Hobo Nickel found!

Duane

Hey All-

I found this coin in a local shop last weekend for a few dollars! I did a little research on this carving, and find it to be a fascinating bit of Americana. Photo by Jack Gaffney.

Thoughts? Cool? Creepy? Rare?

Duane

commoncents05

Neat piece! Looks like it might be original, but I am by no means an authority on Hobo Nickels. Here's one that I have, which is believed to be original. Photo by Bob Campbell.

scottgardener

Hobo Nickels are a pretty amazing bit of history. I recently read articles about them and even saw a few at a coin show about a month and a half ago. They started out as art pieces done by hobos, but over time they developed a cult following. One of the more popular images is to carve down the Indian figure on the obverse of a buffalo nickel into a hobo wearing a cap, much like the one you found. But, some of the more skilled artists have transformed buffalo nickels into elaborate landscapes with trains on the reverse or vikings on the obverse.

Duane

Mine certainly looks original based on the 'rough' look to the carving, the apparently 'cleaned' surface and aged patina, but I'm not expert enough to really make the call. Any experts out there?

For some truly astonishing hand sculpting examples of the genre, look at "THE ORIGINAL HOBO NICKEL SOCIETY" website....

LINK: myurl

19Lyds

I am at a loss in figuring out how a 'Bo could carve something as hard as a nickel?

Duane

Me too, so I am ordering the book about hobo nickels from the Hobo Nickel Society, which I think expalns the methods.

BYW - What are Snakeskin Proofs™?

EDIT: Nevermind - I found http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=26&threadid=708987&STARTPAGE=1.

Very cool!