Hobo Nickel

Recently, I’ve seen a few replica rounds out there that copy some designs from the old “hobo nickels.” Turns out, these coins have a history that stretches back further than I thought!

Recently, silver rounds have been issued that honor hobo nickels. “The Fisherman” and “The Train” are shown above.

Sometime around the 1850s, people made use of the Liberty Seated design on the quarter (and later, 20¢ piece). The design was modified to show Liberty sitting on an old-fashioned chamber pot – giving it its nickname, the “potty coin!” By the 1870s, the expression (and the coin used) had changed to “potty dollar.” This expressed dislike for Trade dollar coins, which also featured the altered motto “no free trade.”

Hobo nickels are a fantastic investment, as they are a true collectible item, individually carved, signed by the artist and numbered. In retrospect, their value continuously increases as Hobo Nickel collectors and investors drive up the value of this form of art. A hobo nickel is carved as opposed to engraved. Little by little metal is shaved away or mounded to create a miniature bas relief sculpture. Itinerant workers, who often traveled by hopping freight trains. The hobo's tools were primitive and consisted of awls, nails, pocket knives, a small hammer, screwdrivers, and even found. Hobo nickels are actual U.S. Coins (usually Buffalo nickels but sometimes Jefferson) whose original image has been carved away and replaced with something more whimsical. These folk-art pieces are known as hobo nickels because hobos supposedly started carving them on long train rides during the Depression.

Engraved love tokens were also popular during the 1800s. In those days, people bitten by the “love bug” would etch a decorative design into a coin as a way to express their feelings for their beloved.

KaiKBax Morgan Hobo Nickel US Head - 1921 Hobo Nickel Coin -Old Coin Collecting-USA Old Morgan Dollar -Commemorative Gift Coin-It is Handmade Art Making Life Easier 4.2 out of 5 stars 51 $2.99 $ 2. Hobo Nickel Society. The Original Hobo Nickel Society (OHNS), the leading organization in this field of coin collecting, offers many more answers — especially when it comes to collecting these unique pieces of art. The OHNS states that Hobo nickel collecting took off during the 1980s and has sparked an interest in some contemporaries to carve.

The art of altered coins really took off, though, when three key pieces of history came together:

1. The Union Pacific Railroad was completed
2. The start of the Buffalo nickel series
3. Creative hobos began “riding the rails” around the time of the Great Depression

Hobo Nickel Kol

Once the Union and Central Pacific Railroads were joined at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869, a wealth of economic possibility flooded America. But then, just decades later, the Great Depression hit the U.S. As the unemployment rate topped off at over 20%, millions of people began scouring the country for work. But hobos made use of the most efficient transportation available. They hopped on trains to get from point to point, traveling the country for free.

Two early hobo nickel artists stand out among the fold – George Washington “Bo” Hughes and Bertram “Bert” Wiegand. Bert actually taught Bo the craft, having learned it himself around 1913. Though he didn’t carve as many nickels as Bo, Bert’s work was always of superior quality. Bo created a great number of works beginning in the late 1910s until a crippling hand injury in 1957. He did go on to create more hobo nickels beginning in the mid-1960s, but at a slower (and less detailed) pace.

Sure, they did it illegally, but not as a means to freeload. There’s actually a difference between hobos, bums and tramps, even though the terms were used almost interchangeably to describe the homeless during the Great Depression. Hobos are migratory workers – while bums and tramps were non-working beggars. Hobos had the desire to work – they just didn’t have the opportunity!

Hobos created a fascinating area of the hobby when they began carving Buffalo nickels!

As they traveled, hobos looked for ways to fill their time – coins were easy to carry, and carving them took a while. At the time, a quarter was a lot of money. The dime and cent were too small… but oh, the nickel! It was large enough to carve, and inexpensive enough to spare. Plus in 1913, the more delicate Liberty Head nickel design gave way to the broader features of the Buffalo nickel. This made it easier for hobos to make their own unique creations.

They’d use crude tools like nails, chisels, and knives to carve away at the existing design. Some elements were saved, and others changed to fit their vision. The obverse (Indian head) design was changed into any number of portraits – from family members, to clowns, to hobos in derby hats. It wasn’t often that the reverse (buffalo) would be carved. But when it was, it morphed into fantastic images like a man carrying a knapsack, donkeys – even a train car carrying hobos!

A more modern era

A newer style of hobo nickels emerged from 1980 on – around the same time Del Romines published his book, Hobo Nickels. These newer pieces are exciting because they boast more detail and a wider variety of designs, thanks to newer tools and technology. But at the same time, they lack the unique character of the original hobo nickels.

Today, there are still hobo nickel carvers out there! Have you ever come across one of these fun pieces?

The hobo nickel is a sculptural art form involving the creative modification of small-denomination coins, essentially resulting in miniature bas reliefs. The US nickel coin was favored because of its size, thickness and relative softness. However, the term hobo nickel is generic, as carvings have been made from many different denominations.

The Buffalo nickel

When the Indian Head, or Buffalo nickel, was introduced in 1913, it became popular among coin engravers. The big Native American head was a radical departure from previous designs and would not be seen on any subsequent coins. The large, thick profile gave the artists a larger template to work on and allowed for finer detail.

Hobo Nickel Images

On earlier coins, the head was much smaller in relation to the size of the coin. For example, on a Lincoln cent, the head covers about one-sixth of the area. On the Buffalo nickel, the Native American's head occupies about five-sixths of the area. Moreover, the nickel is a larger coin. Large heads also adorn the Morgan dollar and the Columbian half dollar commemoratives of 1892-93, but these coins were rarely altered due to their high value.

Classic old hobo nickels

Many talented coin engravers, as well as newcomers, started creating hobo nickels in 1913, when the Buffalo nickel entered circulation. This accounts for the quality and variety of engraving styles found on carved 1913 nickels. More classic old hobo nickels were made from 1913-dated nickels than any other pre-1930s date.

Many artists made hobo nickels in the 1910s and 1920s, with new artists joining in as the years went by. The 1930s saw many talented artists adopting the medium. Bertram Wiegand, known almost exclusively as Bert, began carving nickels in the teens, and his student George Washington Hughes, known as Bo, began carving in the late teens (and up to 1980). During this period, Buffalo nickels were the most common nickels in circulation.

By the end of the 1970s, most Buffalo nickels had disappeared from circulation, and the majority of engravings were performed on worn coins.