The 1972 Sherlock Bones Hobo Dollar

“Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!'”

– The Hound of the Baskervilles (HOUN)

Back in 1992, the Original Hobo Nickel Society was formed to promote the collecting of engraved buffalo nickels that had been produced prior to 1980. Most of these “original” nickels were engraved with nails, knifes, files and perhaps some punches. In the years since the OHNS was founded, there have been many modern hobo nickels (and not just nickels, almost any coin) created by talented artists using microscopes and power tools. Depending on the quality of the work, these modern hobo nickels can cost many hundred of dollars.

Pictured above is an engraved 1972 Eisenhower Dollar, with all of the original obverse removed except for the 1972 date. Engraved by Luis A. Ortiz, an engraver based in Easton, Pennsylvania, he calls this design “Sherlock Bones.” Ortiz engraves a “catalog” number on the reverse side of the coins he engraves and signs his name. He assigned the catalog number of S1186 to this work – using the “S” prefix for his work on silver dollars. Unlike many other modern engravers, Ortiz also colorizes his artwork.

The design features Snoopy, from the classic cartoon strip of Peanuts, walking towards the left and wearing a deerstalker cap and a pipe in his mouth. Snoopy has passed the character of Freida.

Freida was a regular character in Peanuts during the 1960’s, but was phased out in the years that followed. Her last apperance in a strip was in 1985. Freida was “naturally curly” red hair and would not wear a baseball cap while on Charlie Brown’s baseball team, as it would cover her hair.

For those that would like to view more of Luis A. Ortiz’s work, click HERE. Warning – many of his engraved works are NSFW and should be viewed privately.