Info on " hobo " nickels

pegleglooker · Mar 25, 2009

Info on " hobo " nickels

hey gang,
Awhile back I had a guy at my site ask about " hobo " nickels and since I don't have a clue, I thought I would try to post and see if I could get a reply here... Here's the link
http://www.goldenmirages.com/index.php?topic=815.msg1291;topicseen#new

He also showed the link for wikipedia, but I was wondering if anyone has found any and if so could you post a pix or 2 ??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobo_Nickels

Thankx
PLL

stefen · Mar 25, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

The history makes a fascinating read...I have several in my collection, two of which are shown below.

One similar to the "dapper" was a recent acquition.

Also can find additional information from the Hobo Nickle Society http://hobonickels.org/

pegleglooker · Mar 25, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

hey stefen,
Thanks for the link, lots of GREAT info...

Thankx
PLL

BuckleBoy · Mar 25, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

Very cool items. I thought about buying one for my collection as a kid. But I am very curious as to why folks aren't digging them up. It makes me wonder if the whole story about the nickels circulating earlier is a myth, and most of the carved ones are from a later time period--since detectorists just aren't finding them. But I guess that another possible explanation is that folks that had one kept them as souvenirs. (Although that strikes me as odd during the Depression.) But the circulation of these coins before the 40s and 50s is doubtful in my opinion. I have a hunch that most of the coins were done in the WWII era and later.

:icon_scratch:

-Buckleboy

72cheyenne · Mar 25, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

BuckleBoy said:
Very cool items. I thought about buying one for my collection as a kid. But I am very curious as to why folks aren't digging them up. It makes me wonder if the whole story about the nickels circulating earlier is a myth, and most of the carved ones are from a later time period--since detectorists just aren't finding them. But I guess that another possible explanation is that folks that had one kept them as souvenirs. (Although that strikes me as odd during the Depression.) But the circulation of these coins before the 40s and 50s is doubtful in my opinion. I have a hunch that most of the coins were done in the WWII era and later.

-Buckleboy

Here's a quote I found on another site.

I can well remember my Grandmother “going on and on” about how she used to work for ten cents an hour during the Great Depression and how she was pleased to have even that much. Of course this was usually being said in the context of how ungrateful her grandchildren were and, as a kid, naturally I couldn't really relate to her experiences.

Recently someone on an Internet Forum asked a question, something to the effect of... “Wasn't a nickel too major an investment during the depression for a person to risk it by defacing it?” They also wondered just how much return that person could expect for their carved nickel. I searched tirelessly but can not find the original discussion which started me thinking along the lines that have culminated here in this short article.

We can't really speak to the question of how much return a person could expect for their carved nickel. That was dependent upon way too many circumstances and variables that are beyond our knowing. I suspect that many carved/scratched nickels were done more out of boredom than with any thought of monetary gain. However... the question of how major an investment the host nickel was is an interesting one that can be pondered for a spell.

The equivalent monetary value of a nickel earned in 1913.

Unskilled Wage Rate
GDP deflator | GDP per capita
CPI | | | GDP
| | | | |
1913 .05 .05 .05 .05 .05
1918 .08 .08 .10 .09 .10
1923 .09 .08 .11 .09 .11
1928 .09 .08 .12 .10 .12
1933 .07 .06 .10 .06 .07
1938 .07 .07 .15 .08 .11
1943 .09 .08 .21 .18 .25
1948 .12 .11 .30 .23 .34
1953 .13 .12 .41 .30 .48
1958 .15 .14 .51 .33 .60
1963 .15 .15 .61 .41 .79
1968 .17 .17 .74 .57 1.16
1973 .22 .22 1.04 .81 1.77
1978 .33 .31 1.56 1.28 2.93
1983 .50 .44 2.21 1.88 4.52
1988 .59 .51 2.56 2.59 6.52
1993 .73 .60 3.02 3.18 8.50
1998 .82 .65 3.54 3.94 11.17
2003 .92 .72 4.20 4.69 14.00

The numismatic/collector value is a totally different subject!

From this I conclude that pulling a nickel out of your pocket and scratching on it in 1913 would be quite similar to pulling out a five dollar bill today... if you were jobless and could only occasionally find employment as an unskilled laborer ...and making origami out of it in hopes of enhancing it's value. That is if you went past complex folding and involved a pair of scissors!

If one moves forward to roughly the time of the second world war then that five dollar bill changes into the equivalent of a one dollar bill being “defaced” today. A lot depends on when the nickel was being carved as one would expect. ~ Verne R. Walrafen

It makes sense to me that someone in 1913 wouldn't just carve up a nickel for craps and giggles, although it may have happened. I tend to agree with BB's line of thinking.

BuckleBoy · Mar 26, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

Great post, 72cheyenne :thumbsup:

I should start a post to see if anyone has found them--I mean, we find pennies that were squashed flat by trains--and we don't just find them around the tracks. We find them where folks took them home. And we find a lot of other keepsakes and valuable items that were not hidden but rather lost.

So where are the "dug" hobo nickels? Maybe someone will chime in--but I've never seen one posted anywhere as "dug," ever.

:icon_scratch:

stefen · Mar 26, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

Hobo nickles are similar, if not the same as love tokens, which in effect, are holed and / or otherwise defaced coins. These historically began in Europe and became popular during the CW days.

Although the number of defaced coins are limited, love tokens have been dug on ocassions. In fact, some have been posted on TN in the past.

Morris posted a find a few years back...http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,113131.0.html

A 'Hobo Dime' was also found and posted in 2005...http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,24979.0.html

There are other posting of finds on TN...

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,30059.0.html
http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,122231.0.html

BuckleBoy · Mar 26, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

stefen said:
Hobo nickles are similar, if not the same as love tokens, which in effect, are holed and / or otherwise defaced coins. These historically began in Europe and became popular during the CW days.

Although the number of defaced coins are limited, love tokens have been dug on ocassions. In fact, some have been posted on TN in the past.
Morris posted a find a few years back...http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,113131.0.html

A 'Hobo Dime' was also found and posted in 2005...http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,24979.0.html

There are other posting of finds on TN...

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,30059.0.html

http://forum.treasurenet.com/index.php/topic,122231.0.html

The second link you posted is a love token--not a Hobo Dime (just a mis-titled post)

The third link was an ID disc made from a coin

The fourth link was in fact a german coin that was either worn smooth on the face, or shaved off for some reason.

Now--the first link I will agree is a hobo nickel... BUT...I will also say that the coin in No way looks dug.

I agree with you that other defaced coins have been found frequently--primarily silver coins turned into love tokens (which still had silver value in spite of their defacement).

So it stands to reason that someone, somewhere should've found and posted a Hobo Nickel by now. I would argue that detectorists are actually finding More nickels now than ever before, since folks back during the silver boom "cherrypicked" silver coins and left the rest in years past, and now most of us are digging it all. 8)

So, even though their heyday in this country is a narrow date range (Civil War Era to Late Victorian Era--around a 40 year time span), the love tokens are well represented in posts here (I'm sure I can probably find a dozen examples in the last few years, right off)...but the "hobo nickels" remain un-found. And supposedly their heyday as an art form was from 1913 up until the 40s or 50s, which is about the same time span as the love tokens.

Again, it is surely Odd. And it makes me wonder if the art form was a bit of americana propagated by a few artists after the fact, with a story designed to play up their art form as being a part of our history here in the U.S. (The "Great Tradition" of the hobo nickel. ::)

)

stefen, I nominate You to send this information to the Hobo Nickel Society.

Best Wishes,

Buckles

stefen · Mar 26, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

BB,

I'll leave the Hobo Nickle Society communications in your good hands...

However, watch the posts for Monday when I announce that I found a dug Hobo Nickle.

The fact that I seeded the coin has absolutely nothing do do with the subject, which should aleviate any and all concerns.

I'll hold a publicity Op on the Beverly Hills City Hall steps...complete with pictures in the Sy Stalone 'Rocky' form. 8)

BuckleBoy · Mar 26, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

stefen said:
BB,

I'll leave the Hobo Nickle Society communications in your good hands...

However, watch the posts for Monday when I announce that I found a dug Hobo Nickle.

The fact that I seeded the coin has absolutely nothing do do with the subject, which should aleviate any and all concerns.

I'll hold a publicity Op on the Beverly Hills City Hall steps...complete with pictures in the Sy Stalone 'Rocky' form. 8)

Dangit, why you gotta mess up my Brilliant Theories with your filthy planted nickels?

72cheyenne · Mar 26, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

Hey BB, I say start a thread where folks can post their "hobos" with a poll at the top for where and how it was found/acquired. I have a couple "hobos" myself, that were give to me by my grandfather, along with the story of how they where made back in the teens by bored hobos. :tongue3:

BuckleBoy · Mar 26, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

72cheyenne said:
Hey BB, I say start a thread where folks can post their "hobos" with a poll at the top for where and how it was found/acquired. I have a couple "hobos" myself, that were give to me by my grandfather, along with the story of how they where made back in the teens by bored hobos.

Sounds cool! I'll get on it.

Argentium · Mar 27, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

This is a very interesting thread from the standpoint of the questions raised, Origins of the "Hobo nickel"

I always thought they must have started either as prison art , or larger urban encampments of itinerant,

railriders , during the great depression. I think the question of why no dug/detected - hobo nickels is

very intersting . A question that occurs to me is about the stero typical image that most of us hold of

the indian transformed into an african , wearing a bowler -where does that come from ? Also how

common or scarce are these ? and do we assume that there are a lot of modern made hobo nickels ?

Thanks to any who can shed light on these and other questions about this strange form of Americana.

Argentium.

Ray S ECenFL · Mar 27, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

I have to admit that this is the first time I have even heard of such a thing. Never knew there was such a thing as a hobo nickle.

Live and learn.

One of the things I like about this forum. You learn new things.

" Any day you learn something new, is not a wasted day" I can add today to my "not a wasted day" list.

For that, I thank you.

Ray S

pegleglooker · Mar 27, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

Here's some nickels to look, at the 3rd one " allegedly " sold for $9020.... ( at least that what was reported at the site listed above )

This one kinda looks like Red Skeleton

the $ 9020 nickel

BIG61AL · Mar 28, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

those nickles are way cool!

stefen · Mar 30, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

Another in my collection

pookie-princess of rust · Mar 30, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

cool :thumbsup:

IronSpike · Mar 31, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

Those are really neat 'hobo' nickles :icon_sunny:

A bit surprised we don't have detectorists with enough artistic talent to turn some of their Buffalo nickels finds into 'hobos'. Maybe a dug Buffalo nickel already is considered a treasure in itself?

stefen · Mar 31, 2009

Re: Info on " hobo " nickels

Another Hobo Nickle entitled 'The Rabbi' by Durosa created in 1950. The seller purchased it direct from the Durosa estate.