ORIGIN OF HOBO NICKELS AND EARLY NICKEL CARVERS

In 1913 the US Mint issued a new 5¢ coin. The obverse depicted the head of an American Indian and the reverse featured a bison or buffalo. This coin quickly came to be known as an Indian head or Buffalo nickel. When the Indian Head 5¢ was introduced in 1913, it was a natural attraction for would-be coin engravers or untalented individuals who at best did little more than deface the coins with crude scratches, punches and graffiti. The big Indian head was a radical departure from previous coin designs. The head was much larger than heads on previous coins, which gave the artists a bigger template to work on, and allowed for more fine details.

The head on the new buffalo nickel was a man. The heads on nearly all earlier coins were of women (Liberty heads, Barber and Morgan heads). A male head has larger and more rugged features (nose, chin, and brow) that can be altered in many ways. Either side of the host coin could be transformed by punching, carving or engraving into limitless number of designs. Often the buffalo reverse was altered into another animal or a man with a backpack. This was the origin of what we today call hobo nickels.

The standard hobo nickel has the Indian’s head altered into a man wearing a rounded derby style hat, with a beard, ear, and collar(s). Nicer specimens may have the profile changed, and possibly a cigar, cigarette, or wording added. Although usually referred to as “hobo nickels,” they are also sometimes referred to as “reworked,” “transformed,” “bum nickels,” “trench art,” or “prisoner nickels.”

Nearly all the “old” or classic hobo nickels (before 1980) were made in obscurity by many hundreds of different people, not all of whom were hobos. No records were kept, and nothing contemporary appears to have been chronicled or published by the early hobo nickel makers, or reporters, or authors, on this little-known folk art practice of carving coins.

Although the names of the majority of these early carvers have been lost over time, their distinctive carving styles have made it possible to identify the works of specific individuals. The Original Hobo Nickel Society (OHNS) has provided nicknames for some of these artists. One of the better known of these is “Peanut Ear.”

In 1981 Delma (Del) K. Romines published a series of articles about hobo nickels in COIN WORLD magazine and then published the book HOBO NICKELS in 1982. These articles and books spawned a new generation of hobo nickel carvers, some of whom copied earlier classic designs from photos which had appeared in Del’s book. A second book, The Hobo Nickel was published in 1996 with Del’s wife, Joyce Ann Romines, listed as the author.

One of the best known early carvers was a hobo named George Washington “Bo” Hughes. “Bo” had originally been taught by another hobo carver named Bertram “Bert” Wiegand. “Bo” produced a large body of work, but carvings produced after a hand injury in 1957 were of lesser quality. Bert Top four nickels are by George Washington “Bo” Hughes. The bottom two are by Bert Wiegand. did not produce as large a body of work (carved nickels) as “Bo,” but the ones that have survived are all of Superior quality.

For more information on the Original Hobo Nickel Society, see:
www.hobonickels.org

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web