a piece of art carved into it. While many types of coins were used to create these pieces of art, nickels were especially favored for use because of their size. The hobo nickel series debuted in 2016 from hotco and the osborne mint osborne precious metals. The prices of hobo nickels cover a wide range, with some. Once you have done a few youll get to know what will need to go without an sketching.
Token made to finance publishing of the first hobo book. Because hobo nickels are such a blind item to collectors its a great source of many people buying what they think is an old nickel when in actuality the nickel was carved within the last few months. The 3rd edition of whitmans mega red deluxe version of the red book is here. Its best to start by lightly drawing my design on the coin so you know what will need to be removed. Hobos of that era for some reason took buffalo nickels and reengraved them, possibly selling them for some pin money. More than 1,100 hobo nickels from a collector in fun auction. Nov 07, 2000 the society also holds an annual hobo nickel convention. But at the same time, they lack the unique character of the original hobo nickels. While many types of coins were used to create these pieces of art, nickels were especially favored for use because of their size, thickness, and moderate softness. Old and new hobo nickels and information about them. Romines published a series of articles on hobo nickels for coin world magazine in the 1980s and published a well researched book. Hobo nickels prison nickels shop tokens modern engravings, an extensive study of hobo nickels. The third edition of mega red the deluxe edition of the guide book of united states coins officially debuted at the whitman coin and collectibles baltimore expo, march 30, 2017, and now is available nationwide. The second is the intermediate or transitional period following the publication of romines book.
Collecting hobo nickels professional coin grading service. Best morgan coins 1881 hobo nickel coin old coin collectingusa old morgan dollar commemorative gift coinit is handmade crafts love it 3. The original hobo nickel society public group facebook. A newer style of hobo nickels emerged from 1980 on around the same time del romines published his book, hobo nickels. The second is the intermediate or transitional period following the publication of romines book in 1982 and his preceding articles in coin world in 1981, which alpert refers to as the time of the early modern artists. Romines published a series of articles about hobo nickels in coin world magazine and then published the book. These could then be traded for a meal of a place to stay. Its best to start by lightly drawing my design on the. He soon published the first book on the subject, hobo nickels asin b0006r7sfw, in 1982. A second book, the hobo nickel was published in 1996 with dels wife, joyce ann romines, listed as the author. Start by marking hobo nickel guidebook as want to read. Beggars of life by jim tully, the road by jack london, citizen hobo. The hobo nickel is a sculptural art form involving the creative modification of smalldenomination coins, essentially resulting in miniature bas reliefs.
Apr 25, 2000 this was my first encounter with a hobo nickel. One story that i have studied for the last 6 years is that of the hobo nickel book. Many talented coin engravers, as well as newcomers, started creating hobo nickels in 19, when the buffalo nickel entered circulation. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. I am hand carving hobo nickels into old buffalo nickels like the hobos used to carve in the 1930s. Jun 19, 2019 a major milestone in the creation of hobo nickels came about with the publication of articles and a book about hobo nickels written by del romines in 1982. Did you find a strange coin with the word leechpit stamped into it. Would you believe that a hobo nickel actually is a buffalo nickel that has been handcarved originally by hobos now usually called homeless people, for goods and service like meals, a. Hobo nickel carving can effectively be divided into three periods, the first being the time of the old original hoboes. Billed as the biggest, most useful red book ever, mega red measures 7 x 10 inches and has 1,040 more pages than the regular edition. Romines published a series of articles about hobo nickels in coin world magazine and then published the book hobo nickels in 1982.
This accounts for the quality and variety of engraving. The original hobo nickel society has just published its hobo nickel guidebook authored by stephen p. The purpose, methods of creation, and the components. At least two photographs of hobo nickels by the newly nicknamed artist should accompany the article, which should contain a list of diagnostic features that help identify hobo nickels by that artist. Romines published a series of articles on hobo nickels for coin world magazine in the 1980s and published a well researched book hobo nickels in 1982. Alpert, which presents an up to date guide to hobo nickels and their values. This group has been created for hobo nickel artists and collectors. The most common type of hobo nickel is the standard design depicting a bearded man wearing a derby. If you are a hobo nickel collector, carver, friend of a carver, or just interested in hobo nickels. Bert 33 hobo nickel by bert wiegand hobo nickels lot. Niuchong 1921 hobo nickel morgan dollar beauty girl design creative handmade gift nickel funny coin great commemorative old coins love it. There are many preowned hobo nickels for sale on ebay that include amazing mini pieces of art.
These folkart pieces are known as hobo nickels because hobos supposedly started carving them on long train rides during the depression. The modern hobo nickel artists and the original hobo nickel society are dedicated to both memorializing the unnoticed creativity of the many forgotten knights of the road, and to sustaining the popularity of the hobo nickel as a collectors item and miniature, uniquely american work of. New listing alien grey river of no return quarter carved original hobo nickel aaron lujan. Buy hobo nickel silver rounds free shipping jm bullion. Remarkable hobo nickels carved from clad coins by paolo. However, the term hobo nickel is generic, as carvings have been made from many different denominations.
Dec, 2018 the offered coin, which is plated in del romines book the hobo nickel, is the sole listing of its kind and a classic political nickel by bo. Rollie tells the story of the hobo nickel, how it came about and why they are so collectible today. Brent pearson is raising funds for hand carved hobo nickels carved into old buffalo nickels on kickstarter. Kaikbax morgan hobo nickel us head 1921 hobo nickel coin old coin collectingusa old morgan dollar commemorative gift coinit is handmade art making life easier 5. In this art, roman booteen from russia is a master. Hobonickels hbn price, charts, market cap, and other. His book attracted a new cadre of hobo nickel engravers and drew collectors eager to acquire the coin sculptures. Users are able to generate hbn through the process of mining. Bert prisoner nickels are, by far, the mostcherished among the few confirmed prisoner carvings that exist. All these are discussed and illustrated in the book. Book entitled hobo nickels by delma k romines hobo nickel prisoner nickels, shop tokens, engravings delma k romines 19 hobo nickel bo george washington hughes. Nobody knows for certain, but it appears the favorite coin for this mutilation was the buffalo nickel. Even the old art forms, like the hobo nickel and the wooden cigar box carving, were slowly being lost.
The 2016 hobo nickels included a total of five different designs. New 3rd edition of mega red features great depression hobo nickels. This resulted in some new artists entering the field, most of whom simply copied bos nickel artwork from the illustrations in rominess book. Stella coin news is very pleased to announce their 9th numismatic online reference book, the hobo nickel an exclusive upgrade of hobo. He also discusses what is involved in making the nickels as well as how the. Over 700 enlarged photographs of hobo nickels are illustrated in the 126 page spiralwirebound book. The original hobo nickel society ohns has provided nicknames for some of these artists. The majority of the information ive seen on hobo nickels states that they were indeed used by hobos around 191938. A n unknown hobo nickel artist is formally nicknamed by having the nickname published in botales the journal of the original hobo nickel society, or a book or other periodical generally accessible to collectors of hobo nickels. Hobonickels has a current supply of 64,151,405 with.
Bo and bert are by far the best known of the original hobo nickel makers, and their lives are chronicled in detail in the two books by del romines. Would you believe that a hobo nickel actually is a buffalo nickel that has been handcarved originally by hobos now usually called homeless people, for goods and service like meals, a place to rest their head overnight, and other provisions. Getting back to hobo nickels, the original hobo nickel society ohns was formed in 1992 and has provided a wealth of information to collectors of these coins. New 3rd edition mega red features great depression hobo nickels. So how does anyone know whether the nickel is decades old true hobo nickels in my book or something carved in the last decade neat but not the same. The original hobo nickel society has 4,941 members. They appear dark and under magnification, debris can be seen.
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