Hobo Nickels

This branch of collecting is definitely one of acquired taste. An "original" hobo nickel is definitely a good conversation piece. Many have artistic and historic merit. Personally, I'm hard-pressed to see the modern day pieces as other than novelty items. The pictured quarter would certainly appeal to a child or one who collects Disneyana. I hope that the coin used for this project wasn't a 1932-D!?

A 1932D?!?!?

Numiso mentioned that many hobo nickels on ebay are machine produced. I noticed the same thing only very recently because the seller came close to admitting that this was the case. I assume this is done by a computer guided cutting tool? In a way I am sad to see this happening. But "progress happens". There will always be a place in my heart for the hand carvers. When they issue a Dansco Album with an extra hole for a hobo nickel, I will know the craft has gone "mainstream".
... this being said tongue in cheek...
Maybe someday I will own one of the hand carved variety. Thanks for the thread.

Yeah I believe it is pretty much against the law in most countries. I just got two hobo nickels last night of the Buffalo nickel variety. I very quickly became a fan.

I know you're just being funny Bryan1315 and wouldn't that be a crime but I will guess it is a 1961 D.

This Snow White looks like the Disney version as the story is as old as 1917 but the Disney film came out in 1937 so I would guess it would be after that. I think even more likely, it is from the early 60's when every Sunday night as kids we would watch "Walt Disney's The Wonderful World of Color" Everyone saw a lot of the Disney characters then and it is from this show and Disneyland in California that they became such super icons around the globe.

And if my earlier post seemed ambivalent...
I LOVE the whole idea behind hobo nickels, and the many wonderful carvers. If you watch ebay, some nice ones can be had for almost any budget (except mine, so far).

Grey Squirrel...that's kind of a hard question to answer. Education is the key. The Original Hobo Nickel Society has published a wonderful guidebook that covers many of the prolific early hobo nickel artists. They have certain diagnostics and artwork in many of their pieces. You can compare those diagnostic traits to determine whether you have an original artist. One thing I look for is an older Buff in XF or AU condition. The thinking here is those are the coins that would be used when they carved them 90-100 years ago. I can tell you that a nice original hobo can be upwards of $1,000 or more if you can identify the "artist."

Here is one of my favorite's, it's by an artist named Roughbeard, so named because of the characteristic beards he draws on his nickels. No one knows who Roughbeard was or where he lived but he is considered one of the original artists of the era.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the carvers refer to any denomination of a carved coin as a "hobo nickel." I remember watching a video from one of the big names in modern hobo nickel carving and I *thought* this is what he said.

anyone?