Older News & Events ScrapBook . . . Page 7
A Triptych for the FUN Show −by Bob Shamey
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Click on any carving for an enlarged view.
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I just finished and submitted for the annual OHNS auction [January 2006], my first Triptych. A three piece set of carved coins, in which any one piece can stand alone as a singular work of art but the whole set displayed together tells a story.
I decided to do this work when I visited the Cape after attending last year's FUN show. I knew that I wanted to do a NASA theme nickel but could not settle on one single point of visual interest out of the vast library of images, so I decided to do what I felt were the three most consistent images, Shuttle Liftoff, Space Walk and Man on the Moon.
These three images gave me the opportunity to work tighter detail than normal; on the gantry and US. flag on the Shuttle Liftoff, the whole state of Florida complete with the Keys and Lake Okeechobee on Space Walk and the moon craters and the western hemisphere is visible on the earth hanging above the astronauts head on Man on the Moon were some intense fun tasks. As a final touch I decided to inlay the Floating Astronauts face mask/plate with gold as the original was, just a little highlight point.
Bob Shamey ... Monday, 10/24/2005, 1:35PM
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triptych
n. 1. A hinged writing tablet consisting of three leaves, used in ancient Rome. 2. A work consisting of three painted or carved panels that are hinged together. [From Greek triptukhos, threefold : tri-, tri- + ptux, ptukh-, fold.]
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Hyde Hunter

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Cliffy conjures up MORE jocose Blarney!
You probably don't recognize him all cleaned up, but this is Hyde Hunter (L-190), who with two of his friends (Mutt and Jeff) as skinners, went west in the 1860's to hunt Buffalo. Mutt and Jeff, now there was a pair to draw too. Mutt, very tall, with an extra long nose and a mustache to match and Jeff, short , bald with... never mind! I doubt if you would believe it. A good hunter could take down fifty animals at each encounter and needed two skinners. A really good hunter did much better, and needed three skinners. Starting with the lead bull, the shooter would then concentrate on cows, as their hides were more in demand (for the finer leather), but still shooting any bulls that might take over leadership and move the herd. Many long days with rain, snow, dust, blood and gore, to say nothing of what they smelled like, but after wrestling the hide while on the animal, off the animal, preparing it, and finally hauling it to town, they were paid two dollars, (if it was a nice hide with a good skinning job.) The boys worked hard and did well until the easy money disappeared in the mid 1870's. Hyde went into wolf and coyote trapping while Mutt and Jeff went into comics, but those are future stories and more carvings. Hyde is hosted on a very nice 1920 Buffalo Nickel (I don't know what Black Diamond would think of that) and has lots of detail.
Cliff Kraft ... Tuesday, Oct-18-05, 6:45PM
Buck

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Meet Buck (L-191), who volunteered to be carved on a coin, after I told him I needed a profile and a funny hat for my Hobo nickel. I guess just a glance will tell you that we got way too much profile and have a lot of funny left also. Buck is kind of a fixture around town, usually being followed by his half dozen mongrels that he refers to as sled dogs. Well, his half dozen Sled dogs didn't do him much good last Friday morning, when just after daylight a medium sized bear appeared in his yard, and chased his only pig right thru its pen fence. The pig was last seen headed down the road toward the public access slowly pulling away from the bear who was dragging 50 foot of pig fence around his neck. Buck is offering a reward, so if you happen upon his pig Ham just feed it a little anything and call Buck, he'll pay when he picks up his Ham. As far as the bear goes, you're on your own... negotiate what you can. Buck is hosted on a nice 1937 BU nickel, and has a friendly outgoing personality, while still being a little different.
Cliff Kraft... Tuesday, Oct-11-05, 6:49PM
Self-Portrait

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This is my first self portrait (L-188). Before someone else made an unflattering carving of me, I felt I should beat them to the punch with something that would put Gable or Redford to shame. I put in my contact lenses, my teeth, all four of them, found an almost clean T shirt and my favorite hat, can't get much better than that. I tried to show all of my good points while trying to hide the bad ones, including the one on my head. If your wondering about that more than sincere smile, that came after I checked my mail box and found my fall issue of BoTales had arrived boy, everything is going my way today. I really hope some nice lady out there will take a liking to this work of art as my mother does not have room for any more works of art. This carving is very well done, on a very nice host coin, (please check my so-so photo) if there is still a question in your mind, you could ask my Mom.
Cliff Kraft... Tuesday, Oct-04-05, 6:45PM
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Carving Chips.....
The Eyes Have It!
Click on any set of eyes for an expanded view.
Wooden Hobo carver Rick Ferry has some SUPER resource pages on his website
Little Shavers Woodcarving Supply
Rick has spent much of 2005 building a set of webpages documenting the creation of a wooden hobo carving which he calls
The Making of a self-made Man.
He is closing in on the completion of carving and entering the painting phase. This has clearly been a massive effort on his part and a labor of love. What he is doing is without precedence and generous to a fault. Thanks Rick! ~ V-Dubya
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Carving Chips.....
HoboPie... NOT the Food!
Bob Woodcock (guitar, autoharp, mandolin, banjo) has been playing OT and traditional music for over 25 year both in the Central Penna and Phila areas. Primary influences include The Original Carter Family, E.C. and Orna Ball and the Blue Sky Boys. He has appeared on two autoharp anthology recordings.
Carl Baron (fiddle, banjo, banjo-guitar) has been influenced by the fiddlers of West Virginia, jugband and ragtime music, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and Jimmy Rogers.
Barbara Johnson (guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo-guitar, uke) enjoys learning novelty songs from any source (old recordings, sheet music, her father). Her main influences are 60's folk performers, Doc Watson, jug band recordings and recordings of traditional fiddle music.
Ray Frick (banjo, banjo-uke) has been playing old time music for over 10 years. His inspiration came from listening to John Hartford and Bob Carlin. His primary influences have been the members of this band as well as other modern day old time string bands.
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Pardubicky's BalloonStack #3
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Jerry takes better photos than I do!
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10Q means...
Thank You!
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Jerry Pardubicky, AKA... Jeff ~ the Czech Hobo, tells us that the spike on this "placka" (Czech/Slovak Tramp's slang... literally pancake) is Brazilian rosewoood with mother of pearl inlay (rough cut with a jeweler's saw.) Czech Hobos, like my friend Jerry, are definitely multitalented people.
The 10Q puzzled me right out of the chute but a bit of Googling turned up the answer.
Check out both of these resources:
Internet Slang −Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
and List of Internet Slang .
10X Jerry! −V-Dubya
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Sometime in 1920's, when tramps come together around the camp fire to have good times and visit different friends, they give away (or as a reward for nice song, sport match) slice of wood, decorated and containing date and place of event. On the end all received a small one - just as souvenir. Very inexpensive but lifetime reminder of the precious moments.
Happy Rails− Czech Hobo...Friday, 10/7/2005, 12:57AM
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The Sky is the Limit!
An Ensemble Of Carved Nickels...
My First Sale!
Click on any carving for an enlarged view.
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King of All Hobos
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SCI-FI
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Shrek
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Professional plumber
and new nickel carver James Olivencia was taught by Engraver David Morton
of Lorain, Ohio
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My name is James Olivencia. I am thirty-three years old and I reside in Lorain, Ohio. My business name is The Engravers Touch. In the spring of 2002 I was contacted by a local fellow, David Morton, who had seen a post I wrote in an Engraving Forum inquiring about engraving tools. He contacted me to stop by and chat and see some of my work, little did he know that I knew nothing about engraving. See... he was thinking that he might learn something new from me, well he did −−Patience! David has been engraving for twenty-seven years so he became my teacher at that point.
We often team up on projects, as well as dabble in knife making and now a new passion of mine... Hobo Nickels. Coming to light this past spring and I had completed my first Hobo, Jesus with gold Crown Of Thorns. I enjoy incorporating 24K gold into my work as much as possible. Hobos are becoming a great adventure, they are fun and challenging and the sky is the limit. James Olivencia...Monday, September 12, 2005.
King of All Hobos
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SCI-FI
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Shrek
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I thought I could improve
on Jim's photos but that obviously didn't turn out to be the case!
−V-Dubya
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Jack's Mom and Milky White
This is the only double-sided Andris S carving thus far.
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I'm Russian from Latvia. One day I found hobo on Ebay and I thought that hobo is very interesting type of collection. I never saw something like this before. The carver is my old friend about thirty years. His name is Andris Smilga and he is SUPER LEVEL professional. I never saw somebody better for my life.
I collect Russian art over thirty year and my grade is Art and History of Art. I know many collectors, restorers, Jewelers in Russia and Latvia. Andris is best of the best. Everybody is honored to have something from him. I have some jewelry which he did for me and my wife and that is high level of Russian Art.
When I was in Latvia this summer I took several nickels and gave it to him. He is old man but very enthusiastic and talented. He work for government and make orders and medals. He did about fifteen hobo for me. That is the story. Boris Luban...Saturday, 8/13/2005, 8:35PM
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What Is Main Rules When
People Make A Hobo?
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I checked Hobo association site in Internet and I saw that level of some hobo is really very high. I saw that some people make something absolutely different from this coins. I thought that main idea to keep and change Indian head but some carvers make something absolutely different. For example "Train."
My question is... Why need to used this nickel if you carve a train instead the head. In this case it can be carved on any coin or peace of metal. Where is the main idea and conception? Possibly you can explain me better how it's work and what is main rules when people make a hobo.
Last one. That is absolutely not necessary to copy somebody. He can use Russian or Latvian thematick. Is that interesting? Or it suppose to be just something about US? Thank you. Boris Luban...Sunday, 9/11/2005, 10:01PM
Carve What You Know Best!
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There isn't any ONE set of rules for the creation of carved “hobo” nickels. The pieces that bring the highest prices are invariably high effort pieces on high-grade/condition Buffalo Nickel host coins. Steve Adams has been known to spend 5-7 full days carving a single nickel and he is arguably the premier nickel carver in the US. He is a die engraver with long years of experience so when he puts time on a carving it isn’t wasted motion but is really productive effort.
Generally Hobo themes sell the best… this includes anything related to railroads of course since hobos are strongly associated with the railroad system. Neither hobos nor railroads are exclusively a US subject obviously. Both have existed in Europe, Russia, South America, India, China, Australia and other places… all it takes is a railroad and someone who wants to get a ride without paying.
Themes outside the area of hobos and railroads CAN be quite valuable depending on the level of expertise/art evident in the carving. I have a four piece set of carvings with an Eskimo, a walrus, two walrus, and a scrimshaw sperm whale tooth carving. All Alaskan subjects and distinctly not hobo related… see
Four Real People Carvings from Steve Ellsworth .
The same artist is going to do a series of Native American portraits from the SouthWestern US… again not hobo related. These pieces likely will sell for just a little bit less than a hobo theme piece would but perhaps not… it all depends on how the pieces strike the collectors. Like all art… these pieces appeal to some folks and not to others. Carvings on coins other than Buffalo Nickels are interesting to some people but that collector group would be much smaller and thus the prices the pieces would sell for would most likely be considerably less.
Even though Andris’ first pieces are not particularly interesting, as far as subjects go, I know he can come up with pieces from his own unique perspective. Like they tell authors… Write what you know best. I'd tell him to carve what he knows best. I’ve never seen his artwork but I recall you saying something about awards, medals, and such. He could easily incorporate devices from those designs with distinctly Russian/European hobo/railroad subjects to make some really unique carvings.
The inclusion of exceptionally small semi-precious stones and metal inlays can dramatically increase the appeal of a carved nickel and thus the price it sells for. Lee Griffiths has put just the smallest pin points of gold into the eyes of a couple of his carvings which gives a glitter to the eyes that is dramatic for such a nominal effort and virtually no investment in that small a quantity of gold, see WinoSanta . I recall one piece where he put a bit more gold in the eyes and it really came out superb… see CowardlyLion . For more extensive gold work you can see the glasses he put on me… see V-Dubya and the chains he put on a sleeping hobo… see Workers .
A piece or two of Russian coinage of similar size to a buffalo nickel would be really interesting to see carved. They would likely sell for a bit less than a carved nickel but I’d judge not a whole lot less. Such pieces would not have a broad demand, collector base, but would be worth creating just because it hasn't been done before. We do know of at least one buffalo nickel carved in Russia during the very early 1900's apparently by a US soldier. On Aug. 16, 1918, 1590 US troops from the 27th Inf. arrived in Vladivostok, followed by 1421 troops from the 31st Inf. On Aug. 21. more arrived from the 8th Inf. Div. later. The 31st Inf. operated in the area just north of Vladivostok and in the small mining town of Suchan. This was the first and only time American troops operated on Russian soil.
One reason for carved nickels with subjects other than hobos/railroads is that the classic carved nickels (some done by hobos but many not of course) included subjects that simply just appealed to the hobo/carver. Santa, a ball player, a clown, a donkey, an eagle, and etcetera. Thus non-hobo/railroad subjects have a historical provenance that includes them in the genre. Verne Walrafen...Sunday, 9/11/2005, 11:59PM
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NiCE Nickels Project Unveiled ~ Eleven Good Men...Tried and True!
Just one short of enough to impanel a jury!
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In 2003 the "Norman and Mary Walrafen Family Trust" established a project to provide adequate resources to encourage the professional engravers of the twenty-first century to create nickel carvings in the vein of the Hobo Nickels carved over the last several generations.
We are now entering our third year of this open ended project with many specific tasks as yet uncompleted. Hopefully we will have our 1855 Kellogg & Company $50 gold Landis restrike carved with Sacramento Valley Railroad's (SVRR) Locomotive Sacramento#1 before the end of 2005.
Current NiCE Nickels Project carvers are: Steve Adams, Sam Alfano, Sonny Carpenter, Bob Finlay, Steve Ellsworth, Lee Griffiths, Bill Jameson, Cliff Kraft, Ron Landis, Joe Paonessa, and Dick Sheehan. Any OHNS member who can correctly identify which carver created each of the carvings shown below will be eligible for a drawing, held on 11/1/2005, for one of five beta CD-ROMs to be awarded that will contain both
Original Hobo Nickel Society &
NiCE Nickel Carvings websites.
Click on any carving for an enlarged view.
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The NiCE Nickels Project website has an Other Carvers category that features the carvings of numerous other talented carvers... many of whom I consider to be personal friends!
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The current plan is to make a portion of the NiCE Nickels Project collection available for viewing at the FUN2006 show in January.
Be certain to check out the
NiCE Nickel Carvings
website.
This webpage is being released early so you will find it being populated as you watch! ~ Verne R. Walrafen
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Four Real People Carvings from Steve Ellsworth
Eskimos, who refer to themselves as Inuit or "Real People", consist of two major dialectical groups... the Yupik speakers (southwestern Alaska and Siberia) and the Inupik speakers (Greenland to western Alaska.) The Inupiat or Iñupiaq are the Inuit people of Alaska's Northwest Arctic and North Slope boroughs and the Bering Straits region. Barrow, the northernmost city in the United States, is in the Inupiat region.
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All names are Iñupiaq Eskimo language phrases.
←Iñupiaq Iglaaq
Eskimo Traveler
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Ilanich Mukluks→
SOME Walrus hide boots
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←Iñugaik Mukluks!
MANY Walrus hide boots!
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The culmination of a quest...
I've been searching for a nickel carving of a Scrimshaw carving for several years now. I wanted to name it Sperm Whale Tooth Carving but my Iñupiaq dictionary had no words for Sperm Whale or carving. ~ V-Dubya
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Special price reduction, $995 . . . for a limited time only!
Bob Finlay
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NEWS RELEASE ~ Kelsey Barker... Tuesday, 9/6/2005 9:56AM, Emporia, KS ~ GRS is proud to offer this unique learning experience taught by one of the finest engravers of the
Trashcan ‘T.Can’ Travis

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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 or 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 courses call 800−835−3519 or visit our website at
www.GrsTrainingCenter.com.
Introducing the first class dedicated to the art of Hobo Nickel Engraving...
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.
Weary Willie Emmett Kelly, Sr.
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Prerequisite: Student must have Basic Metal Engraving or 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 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.
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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Don Sport Farnsworth , BoTales Editor
What is this? See Page 5
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Table of Contents
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President's Message.................
Auction 2006........................
From the Editor's Desk..............
Hobo Nickels 101....................
Mike Cirelli........................
LA Hobo.............................
Bulls and Tom Cats..................
Train of Life.......................
Remembering Archie..................
What Would You Do If................
Letters to the Editor...............
Eleven Good Men...Tried and True!...
Quality Designation Form............
Membership Renewal Form.............
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2 3 3 5 11 13
14 19 20 22 23 26 27 28
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Sport wants all y'all to know that BoTales2005#3 is yet to go to the printers and that the membership will not receive their copy until about the third week of September or slightly later.
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Naming Recently Acquired Carvings . . . What A Hoot!
−by V-Dubya
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−by Dick Sheehan
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Clara Bow→
The It Girl ...a quicksilver hedonist who lived in and for the present, was Paramount's most profitable star and the most popular female performer of the late silent era. She was also Al Capone's favorite actress, and when she visited Berlin, an admiring Hitler gave her an inscribed copy of Mein Kampf. Elinor Glynn, the high-flown Englishwoman whose lush bestselling novels included It -- a coy synonym for sex -- received $50,000 from Paramount's B.P.Schulberg to state that Bow had It, more so than any actress in Hollywood. Check out her photos here:

−by Steve Ellsworth
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←Ilanich Mukluks
Iñupiaq Eskimo language phrase for SOME Walrus hide boots.
−by Bill Jameson
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Eddie Ginley→
The sleuth, the whole sleuth and nothing but the sleuth! ...From the 1972 movie Gumshoe in which Eddie was a Liverpudlian down-but-not-quite-out bingo caller and P.I. wanna-be (Albert Finney) who decided to place an ad in the classified section, soliciting work as a private eye. It was all a lark, just a gag to celebrate his own birthday, but then someone actually hires him to solve a real case. Soon he was up to his stiff upper lip in heroin smugglers, African politics, gun-running and all sorts of fun stuff. The awkward transition of Eddie from a stumbling, mild-mannered bloke to a hard-boiled Yankee gumshoe was a joy to behold.
−by Steve Ellsworth
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←Iñugaik Mukluks!
Iñupiaq Eskimo language phrase for MANY Walrus hide boots!
−by Steve Adams
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BonHomme Bones→
Bones hails from BonHomme County, South Dakota. He is a very private person so we don't really know much about him. His story is that he left home when he was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). That is unlikely since folks with that invariably fatal disease have a very short life expectation and we know he has been on the road for a decade or more. We are assuming for the nonce that he is extremely thin because he has missed a lot of meals. It seems that his I'm dying! routine hasn't gone over as well with the rubes as he had hoped.
−by Bill Jameson
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←Toby Red Well Tobar Dearg
The term Toby is the British equivalent of the American term Hobo while Tobar Dearg is Celtic for Red Well. We assume that Toby is a British import but that is sum total of our limited knowledge.
−by Cliff Kraft
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Buzz Yucca Chimango→
A chimango is a south American carrion buzzard, a large hawk-like bird with a screeching call. It will eat almost anything. Yucca is clearly an American Turkey Vulture, not a chimango. We have absolutely no clues about his family name's origins. Cliffy certainly knows the sordid details, since I have never asked him a single thing that he didn't have a ready answer for, but like Jay Bush's Golden Retriever Duke... he's not telling!
−by Sonny Carpenter
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←Cheyenne Hetane
Hetane is the Cheyenne language word for man.
−by Bill Jameson
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Conestoga Stogie→
Stogie is from Conestoga, a village of southeast Pennsylvania. Conestoga wagons were heavy freight-carrying vehicles of distinctive type that originated in the Conestoga region of Pennsylvania c.1725. Stogie became a slang term for fat cigars because they looked like Conestoga wagons. His family name, which he seldom uses, is Susquehanna... a founding family who settled Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley and took that name to avoid the unwelcome attentions of certain unspecified European authorities. Susquehanna is muddy river, derived from the Delaware Indian words sisku mud and hanne stream.
−by Sonny Carpenter
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←Pawnee Chahis
Chahis is the Pawnee language word for man.
−by Bill Jameson
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Suffragette Susie→
Susan B. Anthony was a very serious woman but she had to have been young once! History does not record any nickname for Susan so I had to generate one of my own. Surely she must have been affectionately known as Susie by her loved ones at some point in her life!
−by Michael Cirelli
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←Beckett <BG> George
Beckett is a midwest transplant originally from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. He is known by one and all as <BG> which is his personal tag and shows up on boxcars from coast to coast. We heard that he fell out of Silicon Valley during the dot-com diaspora so his tag makes sense. Of course, the BG could be his initials but since he invariably has a BIG GRIN on his mug we take the <BG> literally. We were so impressed with Beckett's unflagging good humor that we convinced our eldest daughter to name our brand-new Grandboy Beckett George Hanna.
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OK... so I have a weird sense of humor! What do you expect from a guy that named his pet rabbit Hasenpfeffer?
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Before The Hobo
Nickel Revisited
−by
Ralph Bazoo Winter
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Bust of Napoleon III on Dix Centimes coin has been capped with a German spiked helmet.
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Unaltered 1854 Dix Centimes.
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In the Fall 2004 BoTales I authored an article entitled Before the Hobo Nickel
where I shared what I'd learned about my eBay acquisition of an 1854 French Dix Centimes coin that had been engraved in a satirical manner to ridicule the French emperor Napoleon III.
The re-carved coin was executed as a general protest of the French Emperor Napoleon III and, in particular was meant to protest the shameful defeat of Napoleon III in Sedan in September 1870. As I stated in the article my coin was probably altered in the latter months of 1870.
The Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) brought ruin to the Second Empire. Napoleon himself took the field, but he early devolved his command to Achille Bazaine. He was caught in the disaster of Sedan (September 1, 1870), captured by the Prussians, and declared deposed (September 4th) by a bloodless revolution in Paris.
Altered 1870 French Dix Centimes
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Reverse of 1870 French Dix Centimes
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A few months ago I acquired a second example of a transformed Dix Centimes. This coin is a French Dix Centimes that has been engraved 1870 to further emphasize protest of the defeat at Sedan. The date of the original coin is not legible (appears to have been scraped off.) Although you will note the carving is not as well done as on the 1854 coin, the carver has added the word “SEDAN” on the collar.
Perhaps these coins were brought back to the United States by WWI doughboys? Some of these veterans may have later become hobos. Could a coin like this one have given a hobo the notion to transform a Buffalo nickel???
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My so called FREE TIME!
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Jasen Varitek
B (rev only)
Babe Ruth
Ted The Kid Williams
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My name is Amy Armstrong and I am from Montville Connecticut where I live with my husband Jim and my two children, Jessie 7 and James 4. I have been a Jeweler for fifteen years. Over the past few years I have been engraving and have attended three classes at the GRS. Most of my FREE TIME (Ha Ha) is spent engraving. Between working all day as a Jeweler and Mom... most of my so called FREE TIME is late night till the wee hours of the morning. Armed with an engraver, an idea and occasionally a glass of wine... I head downstairs to my engraving shop to work. Although to call it work is a stretch, engraving is a pleasure and my passion.
Jesse James
Annie Oakley
Babe Bambino Ruth (obv)
Curse Reversed (rev)
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I heard of Hobo Nickels a few years ago. I admired them but had no desire to engrave one. I was busy engraving jewelry, knives, and etcetera. Last October while attending a Bulino class at the GRS I sat next to Dick Sheehan. During that week all of us (students and instructors) spoke much of our engraving. Dick spoke much about nickels. Well, by the end of that class I decided to try a nickel carving when I had some FREE TIME. Last spring I engraved my first nickel. To date I have engraved eight and presently working on my ninth. I have the intention and ideas for many more. Thanks to the GRS for great classes, instructors, staff and equipment. Thanks also to Dick Sheehan for his tips and encouragement. ~ Amy Armstrong ... Sunday, 14 August 2005, 7:35PM
Al Alphonse Capone
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When I saw the weird lettering under Amy's B it took me a while to figure it out. Even once I understood what it had to be... it wasn't until I put it in my graphics editor and hit the [mirror] button that I could appreciate how well Amy had done this bit of engraving.
The upper portion of the scan here on the right is how Amy's engraving actually looks and the lower portion is what it looks like once my graphics editor did its [mirror] magic on it. Clever idea Amy! ~ V-Dubya
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Mirrored Curse Reversed
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Decisions ~ Decisions ~ Always Decisions!
Even simple tasks... such as the creation of the quarterly BoTales header image ...require choices which are never easy it seems. Selecting a recent carving for the header requires leaving out MANY superb carvers and an uncounted number of superb carvings. Often the carving selected is mostly determined by which pieces are the most recently encountered. There are just too many deserving carvings to do this task right! −V-Dubya
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Do You Recognize Me? & Our New FHWA Mascot!
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Do you recognize me?
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If you guessed Farquar the magic dragon (L-172), you are absolutely correct, but don't lean too hard on the magic. Any dragon worth his salt can fly and breathe fire, there's no magic there, and the same for living forever. Far's entire clan lived for centuries unbothered in Lock Ness; then one evening someone snapped a photo of his cousin Agnes Nessie skinny dipping. Then oh boy, you'd think she was cute or something the way people started running around with cameras, trying to get a photo of anything that looked like a dragon. They couldn't tell Nessie from granny. The clan learned to live with it, but when they brought in that sonar, well that was something else! Far figured it could make you sterile, so that's when he moved to Lake Champlain in New York. A real fun place, with the best soft serve ice cream in the world. You probably didn't realize it, but dragons invented soft serve ice cream, Yes, in the early eleventh century there were a lot of knights and dragons doing battle, and after breathing fire all day, the dragons enjoyed the fizzing noise and the way it numbed their pallets as they ate it (all they had was vanilla.) Far is looking for a new abode, maybe a little further South and West with nice people in a warmer climate, he's not real wild about being frozen-in and being cut off from his soft serve all winter. If you know someone who is looking for a dragon... whether it be as a pet or a companion, it really doesn't matter, please let them know Farquar is available.
Clifford L. Kraft... Sunday, Jul−24−05 8:49PM
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Soft serve is REAL popular here in the Kansa Territories... too bad that Farquar went to live in Indiana!
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Our New FHWA Mascot!
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Yes, this is Yucca (L-182), our eagle want to be. Yucca has always wanted to be an eagle, ever since he learned to soar. He felt he could do most anything an eagle could, and now he has a chance to do much more. It has been brought to our attention that several western states will be placing (in the desert) road information signs bearing the likeness of Yucca, to mark the exact mid-point between gasoline and service stations. We have also been advised that if Yucca is shown with a roll of toilet paper hanging from his neck, he will be marking exact centers between rest stops (open ones only.) Yucca will long be remembered and appreciated by the traveling public. Name me one eagle who has done as much. Here is your chance to have a Yucca without stealing a sign.
Clifford L. Kraft... Sunday, Jul−17−05 8:44PM
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Yucca says he likes the Kansa Territories and that he'll give that old fire starting bear a run for his money!
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Aanakala Day Parade...
kinda like St.Urho
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This is our entry into The World Poker Championships. Meet Salo Aanakala, L-181, The Bidding Finn. Salo learned his poker expertise while in charge of waxing at his father's rutabaga warehouse in the old country. While not the fastest baga in the bag, he is by far the luckiest. All seem to agree, that our boy will have no problem with the Las Vegas professionals, if he will just remember to keep checking the tattoos his father had put on his arms, and leave the rest to luck. Right arm tattoo reads;
Flush beats straight. Left arm tattoo reads;
Flush still beats straight.
Salo has promised to keep checking the tattoos if the town promised the winner an Aanakala Day Parade... kinda like St.Urho, the patron saint of Finnish immigrants
see explanation below .
You'd better get started on your float. Our boy is hosted on a beautiful 1916 full horned Buffalo Nickel − I wish my photo was as nice!
Clifford L. Kraft... Tuesday, 12 July 2005, 7:48PM
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A modern-day St.Urho...
Two successful hopper hunters...
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St.Urho (pronounced oorlho), the patron saint of Finland, is reputed to have used his splendid and loud voice to chase the grasshoppers out of pre-Ice Age Finland (when the climate was much milder) and save the grape harvest.
Actually, St.Urho was reportedly invented in the 1950s by a couple of Minnesota Finns as a joke. Today it's taken seriously enough that St.Urho Day (the day before St.Patrick's Day) is officially recognized in all 50 states.
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Illonen St.Urho's Paivaa!!!
( Happy St.Urho's Day!!! )
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Carving Chips.....
Six Carvings Picked Up in Arkansas!
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Copyboy Z.Rox
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Fisherman Phred
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Traveler Travis
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LadiesMan José
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Click on any carving for an enlarged view.
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Cheyenne Hetane
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Pawnee Chahis
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Mohawk Ronkwe
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Blackfoot Ninaa
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Sonny Carpenter is making progress on a set of five Native Americans from different tribes for V-Dubya who is pickled tink as usual!
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Weary Willie
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Trashcan ‘T.Can’ Travis
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Maj.Gen. Alexander Hays
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Up Close and Personal
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Emmett Kelly, Sr.
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Click on any carving for an enlarged view.
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Bob Finlay just keeps getting better and better!
{1}
Lloyd Dobens and Clare Crawford-Mason, Thinking About Quality
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Carving Chips.....
Stealing Time in the Sign Shop!
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Uninvited Guest
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Movin' On!
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What's Cookin'?
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It's a good thing Dick Sheehan owns the Sign Shop... carving nickels is more fun that painting signs any day!
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Dick made castings of these nickels which turned out GREAT! My scans just don't measure up because of the bright surfaces.
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Click on any photo for an enlarged view.
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