5 Cents "Buffalo" - Man with Glasses Hobo

Hobo nickels are carvings made from Buffalo nickels — most commonly the 1913–1938 Indian Head type — whose high-relief portrait provided sufficient metal depth for a skilled carver to rework entirely with gravers, punches, and sometimes dental tools. The tradition flourished among itinerant workers and hobos during the Depression, when a nickel was worth spending but apparently also worth transforming into a calling card or trade piece. Glasses are among the more common modifications, typically added by incising curved lines and drilling shallow lens recesses — simple work that nonetheless distinguishes amateur cuts from serious carvers.