Introducing Bowin

By Owen Covert RM686 and Ralph Winter LM37

This hobo artist has been dubbed "Bowin" by Owen Covert and Ralph Winter. All known examples of this carver's work came from the estate of Dewey K. Barnes, a longtime Cornith, Mississippi coin dealer. Dewey was born in 1923 and passed away in 1995. These coins were purchased from Dewey's estate in 1998 and put up for sale on eBay in February and March of 2004, so we know all of these nickels were carved sometime prior to 1995.

The carver removed "LIBERTY" from all of the Bowin hobo nickels. The ear is a simple C punch and a dot in the center on most of the Bowin nickels. The hair and beards are straight and heavy punch marks. Most hair areas have tubular heavy lines to contour the shape.