Hobo Nickel Guidebook by Stephen P. Alpert

Some of these new artists used new techniques such as power engravers, vibrating tools, and felt marker pens to add color to hair.īy the end of the 1970s, most Buffalo nickels had disappeared from circulation, and the majority of engravings were performed on worn coins. Subjects became more ethnically and socially diverse (e.g., a Chinese woman with triangular hat, hippies with long hair and glasses, men wearing floppy hats, etc.). Bo, in fact, did his best work in the early 1950s, when he carved many spectacular cameo portrait hobo nickels.ĭuring this 40-year period, many new carvers appeared, and style and subject matter became decidedly modern. Some veteran nickel carvers such as Bo and Bert continued making hobo nickels in the classic old style.

The 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were a transitional period for hobo coin engravers, during which the Buffalo nickel was gradually replaced by the Jefferson nickel.

During this period, Buffalo nickels were the most common nickels in circulation. 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 when he vanished in 1981 ). The 1930s saw many talented artists adopting the medium. Many artists made hobo nickels in the 1910s and 1920s, with new artists joining in as the years went by. More classic old hobo nickels were made from 1913-dated nickels than any other pre-1930s date. This accounts for the quality and variety of engraving styles found on carved 1913 nickels. Many talented coin engravers, as well as newcomers, started creating hobo nickels in 1913, when the Buffalo nickel entered circulation. Even the buffalo on the reverse could be changed into another animal or a man with a backpack.Ĭlassic old hobo nickels (1913–1940) A male head has larger, coarser features (nose, chin, brow) that can be altered in many ways. Nearly all previous coins had depicted women ( Liberty head nickels, Indian head cents, Barber and Morgan silver dollars). 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.Īnother factor contributing to the Buffalo nickel's popularity was the subject. On the Buffalo nickel, the Native American's head occupies about five-sixths of the area. For example, on a Lincoln cent, the head covers about one-sixth of the area. On earlier coins, the head was much smaller in relation to the size of the coin. The large, thick profile gave the artists a larger template to work on and allowed for finer detail. The big Native American head was a radical departure from previous designs and would not be seen on any subsequent coins. When the Indian Head nickel, or Buffalo nickel, was introduced in 1913, it became popular among coin engravers.

Hobo Nickel Guidebook by Stephen P. Alpert