1 Oz Silver Hobo Nickel VIKING BERSERKER Antique Finish Round WITH Blister.
DESCRIPTION
This Hobo Nickel is the last issue in the 2017 Silver Hobo Nickel collection. This design is by Aleksey Saburov, who believes the hobo nickel is a sculptural art form involving the creative modifications of coins.
- Obverse: Depicts a dragon. A Viking ship is shown on the sea carrying warriors who are attacking a dragon.
- Reverse: Features an image of a Viking Berserker getting ready to swing his axe. The original inscriptions: United States of America, E Pluribus Unum and Five Cents are left unchanged from the original 5-cent coins.
The hobo nickel is a coin that has had its original artwork altered into a new design by the homeless, often referred to as hobos, and then sold to make money. The U.S. nickel is a favorite coin to use due to the softness, size and thickness of the coin.
When the Buffalo nickel, or Indian Head, was introduced in 1913, it became popular among coin engravers. The large Native American head gave the artists a large template to work from that allowed finer detail work to be done. With this large template to work from, the hobo nickel became highly popular. Due to the softness of the metal in the nickel, hobo nickel tools could be made from any crude tool that could make a scratch, displace or punch into the coin.
The artwork of each hobo nickel is unique. Some hobo nickel artists would repeat specific designs due to their popularity, but most tried to create something new with each coin.
SPECIFICATIONS
Country: Singapore
Metal: Silver
Purity: .999
Face Value: 5 Cents
Diameter: 38.61 mm
Mintage: 1, 000 Pieces WORLDWIDE
Finish: ANTIQUE FINISH
Blister: Yes.
