Okay, does everyone know about these but me? Forgive me if this is the case, but I'm amazed and hooked. The origins of the Hobo Nickel grew out of the introduction of the Buffalo Nickel in 1913. The "first generation" of carvings went to about 1940. These were carved by "Hobos" on the move and traded for everything from food, places to stay to shots of whiskey. Portraits of loved ones, famous men of the time, and historical figures were the most common subjects. Sorry, a lot of the ones below are carved on Buffalo Nickels, but are fairly modern pieces. How great are these? Again, please forgive me if this is something that has been talked about for years in this little circle and I just happened to miss the conversation. Check out the Original Hobo Nickel Society (OHNS) for all the information you could ever want. The below were gathered from various places on Google images.
