estate sale preview

[jerseyben]

Stopped by an estate sale (advertised for Saturday) on Friday after work. I knocked on the door and asked if they were taking previews and they invited me inside!

Picked up the following:
-10k gold ring (1 dwt)
-pair of sterling rim coasters/ashtrays
-bag of assorted coins
-bag of assorted "silver" items
-jar of marbles
-bag of postcards
-bag of 1st issue commemorative civil war stamps/envelopes
-CPF pipe (bakelite with sterling rim) in case
-book: "Our Country" Volume 1 by Benson Lessing

Paid $125 for it all. Turns out there were the following coins in the bag: $3 in clad and some wheaties, 1x ancient roman coin, 2x common proofs, 3x IH pennies, 1x V nickel, 1x buffalo nickel, 3x mercury dimes, 1x silver washington, 4x HOBO NICKELS! The marbles I am looking into them now since I know nothing about them (look in this site's marbles section for my post). The postcards are very cool with some locals and 1 with Lincoln on it. The bag of silver items had 1 sterling tea spout strainer/basket and 1 small "833" spoon. Didn't test the ring yet but I'm confident its real. I realize now that I probably will not make much profit on these items but I really just wanted the Hobo Nickels for my own collection (which was the majority of the cost of the lot).

[magjm]

Nice Hobos or is it Hoboes? Whatever. Looks like they are signed on the 2 x 2. One pays for everything else you bought and I'd stick them in my collection anyday.

Magjm

[brendan1414]

Wow, GREAT pickup, those hobo nicks arent hard to find! i wouldve dropped the marbles. most of the time they are a bust, especially how that jar looks. Still awesome job on the gold and hobo nickels, you are gonna make some $$$

[jerseyben]

Wow, GREAT pickup, those hobo nicks arent hard to find! i wouldve dropped the marbles. most of the time they are a bust, especially how that jar looks. Still awesome job on the gold and hobo nickels, you are gonna make some $$$

Wait the hobo nickels ARENT hard to find? I was under the impression that they are fairly uncommon, no? Should be worth about $20-50 each.

Yes the marbles are totally a bust and I am actually trying to unload them on Craigslist as we speak...

[brendan1414]

Wow, GREAT pickup, those hobo nicks arent hard to find! i wouldve dropped the marbles. most of the time they are a bust, especially how that jar looks. Still awesome job on the gold and hobo nickels, you are gonna make some $$$

Wait the hobo nickels ARENT hard to find? I was under the impression that they are fairly uncommon, no? Should be worth about $20-50 each.

Yes the marbles are totally a bust and I am actually trying to unload them on Craigslist as we speak...

I've never seen one, and yea $20-$40 for one nickel, id say they are rarer than the 1950-d then... lol. Sorry about your luck with the marbles, but that gold and silver should make up for it!

[magjm]

Hobo nickels are hard to find especially those that were well crafted. Depending on who did them one can go for $100 - $200 to a collector. Check out some of the older ones on the internet. Newer ones, done with a dremel can be easier to find and go for less as in $10-$20. The ones you found look have the age and look well done. You might want to send pics to the web page and see if someone has an opinion.

Magjm

[Silver Bear]

Hi JB,

Can't quite make out the name on the 2X2's those Hobo Nickels are in? From what i've read that, and of course the detail of the work, could have a lot to do with the value.

Can you make out the name?

All the best and HH, SB

[jerseyben]

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.p...,426418.0.html

Just posted 4 close-ups of the nickels in the "Coins" section for better exposure.

[2Minnesota]

Very nice stuff you found. I have been around for quite awhile and have never seen a hobo nickle--if I did I didn't know what it was or that it was worth anything! They are very neat/cool. Didn't even know they existed....hahahaha. Learn something new everyday!

[ronbo22]

Is there a backmark on the Lincoln photo? Let me know and I can give you a value. I collect Lincolniana.

[stefen]

A word of caution, don't count your chickens until the eggs are hatched...the actual market value may not be what you dreamed of...

Although, I have several hundred Hobo Nickels in my collection that I have built over the last 20 years or so, I wouldn't pay more than $5 for each of those posted, and for numerous reasons. Primarily, the nickels posted are very generic and are often copies of other known carvers...And secondly, C. W. Edward is not a known carver...

Some carvers may make a dozen or more of the same coin image...which is not uncommon...

Many modern hobo coins are now being made using dremel-tools and even lasers, some of which get extremely high prices...

The original carver must be verified and that can be done by researching the Original Hobo Nickel Society (OHNS) (www.hobonickels.org)

You will find that Named Carvers have certain characteristics that are consistant thru-out their work...large ears, big nose, flared nose and the like.