Hobo Nickels

OK, are these popular and widely collected? I'm only asking because my
interest was spurred after seeing the nickel I found in circulation that had
an E engraved over Monticello on the reverse (see it in ABPN). I did search
on eBay for "Hobo Nickel" and found quite a few, but how popular are they
and how do I know which ones are to be collected and which ones I should
stay away from? Are there ones that were carved many, many years ago and
ones that were carved more recently? Is there a way to tell? Thanks in
advance for any help.

Regards,
Mark

Hi there,

These are pretty well collected. There is reference material out there
how to tell the old ones from the more recent ones. With todays tech,
they can be easily made now a days. I almost bought one from a dealer I
know I can trust. It's called "Coney Island Joe" he knows the artist
that engraved it. That's the only way I would buy these, through I
dealer I know I can trust. Other wise I would advise to stay clear. I
will see this dealer this weekend. If you would like me to check on
reference material, let me know by e-mailing direct.

Jim.

On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 03:29:45 GMT, "MarkR" is alleged to
have written:

OK, are these popular and widely collected? I'm only asking because my
interest was spurred after seeing the nickel I found in circulation that had
an E engraved over Monticello on the reverse (see it in ABPN). I did search
on eBay for "Hobo Nickel" and found quite a few, but how popular are they
and how do I know which ones are to be collected and which ones I should
stay away from? Are there ones that were carved many, many years ago and
ones that were carved more recently? Is there a way to tell? Thanks in
advance for any help.

Regards,
Mark


Hobo nickels are fairly widely collected. There's a hobo nickel collectors club
that i think has a few hundred members. Their URL is
http://www.hobonickels.org/

Hobo's are still being carved to this day, but the original's by Bert or Bo are
still the jewels of hobo collecting.

As for which ones YOU should buy, well, buy the ones you like the looks of! Just
don't pay a "Bert" price for a recent production and you'll be fine.

As for a way to tell, I'm sure there is. Most artists can be identified by their
work. But I sure don't know how.

The one hobo 5c I own has ME on the obverse. I bought it at a coin show many
years ago, a fellow had brought a toolkit and was doing them for about $20 or
so. Kinda neat.

Bruce

"Bruce Hickmott" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 03:29:45 GMT, "MarkR" is
alleged to
have written:

OK, are these popular and widely collected? I'm only asking because my
interest was spurred after seeing the nickel I found in circulation that
had
an E engraved over Monticello on the reverse (see it in ABPN). I did
search
on eBay for "Hobo Nickel" and found quite a few, but how popular are they
and how do I know which ones are to be collected and which ones I should
stay away from? Are there ones that were carved many, many years ago and
ones that were carved more recently? Is there a way to tell? Thanks in
advance for any help.

Regards,
Mark


Hobo nickels are fairly widely collected. There's a hobo nickel collectors
club
that i think has a few hundred members. Their URL is
http://www.hobonickels.org/

Hobo's are still being carved to this day, but the original's by Bert or
Bo are
still the jewels of hobo collecting.

As for which ones YOU should buy, well, buy the ones you like the looks
of! Just
don't pay a "Bert" price for a recent production and you'll be fine.

As for a way to tell, I'm sure there is. Most artists can be identified by
their
work. But I sure don't know how.

The one hobo 5c I own has ME on the obverse. I bought it at a coin show
many
years ago, a fellow had brought a toolkit and was doing them for about $20
or
so. Kinda neat.

Thanks for the info Bruce!

Mark


Bruce