Introducing “Clumpy”
−by Verne Walrafen HLM620, Candace Kagin LM777, and Steve Alpert LM10
{ from Fall 2011 BoTales }
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In June of 2010, Owen Covert RM686 acquired this first carving off eBay. It had been painted so he cleaned it and subsequently sold it to me for $70. Then at the 2011 FUN show in Florida a dealer was offering this second gold plated carving for $700 and adamantly refusing all counter offers until Candace managed to talk him into accepting $350 as the show was preparing to close down. Art DelFavero put on his Archivist hat and went digging until he found a QD form for this third carving originally owned by the late Newell Shireman RM52.
Art also turned up a loose photo of this fourth carving, owned by Steve Alpert LM10, which does not have every carving characteristic of the other three carvings but most likely was carved by the same artist. We all know that an engraver/artist often tries different things when creating carvings so finding a group that are virtually identical can be a real challenge. “Most likely was”, “Might have been” and “Could easily have been” are not very satisfying but they are perfectly legitimate in these circumstances.
Coming up with a nickname for this carver was a real challenge. We went from GoldiLocks, to PonyTail, to Clump and finally to “Clumpy”... all inspired by the excess of hair hanging down below the back of the hat.
   
The Carving Characteristics for “Clumpy” are listed as follows:
1) Hair feathered back to a clump.
2) Original feathers behind head covered by hair formation.
3) Three dimensional domed hat with wrap around brim.
4) Beard, with no moustache, projects out onto cheek pointing to the nose.
5) LIBERTY remains but is cut through with front of hat brim.
6) Crescent to oval shaped ear, some with a scooped out appearance.
7) Early dated nickels as host coins with dates remaining.
8) No or very limited collars.
9) Very little or no alteration to profile.
10) Details are both punched and engraved.
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Introducing “Rocky Roads”
−by Arturo DelFavero RM552 with DonWolfe RM981
{ from Fall 2011 BoTales }
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In February of 2011 I picked up average rendering on eBay for the fair price of $88. During the auction I had worried if someone had noticed that there was a match on page 15 in Steve Alpert's book. To my surprise it seems no one did, and I ended up walking away a happy collector.
  
The two matching carvings went on to be featured in the summer 2011 BoTales “Three is a Match” section. Shortly after this, a very savvy collector named Don Wolfe found a match in his own collection. Noticing that the fields of each coin were pebbled, we decided to nickname him “Rocky Roads”.
The Carving Characteristics for “Rocky Roads” are listed as follows:
1) Pebbled or rocky looking field.
2) Shorter Derby style hats with curved down brim.
3) Large “XXX” hash marks on collar/shoulder area.
4) All hair punched in with point tool (same as used in field).
5) Engraving used to create ear collar and hat.
6) Profiles changed.
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Introducing “Franken Bo”
−by Arturo DelFavero RM552 with Marc Banks RM538 and Fred Avan RM908
{ from Fall 2011 BoTales }
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Back in 1997 the then editor would feature some of the stand out Quality Designation submissions in “BoTales;” this was the case with our first example shown below. Shortly after being showcased, an enamored member of our club took out a personal ad which publicly showed his interest in said coin. I myself was always drawn to this particular rendering that is also shown in the Joyce Ann Romines book on page 85. Not only was the workmanship great, but this coin had a certain feature, a mole or dot on the subject's neck.
Needless to say, I was very excited to win one for the price of $245 when another example of this coin finally surfaced on eBay in May of 2010 (second example shown). My example turned out to be gold plated and quite dirty from some exposure to whom knows what. After some careful cleaning, it was restored to a much crisper and original looking specimen.
Fast forwarding one year and much to my surprise, another example showed up again on eBay. This time “Guido,” A.K.A. Fred Avan, recorded the win for the amount of $209. Now that the trifecta was complete, all that was needed was a name.
For nicknaming our new friend, my initial thought was “The Mole”. During a conversation about the third specimen, Marc Banks pointed out that the mole or dot in the neck area resembled one of the electrodes on Frankenstein's monster. Marc then said what about “Franken Bo?” To this I replied, “It's Alive!” “It's Alive!” And now the rest is hobo nickel history.
  
The Carving Characteristics for “Franken Bo” are listed as follows:
1) Mole on neck.
2) Dot in the center of hat.
3) Double Bow on hat.
4) Cross hatching at base of neck and hat band area.
5) On early dated Buffalo nickels.
6) Field wiped clean.
7) Pear shaped ear with inner detail.
8) Collars and shoulder area enhanced.
9) Pointy beard.
10) Punched and engraved features.
11) Slightly curved down hat brim.
12) Nose enhanced slightly.
13) Overall carving grade Above Average to AboveAverage(High).
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