The resurgence of modern love tokens is tied in with Hobo Nickels.  In the 1980’s, craftsmen took up the art of the hobo nickel bas relief carving.  These hobo nickels made by non-hobo craftsmen during the eighties were later termed “Neo-Boes.”   J Allen, J Press*, Frank Brazzell, and John Durousa led the movement.  In recent years another hobo nickel carver from this period was identified and named “Carvetoon.”

Carvetoon was not your typical hobo nickel artist, the engravings more resembled love tokens.  They were made from low grade Liberty nickels and Indian cents as well as a selection of foreign coins.  The coins were smoothed down but fine parallel lines were left etched in the coin’s surface.  This is one diagnostic for this artist.  The other is the subject mater, the art was cartoon like.  Both popular comic strip characters and animals made their way onto the coins.  The images can best be described as designs resembling coloring book linear drawings.

 

 The coin art of the 1980’s was made for profit and the carvings were done rather speedily.  One person later joined this Renaissance movement and turned hobo nickels into a fine art.  Ron Landis was a die engraver and opened the Gallery Mint.  As a hobby in his spare time he carved hobo nickels.  They were painstakingly detailed and not for sale.  Occasionally a good friend was given one but they were not sold.  Later in the late 1990’s a few came on the market at auction and set record prices, thus creating a new marketplace for laboriously carved and expertly made hobo nickels.  Ron Landis is credited with being the grandfather of the “modern” hobo nickel movement.

 

 Within a few years, many more modern carvers sprung up.   The difference between hobo nickels and love tokens is that hobo nickels are sculptural and raised while love tokens are flat with designs carved below the surface of the coin.  Love token art is quite similar to scrimshaw art, except the metal is denser and harder to carve.  Also metal engraving uses a variety of line and angles. The angles create bevels in the metal and shinny diamond cut looking lines.  In scrimshaw, the line is just a trench and filled with ink.  With the new market established, master engravers as well as one scrimshaw artist began making hobo nickels.

What that means for love tokens is that many of these new hobo nickels have more engraverly effects combined with the sculpting.  They are a bridge between the two worlds.  Sometimes they loose all their relief and are just engraved coins.  Andy Gonzales, a master engraver, started out making hobo nickels in his down time from his regular engraving orders.  Recently he has been transitioning into making more love tokens and listing them for sale as such.  The love token is more in line with his engraving training.  Gonzales may become the pioneer for a modern love token movement. 

 

Above: Modern Love Tokens by Andy Gonzales on Liberty Nickels 

*****************************************************************************************************************************

NOTE: * J Press started carving in the late 1970’s but is best linked to the later group of carvers from the 1980’s.  His carvings overlapped between the Classic period (1913-1980) and the Neo-Bo period, also termed Early Modern (1980’s carvers).

*******************************************************************************************************************************

 

Update, more love token engravers on the scene since the above text (2012):

Below Modern Love Tokens by Shaun Hughes:

1939 British Half Crown	1921 Morgan Dollar	1896 Morgan Dollar	1889 Morgan Dollar
1902 Liberty nickel	1931 British Half Crown	1922 Peace Dollar	1933 British Florin

 

 Below Modern Love Tokens by Gediminas Palsis:

1902 Liberty Nickel	1906 Liberty Nickel	1902 Liberty Nickel	1942 Washington Quarter
1903 Liberty nickel	1924 Buffalo nickel	1908 Liberty nickel	1921 Morgan dollar

 

Below Modern Love Tokens and bracelet by Elmer Villarin:

1943 Half Dollar	1941 Mercury Dime.	Dead donkey with inscription.	Sterling band style bracelet

 

Below Coins by Tom Mahr:

Titanic on a 1912  Liberty nickel	Wright brothers on a 1903 Liberty nickel	Sculpting and rounding of the moon like a hobo nickel	Multi level carving with raised rim/date and lowered field
1945 Canadian dime	Heart on Buffalo nickel	Native American theme         on Buffalo nickel.	Native American theme         on Buffalo nickel.

 

Below Love Tokens by Howard Thomas:

Pictorial with cut down coin.  1946 walking liberty half dollar.	Note that it is signed and dated.	Cat engraved on a 1953            Washington quarter.	Pictorial on a 1944 walking liberty half dollar.
1941 Walking liberty half dollar.	1943 Half dollar.	Half dollar with 24K gold inlay.	Walking Liberty half dollar.

 

Below Love Token by Paolo Mrthe Curcio:

		Hobo nickel carver now branching out into love tokens.                                                                             V nickel host coin, completed 2/7/2013                                                      Extremely ornate and intricate, note that gold was inlaid in the stars.

Step 1, Outlining the border. Note: What looks like notches out of the coin at left and right is the vise that holds the coin.	Step 2, Adding detail and         dimension to the border.	Step 3, Outlining the subject.	Step 4, Adding gold stars and darkening the background. Step 5 above, Subject detail.

 

Below Love Tokens by Pedro Villarrubia Agudo:

Artist’s first love token.	“One Day in the Paradise”     Engraved on a buffalo nickel	“Love is in the air”            engraved on a nickel.	Made for charity auction.          Bulino style engraving.

 

Below Love Tokens by Daymon:

“King of the Deck” on Buffalo nickel			“Lil Chinita” on Buffalo nickel

 

Below Love Tokens by Dimas Sanchez Moradiellos:

Engraved on Spanish coin,       nickel composition.	Initials: P A	Initials: D S M	Jeweled love token.

 

Below Love Tokens by Carrie Ann Benson:

Great Britain Churchill crown.	Hunting dog on nickel.	“Twofaced” engraved on nickel.	Skull with scolloped border.

 

Below Love Tokens by Tim Wolf from Belgium:

1964 Kennedy half dollar with            24K gold inlay and zircons.	Buffalo nickel with gold and copper inlay.	1964 Kennedy half dollar with 24K          gold inlay and black diamonds.

 

 

********************************************************************************************************************************** 

Modern Hobo Nickels by Various Artists

By John Carter Hobo nickel folk artist	By Robert Morris Jewelry designer/sculptor	By Robert Shamey Jewelry designer/miniaturist	By Stephen Cox Professional engraver
By Howard Thomas Scrimshaw artist	By Owen Covert Prolific carver	By Mike Pezak folk artist Known for deep carving	By Sam Alfano  Master engraver
By master engraver Ron Landis Very high relief on Cupid	By Cliff Craft, now deceased Train is from a model train set	By John Schipp Whimsical engraver	By Bob Finlay, design similar to Victorian postcard theme
By Ralph Perrico	By Ray Cover Jr.  Professional gun engraver	By Alex Ostrogradsky  Ukrainian engraver	By Aleksey Saburov  Lithuanian engraver
By Dave Boulay	By Dimas Sanchez	By Alan Chernomashentsev “The Green Mobile”	By Steve Adams
By Larry Foster	By Joey Blaylock	By Joe Paonessa	By JD Sharum
By Marcus Hunt	By Bill “Zach” Jameson	By Gedi Palsis	By Amy Armstrong
By Tim Wolf	By Carol Bastable	By Keith Pedersen	By Mike Branham
By Elmer Villarin	By Ben Wells	By Adam Leech	By Andy Gonzales
By Howard Thomas	By Blanca de la Hoz	By Tom Mahr	By Shaun Hughes
By Shane Hunter	By Paolo Curcio	By Stephan Miles	By Paul Holbrecht
By Tony Lewis	By Jon Dake	By Dave Knipe	By Donald Jenkins
By Lee Griffiths	By Don Berry	By John Hughey	By Steve Ellsworth
By Al Garr	By Eric Truitt	By Hoang Le	By Christian DeCamillas

**********************************************************************************************************************************

For more images and history on Hobo nickels go to: www.hobonickels.org 
 To see a comprehensive library of modern hobo nickels visit: www.pinterest.com/dechristo/