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 Replies: 21 / Views: 15,295 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3294 Posts |
Does anyone have any hobo nickels that were done on Jeffersons rather then buffalos?
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Valued Member
United States
304 Posts |
I am with MercLover, I hate to see any coin defaced. I don't care that it's legal, I appreciate art, but don't personally care for the look of 'Hobo' Nickels. It's my opinion that coins are a window into the past history of our country and should be preserved as an artifact of our (once) great country.
Just my .02
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1388 Posts |
My suggestion would be to get a piece of nickel, and trying that first before you go on to a coin. That way you know exactly how hard nickel is, and know what you are getting into.... Just my opinion...
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Rest in Peace
United States
7075 Posts |
I don't do any kind of carving at all but I would suggest that you practice on scrap metal for awhile.
I don't even think that I could draw a hobo much less carve one. LOL
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Valued Member
 United States
159 Posts |
I would do it on jeffersons... I couldn't bring myself to deface a buffalo
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4418 Posts |
Check out the Original Hobo Nickel Society, OHNS at: http://hobonickels.org/ Quite a site, it is! It's a most informative website on this topic. I've met some of the folks who pursue this art form. They're quite congenial and eager to share their knowledge. The OHNS representatives can sometimes be found at the larger coin shows. On occasion, they even have a carving exhibit. While I can certainly appreciate a collector's disdain for the defacing of coins, there's certainly no shortage of common coins in the marketplace. In the old days, folks would subject rarer coins to damage, turning them into love tokens, counterstamp issues, jewelery, etc. Such abuse of the rarer coins is far less likely to occur nowadays. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4132 Posts |
Folk art like hobo nickels are part of this country's history too. There are millions of cull and dateless nickels out there, carving up a few isn't going to create a shortage.
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Valued Member
United States
277 Posts |
Id hate to see another coin disappear from circulation to be art, but if you do try, good luck and post pictures
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Valued Member
Canada
94 Posts |
These can truely be inspiring peices of art. Sure some nickels will be ruined, but others will be very beautiful if you constantly improve your skill.
Best wishes and good luck!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3402 Posts |
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New Member
32 Posts |
Most of those old hobo nickels were done by people that had mental problems that caused them to be overly precise and perfectionists. This was back during the depression before there was any medicine for these people. A normal person would never have the patience or attention to detail to make one as perfect as was done by those hobos.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1080 Posts |
I think it's much more likely that the original hobo nickels were made by out-of-work engravers. There was MUCH more fine handiwork done back then (watch makers, jewelers, etc.), so these guys had the tools and expertise, but no work. Back to the original question, I've made several hobo nickels using a dremel and lots of patience. Pick up some dateless buffalos to practice on. Buffalos are softer nickel than modern nickels, so don't waste time practicing on a Jefferson. You'll need some sort of holder. Harbor Freight has a little clamp (do a google search for a Harbor Freight Universal Work Holder) that works well. Sketch your design with a fine Sharpie. For a quality hobo, you must remove the feathers behind the head and the hair braid from the neck -- don't just draw a hat and beard and be done. It's also important to add an ear. That's some quick tips. Be patient and have fun! I recently sold one on ebay for over $60! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
968 Posts |
Try it out on a modern Jefferson nickel first. Given the billions upon billions out there, I don't see any modern dates (short of an error) being worth anything in the future. Then if you are ready to do a Buffalo get a dateless or other problem one. Sure, I can appreciate the sentiment of never deface a coin, but dateless Buffs are nearly worthless. I'd be more concerned about the thousands if not millions of silver coins that have been melted down the last few years. |
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Valued Member
United States
450 Posts |
I dont like seeing coins destoyed : (
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Pillar of the Community
United States
870 Posts |
Yeah, I'd say it's not likely we'll see a shortage of dateless buffs. Perhaps a hobo penny would be interesting, with zinc showing through the copper? I was noticing that in 2005, they minted nearly 8 billion cents. 8 thousand million. That's pretty astounding. In '36, they minted 118 million buffs, so find a nice low grade one and go for it. =) And post pics! Specks, can we see some of yours? I'd be crushed to see a 1798 dollar hobo'd, but it's hard to imagine a world where there is a significant shortage of 1936 Buffalo nickels. As for working on Jefferson's, I see that '38-'42's are the same composition as the buffs, so perhaps a '41 (200M+ minted) would make for a really cool art piece about WWII. You can get full rolls of them for under $10 on ebay... |
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Posted 08/25/2011 12:54 pm
