altered coin fools people to over 250x greysheet

sinin1

This is so obviously altered that I can hardly understand why people are bidding so high

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3005103960&category=11954
obviously altered coin

But at least it is raw, hasn't fooled any slabbing companies I guess.

itsnotjustme

Is that a 1-legged Buffalo on the reverse?

ccr

Why would anyone turn thier proboscis up on that?

mbbiker

I'm surprised whoever did this didn't carve off the LI and Y of LIBERTY and try to make it a true hobo nickel.

Dog97

Believe it or not there are actually collectors who collect those things. That is one of the more unusual ones that I have seen. I don't care much for them but my club prez has a whole Dansco full of them that he likes to show. He would flip over that one.

OnlyBuffalos

An almost identical Hobo nickel sold as lot #18 at the Original Hobo Nickel Society auction at FUN in January for $425. The artist is unknown.

Gilbert

mbbiker,

Is it "BERT" that makes it a "true HOBO nickel" or the artistry and era of carving that makes it a "true HOBO nickel?"

Sinin1 - are you joking or are you truly perplexed? All HOBO nickels are "altered" nickels; that what makes them what they are, and as Dog97 mentions there is a relatively large following, a club and collector's guide for HOBO nickels -- some originals are highly valued, too.

OnlyBuffalos

Bert was Bertrand Wiegand and was one of thousands of hobo "artists" who began carving buffalo nickels as a past time shortly after 1913. His work is highly regarded. Bert taught and mentored another famous hobo named Bo whose name was George Hughes. Bert and Bo are the most famous of the early carvers. Their works are often copied.

nwcs

How can someone tell if a hobo nickel was carved in the 20s and 30s and not in the 2002s?

Oak

NWCS,

The originals were carved by hand. Moderns are machined and have a "systematic" or "computerized" look to them. I suppose somebody today could hand carve a nickle and no one would be the wiser. But if they did so, it would be the same work of art that the original hobos were and therefore worthy of the the same price.

baccaruda

sinin1,

how is it altered? i think these things are kinda cool. i want to know what to look for.

250x greysheet? you mean i can get a carved hobo nickel for about $1.25?

airplanenut

Baccaruda,

He means that if it were untooled/carved, greysheet would be 1/250th the price...

sinin1

Yep, a 1926 buffalo nickel goes for around a buck - i realize these were made intentionally and some collectors truly enjoy and are willing to pay for them.

My reason for posting is a counter to some other posts by a few major dealers that are saying that when individuals alter the surface or tool coins, they are recking the hobby.

baccaruda

alright, but then it wouldn't be a hobo nickel...

i guess my concern would be the same as NWCS - there'd be no way of telling when it was made.

Oak

I can get single-sided, machine tooled hobo nickles all day long for $35. And they will look like they were spit out the factory, very similiar to the obverse of the one linked in this thread. Originals, (hand carved) have a much different look.

I have never seen them dual sided though and think the buffalo carving is very cool and creative, worthy of an additional premium (but not an additonal $200+) IMO. To each their own though.

OnlyBuffalos

Old hobo nickels and modern hobo nickels have totally different looks. As different as looking at an original oil painting vs a print of the original.

Typically original (old) hobo nickels are on older, higher grade coins. A great many are dated 1913. It is not uncommon to find an original hobo on an early key or semi-key date.

Originals have fine details and were made with a variety of tools and incorporated multiple carving techniques.

The surface of an original has the luster of a circulated uncleaned buffalo. Moderns are usually polished and have a shiny look.

It is very difficult to tell the age of a hobo nickel from a photo or scan. One really needs to look at it in-hand where evaluation of age is actually quite easy.

A great many two-sided hobos are fakes made from casts.

airplanenut

He is so fat, he has a buffalo's butt

Draco

I really like hobo nickles, but since I don't know what is authentic and what isn't I don't buy them and of course there is also the problem of when it was made.