Introducing The Streak


By Chris Dempsey LM64

At the January 2013 FUN Show, I had the opportunity to buy several nice coins. The first coin pictured, albeit a simple one, had a very nice look to it, so I purchased it from a friend for $300. It is also a plate coin found on page 29 of Hobo Nickels by Delma K. Romines. The second coin shown was offered to me at a local coin show. Admittedly, I had had a lot of luck in the past purchasing hobos at the show I was at, but still, this coin came from an unlikely source. I was happy to pay $200 for this coin when it was offered to me. The last coin shown sold in the 2012 OHNS auction, lot 108, for $220 plus the buyer's premium. Interestingly enough, all three coins appear on 1915 host coins.

A few months back, my friend, Art DelFavero and I identified a new nicknamed artist, "Nature Boy." Seeing as how that name was taken, and this carving exhibits some of the same style characteristics such as appearing as if naked from the neck down, I have decided to name this carver "The Streak."

Click to view enlargment. Click to view enlargment. Click to view enlargment.

The carving characteristics for "The Streak" are listed as follows:

  1. Domed derby with a simple, straight, wrap-around hat brim and ribbon.
  2. Unaltered profile.
  3. Neck is unadorned with a collar or lapel.
  4. Short, densely packed curved cuts comprise beard.
  5. Date and liberty left intact.
  6. Highly stylized ear.
  7. Known carvings by "The Streak" appear on early date nickels.