Virtual Hobo Nickel Contest - Celebrate A Milestone

Example #1:



This nickel now closely resembles my high school 9th-grade geometry teacher, Mr. H. He's the single most important reason I am a math teacher today. (I was always good at math, but hated it before I got to his class.) We did all the geometric proofs and stuff, but we also did lots of hands-on explorations. He'd stake a post on the far side of a fence and we had to use angles to figure out how far away it was. Stuff like that. Hence, the yardstick being carried over his shoulder.

I have a thousand memories from his class (plus, I hung around his room the rest of my high school career -- poor guy!). To illustrate that any 3 non-colinear points define a plane, he took a Jamaican cent and showed that it had three seeds in the center which allowed him to balance it on a dowel (and spin it around the room without falling off -- crazy to watch).

He had picked up the Jamaican coin when he was in the Peace Corps there. It was one of the many weird jobs in his background. He had been a taxi driver, a classical whistler/soft-shoe performer in the USO (one trip we followed Bob Hope's group everywhere... so the soldiers kept complaining, "Bob Hope was better.").

He obviously made quite an impression. I've tried looking him up a few times. He's moved a few times since I graduated. I'd love to take him out to dinner sometime & let him know how I've done as a teacher following in his footsteps.

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Example #2



This nickel had been modified so that Monticello resembles the Academic Building at Texas A&M University (with trees and a higher dome). The Academic Building was built to replace "Old Main" which burned down. One of the specifications of the replacement building was it had to stand at least 100 years. Well, the architects proposed using concrete to build most of the walls, but since they wanted to insure its longevity, they doubled the dimensions used. So there are many interior walls that are almost 1 foot thick. It's has surpassed its 100-year mark. Which is good since the builder went out of business long ago.

The dome is copper. If you see it today, the bronze dome is corroded dull brown and green. When it was originally built, one of the Corps of Cadet units would polish it regularly. This was fine until the increase in commercial airlines. Pilots complained the dome's reflection was blinding. The polishing stopped.

The dome is also the epicenter of one of Texas A&M's richest traditions -- silver taps. This ceremony is held shortly following any death of a current student. Students gather at the Academic Building after dark. Corps members march to the building, fire a three-volley salute, then buglers from the dome of the building play "Silver Taps" three times. Very moving.

I mean, I'm sure Monticello has some neat stories too, but the Academic Building is pretty cool.

heh -- I got no gold! but I will poke around and try to spice up the pot a little. Maybe a 40% ike or something

Great idea for a contest.

I like two things a lot.

Jefferson nickels and Fish.

I think it would be a great Hobo to make Jefferson into a fish in a fish bowl and his coat could be a rock on the bottom.

I wish I had my old Adobe. I could have done much better.

I could draw this but I don't have a printer.Anyways here ya go.

THE JEFFISHON NICKEL

Niiiice! I love the colors!

Nice work & story Yokozuna. The large F mintmark is an especially nice touch (does that mean your hobo nickel has silver content?) :)

You've got some nice photo-editing skills on display there.

Wheezydog, I like it! Reminds me of an aquarium!

Yokozuna, That is very cool, nice job.

I was thinking of what to contribute and it finally hit me. If it were not for the man I chose to immortalize on a nickel, most of us, this time of year, would be a lot more miserable while conducting our daily review of this forum. In Buffalo NY, in 1902, this man was working at the Buffalo Forge Company for 10.00 a week in Buffalo NY. Mr. Carrier had received a masters in engineering from Cornell University just one year prior to July 2, 1902 when he came up with a working air conditioner system which also controlled humidity. The printing industry also owes him a debt of gratitude since the internet sources say the (first ever) installation of his system was in a Brooklyn printing company. The cooler and less humid atmosphere resolved problems they had been having and therefore made 4 color printing possible.

I have a weird sense of humor, so this hobo nickel entry started out as a sort of tongue-in-cheek idea for a really "cool" guy! But I ended up thinking how thankful I am for 48 more comfortable summers I have benefited from this man's wonderful idea! I hate heat so much that he is a true, unsung hero in my book!

So, since this is a virtual contest and no real carving involved, I figured I'd also copy the Canadian Mint style of their newer specialty coinage and leave the pictures of Mr. Carrier and ACello building as photographic rather than engraved-looking.

Supposed to be influenced by Andy Warhol but turned out to be a Thomas Jefferson meets Marilyn Monroe.