Introducing Cliff Ledger

By Art DelFavero, RM 552

In July of 2005, I was fortunate to win a hobo nickel on eBay for the price of $60. Before bidding I had noticed a match to it pictured in The Hobo Nickel Guide Book by Steve Alpert. Subsequently, Ralph Winter acquired this in OHNS Auction #14.

In my collection I have a designated area called "waiting for the third," in other words these are coins that are waiting for a third match to surface for the purpose of nicknaming. In May of 2015, Keith Pedersen obtained a "Buy it now" steal on eBay. Immediately I realized it was a match to the two owned by Ralph and I.

As Time goes on it seems like it is getting harder to assign names to these works of art, but this one was easier as I noticed a very steep cliff like forehead. What to name him? "Rock Face," "Mountain Man," "Steep Andropoff," and "Cliff Face" were all names that I considered. In the end I went with "Cliff Ledger."

The carving characteristics for "Cliff Ledger" are as follows:

1. A very vertical cliff like forehead.
2. Modified eye with either close eyebrow or exaggerated eyelash arcs.
3. Head and facial hair created by a slightly curved punch.
4. Beak type nose with a cut behind the nostril (two specimens).
5. Liberty left intact.
6. Thin necks going into knife shaped collars.
7. Pointy brimmed hats.
8. Crude punched ears created by a crescent punch (two specimens).
9. Nicely cleansed fields.
10. Dates obliterated.