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Hobo nickels are actual U.S. coinage (usually Buffalo Nickels but sometimes Jefferson) with the original image carved away by an amateur artist and replaced with something more whimsical. These folk art pieces are known as hobo nickels because (supposedly) hobos started carving them on long train rides during the Depression. Actually, hobo nickels started appearing in 1913, the year the Buffalo Nickel was released (nickel is a soft metal, more easily carveable than, for example, silver).

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Best of the Web (“Hall of Fame”)

The Original Hobo Nickel Society

The Original Hobo Nickel Society

Founded in 1992, The Original Hobo Nickel Society is mostly devoted to folk art derived from Indian Head or Buffalo… [read review or visit site]

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Legendary Coins and Currency

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Anonymous Works

Anonymous Works

This blog combines American primitive folk art, vintage vernacular photography, outsider art, and other interesting… [read review or visit site]

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Index of American Design

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The Index of American Design project (1935-1942) was an effort to catalog American decorative arts objects from the… [read review or visit site]

Stoveburner.com

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See all 35 by  highest bid • most watched • completed
Estate Vintage Original Ohns Tufty Hobo Nickel 1913 Bearded Man Flat Hat Rare NrHobo Nickel....'' Voice Of The Past ''Hobo Nickel "proclaiming Freedom" Eagle By Howard Thomas OhnsHobo Nickel "the Lure Of The Sea" Fisherman By Howard Thomas OhnsHobo Nickel "the Rose Garden" Full Horn Howard Thomas Ohns1936 Hobo Nickel Hand Carved Nude By Dan Farrell #7Hobo Nickel "ah, Top Of The Mourning To Ya". Hand Carved By Robert MorrisHobo Nickel-classic-risque1920 Hobo Nickel Hand Carved By Dan Farrell #8Rare! Hobo Nickel Style Carved Wheat Penny By Marcus HuntHand Carved Buffalo Ooak Hobo Nickel "scooby And Shaggy" By Shane Hunter OhnsHobo Nickel 1935 Cat / Dog Hand Engraved By Ronald Proulx 1936 Hobo Nickel - Indian Mohawk Skull & Buffalo - Both Sides Hand Carved.Hand Carved Buffalo Ooak Hobo Nickel "yin Yang Skull Fish" By Shane Hunter OhnsHand Carved Buffalo Ooak Hobo Nickel "the Skull King" By Shane Hunter Ohns1936 - D Hobo Nickel - The King And Playing Card Both Of Side #28 1937 Hobo Nickel - The Skull #233Hobo Nickel Horse Roses 1937 Hand Engraved Coin By Ronald Proulx 1935 Hobo Nickel - The Indian Chief #2361935 S Hobo Nickel - Indian Skull & Indian Buffalo - Both Sides Hand Carved.1937 3/4 Horn Hobo Nickel By Tony Lewis Ohns Rm#1201 1929 Hobo Nickel - The Pirate #235Hobo Nickel-buffalo Skull-intaglio 1928 Hobo Nickel - #229Hobo Nickel Skull Buffalo 1928 Coin By: Patrick Shanahan Free Us Shipping! 1937 Hobo Nickel - The Indian #232Hobo Nickel 1936Hobo Nickel 1930!Spike-head Hobo Nickel 1936!Smoking Pipe Hobo Nickel 1925!1936 Hobo Nickel J Allen Cowboy Us Buffalo 5 Cents Coin (241201)Asian Hobo Nickel 1936!Hobo Nickel Hand Carved Buffalo Nickel1936 D Buffalo Hobo Nickel 1916 Hobo Nickel - The Indian #231
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