"Big Four" 4-4-2 Atlantic Union Pacific "Big Boy" New York Central 4-6-4 Hudson Ernest "Mooney" Warther 1885-1973

      Mooney's works of art depict the evolution of the steam engine in sixty-four carvings. It starts in 250 BC with Hero's Engine, and ends with the Union Pacific Big Boy Locomotive of 1941. His first fifteen carvings were of bone and walnut. In 1933 he completed his finest work, the Great Northern Locomotive.

"The General"

In 1953 at the age of 68 he completed his 54th carving; the Union Pacific "Big Boy" locomotive. At age 72 he started his great work, "Great Events in American Railroad History". These carvings included a solid ivory representation of the driving of the golden spike on the transcontinental railroad. He also depicted the great locomotive chase of the Civil War, the Casey Jones locomotive and the first passenger train, the John Bull. His largest project is the 8-foot long Empire State Express. At age 80 he carved the Lincoln funeral train in ebony and ivory with mother of pearl accents. To read and enjoy The Internet Craftmanship Museum's full article "Ernest 'Mooney' Warther - 'Whittling' doesn't even begin to describe this type of wood carving." visit website: www.CraftsmanshipMuseum.com.
      The "Big Four" 4-4-2 Atlantic, Union Pacific "Big Boy", New York Central 4-6-4 Hudson and "The General" (an 'American type' Locomotive stolen by the North during the Civil War ...single photo above) have coal cars but no additional cars. The Empire State Express has a coal car plus four additional cars while the Lincoln Funeral Train has a coal car plus three additional cars.

Empire State Express ( in Ivory ) Lincoln Funeral Train ( in Ebony and Ivory )

      While many of Mooney's carvings have something like 7,000 individually carved pieces to make the complete model, some have well over 10,000. The finest hardwoods, ivory and mother-of-pearl were his medium and the superlative results clearly demonstrate the worth of investing in high grade materials. His family maintains a museum in his honor in Dover, Ohio. For full particulars visit the museum website at: www.Warthers.com. Hours of operation and explicit directions to the museum are available here: The Warther Museum & Cutlery Shop, located at the gateway to Ohio's beautiful Amish Country, is easy to find. Take I-77 to the Dover exit (#83) and follow S.R. 211 East 1/4 mile into Dover. Their entrance is right at the first light after the railroad tracks.
      The photo groups above have enlargements available when left-clicked on... regular sized versions beneath each photo and SuperSized versions beneath each legend. ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

      The Six Flag Raisers On Iwo Jima ... To read about Mike Strank, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon and John Bradley simply go to this webpage: Iwo Jima - The Flag Raisers. This is just one of the many great resources available on website: Iwo Jima.
      When Steve Adams sees something challenging he just can't resist. After Steve carved Da Vinci's "Self-Portrait" for me I asked if Leonardo's other masterpieces, like his "Last Supper", were next on the "to-do" list. He told me he had already done the "LS" but it was in 10 inch medal format. He allowed as how he thought Lee Griffiths ought to tackle the "LS" in nickel format.
      Steve is a real Master Engraver! I am absolutely certain he is fully capable of doing "Mona Lisa" for us... are you listening Steve? ~ V-Dubya ...

      Arthur "Hutches" Hutchison left us April 2nd of 2004. He died at home and will be greatly missed by all who knew him. I was just contacted by a gentleman who purchased a box of material from Arthur's workshop. Much of it had gotten wet and was rusty but included were these unfinished carvings. People outside the family seldom gets to see this sort of material so I am documenting it here for those who are interested.
      Postscript: Charlie just informed me that the unfinished carving in the upper right-hand corner was started on a silver dollar and not on a nickel as I first assumed. ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

      Auction 13 Report - As of early August, we have 111 auction lots in our Jan. 2005 OHNS Auction #13 (out of a maximum of 150 lots). The submission deadline is October 1 (for receipt by us, not mailing by you) so get your best specimens consigned while there is still space remaining. Modern carvings must be Superior quality with a limit of 3 coins per consignor. Old carvings should be Average or better quality. We are accepting bulk lots - a group of hobo nickels to be sold as a single lot. ~ Steve Alpert, Auction Manager ...

      All Y'all Can Be Hobos ... I wanta be the Engineer! - While you guys and gals are freezing off body parts trying to cop a free ride... I plan on being up front out of the weather where it is warm and getting paid for riding the same train. We would both get to enjoy the same countryside views and travel itinerary! Now where did I put my lunchbox and cooler?
      You should note that all these locomotives, and even my Engineer's hat, have my OHNS membership number on them. It sure is great to be able to collect nickel carvings of this caliber ...plus... personally knowing such talented engravers adds immeasurably to my life experience. ~ V-Dubya ...

HOBO NICKEL stamp ~ 2000 ~ Colorado Springs

This image has been "corrected" by V-Dubya's graphics software.

      One could always hope that this original art print by Christopher Madden , banknote picture engraver with the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and president of the Banknote Engraver's Guild, will become a rarity similar to the infamous 1918 inverted Jenny 24c stamp... but most likely it won't. I acquired this print from Chris at the 2004 ANA Summer Seminar and noted that the "Indian" was engraved in mirror image. Chris said he hadn't noticed this and had never had it pointed out to him previously. I reckon we can just say that Chris took "artistic license" rather than "he goofed." It is his artwork and he clearly ought to be expected to do it however his Muse moves him!
      Here is a neat newspaper article about Chris' "day job": Old Hands Create a New Line of Money, Treasury Engravers Do Their Painstaking Work The Old Way - For Now by Barbara J. Saffir, Special to The Washington Post, Thursday, February 20, 2003; Page A37.
      Chris is also an accomplished artist and you can see examples of his work on the The Artist's Gallery - Christopher Madden webpage. Chris gave me an 8.5x11 printed handout that was clearly produced for an art show that he had work shown in... you can read it here: Christopher Madden: Artist ~ Engraver ~ Painter.
      I know Chris would be happy to sell you your very own copy of his "HOBO STAMP" original print. Mine came nicely matted and I assume your's will also. You can contact Chris via the EMail link provided above, at (301)668-3072 or through the fine folks at The Artist's Gallery website. ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

Click for Tony or Timothy enlargements Death'sHead −by Tony Grat                                           Pirate −by Timothy Grat

      The Grat Brothers Try Nickel Carving - Many of us have given serious consideration to carving nickels but few actually make the attempt. Timothy Grat is the Chief Coiner at GMM and Tony Grat is his brother who helps out around GMM as demands dictate.
      Tony used one of Ron Landis' silver annual hobo tokens for his Death'sHead carving and Timothy used a recent Jefferson nickel for his Pirate carving. Regardless of your opinion of these two carvings... I figure EVERY nickel carver had to start somewhere. I assert that it isn't a crime to do a crude carving... only to make no attempt to carve up to one's actual capability or to make no effort to improve as experience is gained. Excuse me... I gotta crawl down off my soapbox now!

Self Portrait −by Tony Grat

      When Tony saw these two Grat carvings posted he sent me a scan of his second nickel carving... a self-portrait. This is a definite improvement over his first effort as I'm certain you'll agree. He can't keep improving at this rate or he will go off the charts. This time he left the LIBERTY and the date intact and used a Buffalo nickel as a host coin. Bravo Zulu Tony! ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

      BoTales2004#3 - Just a quick note here to let all y'all know that BoTales2004#3 is actually in production thanks to the untiring efforts of our Editor, Don Farnsworth. MORE good stuff to look forward to with great anticipation. ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

      Perusing Old EMail Files ... Carvings From The Desert - While researching my correspondence history today I stumbled over the three reverse nickel carving scans here on the left. At first I thought that they were the same scans that Fred Benson used in his BoTales2004#1 article "Mike Pezak, Modern Nickel Carver." I had to dig out my BoTales archive and, lo and behold, I found that Fred had actually used the three scans here on the right. I thought you might enjoy seeing four of Mike's better carvings. I personally prefer the carving with the hammock because all the original legends were left undisturbed. Not everybody likes the same thing so others among these carvings may well be precisely your cup of tea.
      Additionally, Mike has garnered acclaim in two other articles during the last year plus at least one article the year before that. ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

Newell Shireman, 90, of Lower Swatara Twp., has been collecting coins since he was 8. Here he shows part of his collection of Indian Head pennies from the 1800s.

Shireman paid $1,000 for this original 1913 "Bert" nickel at a recent coin show in Florida.

      Man strives most of life to acquire Coin With A Signature - To look at Newell Shireman now, at 90, it's hard to imagine him riding the rails. But ride them he did, along with a lot of other Americans when the nation was trudging through the Great Depression. After Shireman graduated from Middletown High School in 1933, he hitchhiked to the Chicago World's Fair, the first leg on a journey that stoked his fascination with hobo nickels.
      From 1913 to 1938, the country's 5-cent piece was the buffalo nickel. The front featured the head of an Indian and the back, a buffalo. Hobos altered the nickels, transforming the Indian into a soldier or a bearded man wearing a hat. Some changed the buffalo into another animal, such as a camel or a lamb.
      Shireman learned the keys to riding the rails from a hobo named Bert whose trademark nickels carried his name. Bert would remove the L, the I and the Y from the word "liberty" on the front of the nickel, leaving his "signature." Hobos like Bert modified the nickels with hand tools that Shireman describes as similar to an ice pick and files. As Shireman recalls, Bert would carve a nickel a night.
      When Bert and Shireman went their separate ways in New Orleans, Bert made him a gift of six nickels. But Shireman used them, as hobos did, as a thank-you when people gave him a meal. He recalls handing the last one to a woman in Bristol, Tenn., who fed him dinner and sent him on his way with leftovers in a bag.
      Years later Shireman, back in Middletown and a veteran of World War II and Korea, began collecting hobo nickels. Coin collecting wasn't a new venture for Shireman, the son of a coal dealer. He's been collecting since age 8.
      As a teen who earned money selling newspapers, he once spent $20 for a 1909 penny. "Somebody - I don't know to this day who it was - told my father, 'You better watch that boy of yours. He paid $20 for a penny,'" Shireman said. But it proved to be a wise investment. Today, he said, that penny is valued at several thousand dollars.
      Shireman said he's well-known at coin shows where he prowls for additions to his collection of 100-plus hobo nickels. "They all know me and they call me the 'hobo nickel man,'" he said. And they all knew that Shireman's collection lacked one thing; a nickel with the distinctive signature of "Bert."
      There is, if you can imagine, enough interest in hobo nickels for an organization of collectors. Sure enough, Shireman is a member of The Original Hobo Nickel Society (www.HoboNickels.org).
      For years, he told collectors and dealers, "I'll pay $1,000 if it's genuine and a good one." Finally, his persistence was rewarded. Last year, as the organization gathered in Orlando, Shireman spent his $1,000 and got a "Bert."
      As he sits in his Lower Swatara Twp. home flipping through an album of coins Shireman keeps returning to the page where he keeps his Bert. "I'd say I've got everything I want," he said. "I've got oodles and oodles of coins." But something about the way he stares at them makes me wonder whether that's true, and so I ask him, "Are you done?" That's when he admits he's headed to Baltimore next month. See, there's this coin show... ~ Nancy Eshelman, The Patriot-News ...

      The Fabric Of Life - I just returned from a trek into the wilderness of Ontario Canada and, based on previous experience, I knew that one should expect to be "rained in" for some portion of the time allotted for fishing. During this trip we spent two days napping and reading in our cabin. My days of sleeping on rocks in a rain soaked tent are far in my past... Praise The Lord!
      With unusual foresight I took my copy of "Once A Hobo ... The Autobiography of Monte Holm" along for just such an occasion. Normally I read for entertainment but I'm here to tell you that this book is different! I have now experienced Monte's life vicariously (that means not having to actually be cold, hungry, scared and miserable.)
      Reading this book didn't bring on a personal epiphany, a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of my own life. I can't say I am a new or better person for having read Monte's book... although that certainly would be nice should it turn out to be true. What I can say is simply that many of Monte's "threads" have been permanently woven into the fabric of V-Dubya's life! Reading this book was an immeasurably enriching experience.
      Thank you Monte! The effort you've made to share your life with all of us will influence countless individuals positively throughout future generations. You are a gentleman and a scholar... thanks for sharing! ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

Vintage Nickel Carvings

Dorusa Nickel Carvings

      OHNS Nickel Auction 13 Preview - I just got the Goetz auction hobo nickels back from Bill, and I scanned a few of them for posting on our website, in an "Auction Preview" section. For the time being I think just posting the pictures would suffice, with a note that they are among the items in our 13th OHNS Auction this coming January in Florida. In December, after the auction catalogue is completed hopefully we can put the entire catalogue up on our site.
      "Group A" scan has 6 of the better old hobo nickels and "Group B" scan has 9 Dorusa nickels.
      I will send you more scans of other Goetz-consigned nickels, and also pieces from other consignments, in a week or so. ~ Steve Alpert, Auction Manager ...

      Czech Hobo S Kytkou - Proper title will be "with flower" >>Czech Hobo S Kvetinou<< and then, there must be a little hook over e. To avoid it, you can use >>Czech Hobo S Kytkou<<. If you take my hobo under Lupe you can see, that collar has a fabric texture - I come to technique by accident - is done with tip of pocket knife. Note to obverse: Czech and Slovak tramps liked one Polish drink - Zubrowka. Buffalo or Bison is in Polish >>zubr<< - they live in one of Polish regions. People take very good quality vodka and insert (at filling) straw of grass >>zubr<< like most in the bottle. It gives the drink very light and fine taste and color. You can find it (Zubrowka) in US imported from Poland. But look for that with straw in it, not that one only artificially flavored. So, that is the explanation, why is that glass under Buffalo (remainder from some good times). You have a wonderful times. Happy Rails. ~ Jeff - Czech Hobo ...

      Call For Diversity - I am well aware that the subject material being posted here on our website is covering recent nickel carvings more often than vintage nickel carvings. This is not intentional and definitely is not desirable. My own personal experience is in the arena of recent nickel carvings and since I am generating much of this material that is simply what you get. My preference is to make a concerted effort to give equal coverage to recent and vintage nickel carvings. To do this I need students of vintage specimens to send in material that you are willing to have me post here on our website. ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

      V-Dubya Facsimiles ... Carvings From The Kentucky Hill Country - The first carved nickel I ever purchased was done by Bill Jameson and I've been collecting his creations with great enjoyment ever since. Every once in a while he comes up with a carving that he tells me is based on my likeness. To my eye some are more accurate representations than others but I've enjoyed each and every one as I received them. I know I can't grow enough hair to tie it up into a pigtail and that I wasn't really tickled being enlisted in the army but Bill likes to joke around with me. The 1913 carving (fourth from the left) looks the most like me in my own opinion. ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

Kraft's Drovers ... Trailing Beeves into the Kansa Territories - Cliffy is working on a Drover Series for V-Dubya. Even though this crew of Contract Drovers is still taking applications I thought you'd like to see the men already hired for the drive up the Chisholm Trail to Abilene. There the herd will be wintered before transshipment East to avoid the quarantine laws brought on by the severe outbreaks of Texas Fever. Waddies, Wranglers, and Ramrods are still needed... leave your name with the bartender at the Theatre Comique Saloon. The crew is expected to number roughly eleven men when finally assembled. ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...

      Once A Hobo ... The Autobiography of Monte Holm - Monte, OHNS RM553, wrote his autobiography in 1999 and has it available for purchase. He wrote me a great personal letter in which he said, in part; "I have had a much different life than most people. My Mother died when I was 6 year old and I got a step Mother that kicked me out when I was 13 years old. That ended my home life. I put in 6 tough years as a Hobo. The Rail Bulls kicked me off of so many trains I told them I will someday own my own train and you won't kick me off. So I have the last steam locomotive to run on the Alaska Railroad and the rail car that hauled Pres. Wilson and Pres. Truman... and no mean Railroad Bull can kick me off. If anyone wants a copy of my book they are $25.00 each and send the check to: Monte Holm, P.O.Box448, Moses Lake, WA 98837 Home:509-765-5532 Shop:509-765-6342"
      Here is a link to a very comprehensive book review for your enjoyment... www.TheCelebrityCafe.com. If that link should die then you can see a copy of the review's text that I saved for you here. ~ Verne R. Walrafen ...