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Older News & Events ScrapBook . . . Page 3
Most photographs can be left-clicked on to view an enlargement.
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Introducing the first class dedicated to the art of Hobo Nickel Engraving
NEWS RELEASE ~ Kelsey Barker... Monday, 12/27/2004 4:38PM, Emporia, KS ~ GRS is proud to offer this unique learning experience taught by one of the finest engravers of the
Hobo Nickel, Robert ‘Bob’ Finlay. This class will cover topics such as the layout of design, the ins-and-outs of deep relief cutting, efficient background removal, sculpting for maximum effect and smoothing graver marks.
This course is not for beginners, students must have the Basic Metal Engraving class and at least one year of experience in metal engraving or the instructor’s approval prior to enrollment in this class. Class size is limited to 8 students, and will be held October 10th through the 14th, 2005 at the GRS Training Center in Emporia, Kansas.
For more information about “Creating Hobo Nickels,” and other 2005 GRS engraving and stone setting courses call 800-835-3519 or visit our website at
www.GrsTrainingCenter.com.
Creating Hobo
Nickels
Course Hours: 40. Classroom hours of operation are from 7:50am to 5:00pm. In addition to the available class time, optional evening hours may be offered to students for further practice of the day’s lessons. These hours will run from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. No new material will be covered during this period.
Prerequisite: Student must have Basic Metal Engraving and at least one year of experience in metal engraving. Variations to the above requirements must have the instructor's approval prior to enrollment in this class. Class size is limited to 8 students.
Course Objective: Students enrolled in this unique class will learn how to create an authentic art form, the Hobo Nickel. Using coinage from the 1920’s and 1930’s, you will acquire the skills needed to properly select a coin of value, discover the several different fixturing techniques as well as the proper layout of your design. The valuable deep relief skills which you will encounter in this class can also be applied to gun and knife engraving as well.
Learning Objectives:
1) Introduce the tools used during the course,
2) The in-and-out of deep relief cutting,
3) Efficient background removal,
4) Blending and smoothing of the graver marks,
5) Sculpting for maximum effect and
6) Final individual project.
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Warning... ONLY visit Boxcar Whitey's website when your spouse, kids and pets won't need you for a few hours!
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Boxcar Whitey
 ,
aka Christopher Erickson, has this to say about his self described 'little website': "It features plenty of my historical railroad & hobo stories which I read on my radio show on 90.9 KRCL radio Salt Lake City."
In V-Dubya's opinion it is content that counts in this regard which makes this "little website" a Goliath among Dwarfs. So... if you have your office door locked to keep out any pestiferous interruptions ...go visit Whitey's
{BCW's Boxcarfull a Lore, Tall Tales, Witticism, Traveling Anecdotes, &c.} and Enjoy!
~ V-Dubya
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Verne Walrafen...
Friday, 12/10/2004 11:15PM
~
V-Dubya built a personal website when the Internet first made such things possible. Slowly over time I've added new websites for friends and organizations. I've probably done at least twenty of them by now... the most recent of which has been our very own OHNS website.
My development platform... my personal computer ...has all of my websites coexisting in a directory structure that makes the creation of two different
CD-ROMs
a relatively straight forward, albeit labor intensive, effort.
CD-ROM#1
has our OHNS website on it. It contains the following MAJOR components: 1)
The Original Hobo Nickel Society , 2)
The Gallery Mint Museum ScrapBook
( the
CD-ROM
version of the GMM ScrapBook has all the enlarged graphics files that are not available when using the Internet version ), 3)
Recent Sales of Nickel Carvings and 4)
Bill (Jameson) Zach Hobo Nickel
Carvings
( Bill's Photo Album archive is only available on the
CD-ROM disk and
isn't posted to the Internet ). This disk has an "autostart menu" and what is really wonderful is the speed that everything loads from the
CD-ROM...
no waiting for files to come down across the Internet!
Now you can be sure that all this great data doesn't disappear some day when you turn on your computer. I will send you a
CD-ROM...
for $20 postpaid with future upgrades available after your initial acquisition for a nominal $10 postpaid. If you are ordering an upgrade be sure and tell me although I suspect I'll know because of the amount of your payment.
Personal checks are fine. This isn't a profit motivated enterprise but I do need enough funds to purchase disks, cardstock, printer cartridges, shipping materials, postage and other supplies.
Order from... Verne R. Walrafen ~ 12000 Sunset Ridge Drive ~ Ozawkie, KS 66070-6045
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Hobo Nickel Club Holds FUN Auction
Classic hobo nickel carver George Washington “Bo” Hughes carved this donkey and mountain range on a 1927 Buffalo nickel.
Source:
collect.com
from Krause Publications
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From Numismatic News ~
The Original Hobo Nickel Society's 13th annual auction will be held Saturday, Jan. 15, 2005, at the Florida United Numismatists convention in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Featuring 160 lots, some with multiple items, the auction includes carvings by old masters like “Bo” and “Bert” as well as from other contemporary carvers.
Also included in the auction will be several outstanding pieces by current artists that illustrate a variety of subjects from clowns to soldiers to representations of famous people such as Richard Nixon, Albert Einstein and P.T. Barnum.
Pieces from the collections of Bill Goetz and Donal Pisar are offered.
The auction is open to OHNS members only. Dues are $15 per year, which includes quarterly issues of the OHNS publication BoTales, the annual auction catalog and reduced fees on the grading of hobo nickels.
Applications may be obtained in writing from OHNS secretary Verne Walrafen, 12000 Sunset Ridge, Ozawkie, KS 66070-6045, or by visiting Web site www.hobonickels.org.
Prospective new members may also join and view the auction lots at the OHNS table at the FUN show prior to the auction.
Mail bids must be received by auction manager Steve Alpert by Jan.10.
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Copyright (c) 2004 Krause Publications, Inc. ~ All rights reserved. ~ 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990
Click on any photo for an enlarged view of carving.
 
Carvings Delivered to Arkansas ~
Ron Landis was quite pleased with the nickel carvings I gave him today. So this project is well underway and I am quite confident that we will have a really unique annual token in 2005. Before I let Ron start altering these carvings I made the scans shown above for documentation to record the original "other sides" that Ron will be grinding away to make dies. In case you are interested in the details of the Board's voting to select the above two tokens you can click on the title below:
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Click on any photo for an enlarged view of carving.
   
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FIVE...
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Creativity
Execution
Nostalgia
Talent
and
Subject
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2005 OHNS Token Candidates Line-up for Board Vote!
Bill Fivaz...
Saturday, 11/27/2004 9:01PM
~
WOW!!! The entries so far are OUTSTANDING!
I can tell right now that it won't be an easy task selecting an obverse and a reverse
for the token. I'm glad the carvings are being presented on our favorite "pallet" -
the 5 Cent piece. This gives way to the 5 things we're looking for on the entries .......
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Click on any photo for an enlarged view of carving.
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Verne Walrafen...
Wednesday, 12/1/2004 4:30PM
~
The time has come for the OHNS Board to make a decision. Each of the ten Board members needs to give V-Dubya an order of preference for the eight obverse carvings and again for the three reverse carvings.
Carvings are shown in the order that the scans were received.
A member can decide carvings are tied or that they have no preference between certain carvings. They can not give extra weight to specific carvings nor can they throw out... refuse to include ...specific carvings.
An example ballot might be as follows:
Obv:3,2,6,145,78 Rev:1,2,3
which would indicate ties, no preference, between obverses ONE, FOUR and FIVE and a similar "tie" between obverses SEVEN and EIGHT. Another example ballot might be:
Obv:5,7,1,4,23,68 Rev:1,23.
If you have any questions you can either
or telephone
785-945-3800.
I can take votes by either of these modes.
Any Board member not heard from before I leave for Arkansas sometime during the day on Sunday, December 5th, will not have their preferences included in the results I give Ron Landis along with the candidate carvings.
One additional provision... since I don't have all the candidate carvings in hand at this writing I can only give Ron what I have received when I see him. Any candidate carvings arriving late will be forwarded to Ron if he hasn't already started work on his dies.
Please remember that Ron will make the final choice between the carvings guided by the Board's preferences but allowing for technical die making considerations. Our favorite carving may not get used if Ron has reasons that it shouldn't be used.
These carvings are really great in my opinion and I hope that the individual carvers will allow us to "hold over" any non-selected carvings for consideration again in subsequent years. I want to extend my personal appreciation and thanks for all the carvers who submitted carvings for this project. I know that more than one of them carved several nickels before they got one that was "good enough for OHNS." Pride of workmanship always shows!
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Click on any photo for an enlarged view of carving/die.
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"Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"
I've been waiting for Lee Griffiths to give me something quotable to say about his latest feline masterpiece but he has headed out to "show the flag" at various gun and knife shows/conventions and is just way too busy to help me.
Lee told me that he sculpted this lion first and then added all the fine detail you see on this nickel carving using his Bulino engraving skills. It is astounding to me how different these two Griffiths lions are in appearance. They aren't simply copies of each other but rather have the appearance of two distinct individuals. Now is that cool or what?
To me the "Butt Plate" lion looks bolder and more virile than the "Nickel Carving" lion who has smaller eyes, a narrower nose and a weaker chin. Since I live in Kansas he brought to mind "Zeke" from OZ so I've named him "Cowardly Lion." Naming the carvings that I purchase... those that the carver hasn't named for us ...definitely adds dramatically to the pleasure I experience from collecting nickel carvings.
~ V-Dubya
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Here is an active link for those of you who are interested in seeing a full picture of...
Lee's Simba Butt Plate.
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Is That a Sledge Hammer or a Roasting Ear?
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Original Carving
Graphic Mockup
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I knew when I saw the scan of this carved nickel that something was peculiar about it but I couldn't put my finger on it. Then it struck me... I don't recall seeing many reverse carvings that had the "FIVE CENTS" legend on the right.
So I got to wondering if Ron could capture the central device, Hobo and Stump, and place it on his die with the "FIVE CENTS" in the usual position on the left. Just to test out what that would look like I captured the image in my graphics editor and here you see the result.
I was told that our Itinerate Worker's sledge hammer started out as a hotdog on a stick but the scale was too difficult to get just right. Just in case you were wondering... I was puzzled at first myself and had to ask ...those are tree branches and roots behind our Hobo friend.
Once I "flipped" the central image the tree took on the appearance of flames from a greatly oversized bonfire and the sledge hammer now looks like an ear of corn being roasted for a quick snack. You will note that as a result of the repositioning the "E PLURIBUS UNUM" legend had to be sacrificed which is a real shame but such is life.
OK folks... I know I'm at least a full bubble off plumb but this sure is great fun. A real blast!
~ V-Dubya
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Click on photo for enlargement!
Pewter Trial Strike - November 1, 2004
Membership Medal Dies Finished!
Operation was successful -
The dies for the membership medal are almost ready for hardening. The good news is I was able to straighten out the 1913 date on the nickel. Only slight doubling on the bottom of the first 1 is visible through a microscope. Also, I changed the little hobo on the reverse from the original design. He's a little larger and in a running pose as to fill out more of the design on the bottom portion. Should be able to go into production in a day or two. ~ Ron Landis... Monday, November 1, 2004 1:28PM
Rough Draft Artwork - March 29, 2004
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The refrigerater car ice comparment was clean and cozy, and protected us from the elements. Whenever possible we sought out empties to ride on the westbound trips.
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Article excerpt: "The empty Pacific Fruit Express refrigerated cars were were our first choice to ride. At each end on the top there were compartments where block ice was loaded to chill the fresh fruits and vegetables. When the cars were empty, we could open the hatches and jump in and ride in a clean and protected space.
When standing we were about waist deep to the cars roof, giving us a great view of the train and countryside. The hatches were quite heavy and there was no chance of them shutting accidentally. And we could duck down inside to avoid detection.
My dad, before he died, was Superintendent of Car Service for PFE. If he could have seen us riding in his cars then he would have turned over in his grave. But maybe he was watching over us because we never had a problem." ~ Peter Hoffman
My Happy Hobo Days
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I carved this Tennessee State Quarter carving for our trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It should puzzle the flea market coin dealers that we visit.
~ Bill Jameson...
Mayfield, Kentucky, Friday 10/15/2004 6:00PM
Bill's latest carving puts me in mind of the "Farmer Brown" carving he did for me recently...
(shown here on the right.) ~ V-Dubya
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12 October 2004
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2005 OHNS Token "Casting Call"
To ALL Active Nickel Carvers:
I propose the following list of parameters for coin carvers submitting work for the 2005 OHNS token. I agree with Verne that many carvers do not use drawings (including myself for the most part) and since time is a factor, I would like to forego the design approval process but just suggest basic parameters for theme. I'm going along with Bill that the design should be a hobo theme.
Bill has said he would like to see a Hobo sitting on a tree stump as one possible "hobo theme."
I think traditionally based designs are best for the token. Since it is a struck piece... straying too far from traditional themes could result in something that doesn't at all resemble a hobo nickel.
The following are my proposed parameters for carvers...
1.
All interested carvers must contact Verne, our OHNS Secretary, by 11/1/2004 indicating that they will be participating in this "Casting Call." A telephone contact number must be provided to insure efficient and timely communications thus avoiding misunderstandings during this extremely short time-frame project. Verne has unlimited anytime calling
[ at 785-945-3800 ]
so he will return any calls if the caller will simply leave their number.
2.
All completed candidate carvings must be received, not just mailed, by 12/1/2004 in order to be considered for the 2005 OHNS token. Mail to:
OHNS, 12000 Sunset Ridge Drive, Ozawkie, KS 66070.
If the artist prefers one side or the other, please state preference. The OHNS Board will then provide Ron Landis with an "order of preference" list for both the obverse and reverse candidate carvings submitted. Ron will make the final selection based upon the technical requirements necessary to produce dies from the submitted candidate carvings.
3.
Verne will be responsible to arrange for the final disposition of the non-selected candidate carvings and will correspond directly with the carving's owner/carver to insure their wishes are followed. These carvings can be returned (as the owner/carver directs and at their expense), held over for consideration the following year, sold at the following year's FUN auction (with the quality designation fee waived), donated to OHNS (without any charges) ...or... whatever else the owner/carver directs.
4.
The selected obverse carving will have the date removed and the 2005 date will be added to the die. The selected reverse carving will have "United States of America" and "Five Cents" removed. "Original Hobo Nickel Society" will replace the USA legend, and "Hobo Token" will replace the denomination. Ron Landis will engrave lettering in the dies, or this can be done by the original artists if they prefer.
5.
It is not necessary for the fields to be dressed absolutely clean, since this can be done very easily in the die. Try not to use extreme relief, as it may not translate well in the die making process, and make striking difficult.
6.
As part of the die making process, the opposite side of the carving will be lathe turned smooth. Gallery Mint will do this, but just be forewarned this is a part of the process. With all this in mind... it's not necessary to start with high grade coins.
To OHNS Board Members:
Selected carvers should receive something for their work. They should at least get their original carving back and they should receive a fixed number of free OHNS tokens (which GMM could donate), and of course, the spotlight in OHNS BoTales for their work.
~ Ron Landis... Friday, 8 October 2004 11:34AM
To All Concerned:
By the time you read this V-Dubya will have EMailed this announcement to every active nickel carver in the OHNS database who has an EMail address. I highly recommend anyone reading this to be certain that those carvers they know have seen this opportunity.
I further suggest that any interested carver look at all the OHNS tokens that have been previously produced to get a feel for the sort of carvings that Ron is looking for and to avoid duplicating previously created themes.
Verne will be away from home 10/18-27/2004 so will be unavailable for SnailMail or Telephone contact ...but... will respond to EMail questions during that period. V-Dubya ...
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EMail notifications sent out: Monday, 11 October 2004
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Aspirants:
10/12/04 JoePaonessa MikeCirelli
10/13/04 BillJameson
10/14/04 LeeGriffiths CliffKraft
10/27/04 JerryPardubicky
11/1/04 BobShamey
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The Eyes Have
It...
Bulino Engraving
−by Lee Griffiths
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V-Dubya
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When it came time to add Verne's eyes to this "V-Dubya" nickel carving I needed to make them look like they were being seen through the lenses of his eye glasses. I decided to employ an engraving technique I've used many times while engraving scenes on guns. My fall back position, should this idea fail to produce the desired results, was to shade the lenses and show him in his Polaroid "fishing" sun glasses.
The technique I used is called Bulino Engraving which is generally defined as: "Shallow, pictorial engraving designs, often of photographic quality, executed directly by hand onto the steel with a fine-pointed scribe called a burin, without the use of a chasing hammer. Also called banknote engraving. Often seen on high-grade, contemporary Italian shotguns."
As far as I know this is the first time this technique has been used on a nickel carving unless perhaps Sam Alfano has done it previously. Can anyone point out an example of a nickel carving that used Bulino Engraving?
A Bulino Engraved Tiger
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A Bulino Engraved Leopard
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Coal Car Tony, Frisco Joe, & Tea Time Thomas checking out the local facilities.
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Home, Home on the Range...
Home Found in the Kansa Territories
However our Hobo friends look like they aren't exactly satisfied with the modern facilities provided here. Regardless, we are pleased that they have come to live and work here. They are expected to provide invaluable expert assistance in showing off our carved "Hobo" nickels at conventions outside the territories. Verne R. Walrafen ...
It looks pretty much the same no matter what angle you look at it from!
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Our Multidisciplinary Staff:
Coal-Car Tony
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Tony has never been inside a coal car, but gets his name from looking like he has. Tony is pretty much a loner; having never placed bathing too high on his list of priorities. Actually, he can be rather interesting to talk with; until the wind changes direction. Originally from New Jersey, his wife threw him out saying: "don't come back until you take a bath" that was eighteen years ago. Not that he wouldn't take a bath, let's say; if he were to fall into a river and had a bar of soap handy.
Our Senior Staff Resumes:
Available upon request.
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Tea-Time Thomas
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One of the oddest stories to come down the pike in some time; Tea-Time found his way to America as a servant to a wealthy English gentleman. Traveling to Chicago by train with his employer, he was not allowed to ride inside the passenger cars. He settled in for the trip inside an empty cattle car; where he met some "Gentlemen of the open road". They quickly deduced that with his English accent and skills as a man-servant, he would do well to strike out on his own. During the last ten years on the road, Tea-Time has concluded they may have overstated his prospects.
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Frisco Joe
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If there is a job that Joe hasn't done, it probably ain't been invented yet. From boxer to undertaker, Joe has tried his hand at it for a time. His old man swore Joe would never amount to a hill of beans, but Joe can take on any job and do it well. It's his problem with the bottle that always seems to mess up a good thing. When he gets paid on Friday, you won't see him again until that money is liquidated. It's a vicious cycle that Joe has come to accept as his lot in life.
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9 October 2004
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Recent Nickel Carvings
"Ars longa, vita brevis"
- Hippocrates
Long after we are dust future numismatists will admire the nickel carvings being preserved for them in our collections... we are merely caretakers of these treasures. There are so many wonderful carvings being created today that my biggest problem in showing you these will almost certainly be those fine carvers who may be offended because I didn't show all y'all examples of their art here. All I can say is...
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Naming
Carvings Footnotes:
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1) Elder
Kami,
meaning 'A prickly lizard' ,
a Bidjigal man from the Botany Bay area, is a tribal elder and a 'Dreamer'.
2)
Cora Goosberry,
one Eyed Poll wife of King Bungaree,
was known as 'Queen of Sydney to South Head'
or 'Queen of Sydney and Botany' and was a Sydney identity for 20 years after Bungaree's death in 1830.
3)
Manu Aloha,
[mah' noo ah loh' hah], means Lovebird (Parrot) in Hawaiian,
so called because it can extend greetings (aloha).
4) The Roman
Neptune
'God of the Sea'
and the Greek
Poseidon
'God of the Sea'
were both names for the same deity.
5)
Kidogo Rafiki,
meaning 'small friend',
was drawn from the webpage 'Useful Swahili'.
6)
Originally coined by Thomas Keightley in The Fairy Mythology (1850) from the Irish 'Leith Bhroyan' or
Leith Phroyan,
meaning 'one shoemaker',
comes the name Leprechaun.
7) From MikeC:
OHNS.Webmaster,
is known in certain circles as 'V-Dubya',
a wild and wooly umbrae in his days.
Much about him is a mystery. Legend has it he ran with the 'Kid' in his younger days. That's 'Willy The Kid.'
( Do you suppose Mike meant "hombre"? Although... I reckon "umbrae" is aptly descriptive also. - vrw )
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