Introducing Stern-O

By Marc Banks HLM538

In 2012 I won a striking classic hobo nickel (1) on an eBay auction of a man with an Amish style beard wearing a derby. Approximately ten years later a match (2), clearly by the same unknown artist, appeared in another internet auction. Earlier this month (February 2025) while looking at some Xerox copies the late Fred “Guido” Avan had sent me, I found what appeared to another matching carving. This third carving was acquired by my friend Steve “Big One” Alpert in a 2009 eBay Auction. Steve sent me a better image of the carving which had all the diagnostic markers of the first two.

After staring at these images for a couple days for an appropriate nickname for this artist, what struck me most was the stern look on each of these carvings. I began thinking of names that incorporated that stern look. Sterno, containing methyl alcohol, an early twentieth century product used for heating food, came to mind. It seemed likely that this product would have been used by hobos to cook meals. Wikipedia states that during the Depression Sterno was squeezed through cheese cloth or a sock to produce a liquid that was mixed with fruit juice to make a dangerous (sometimes causing permanent blindness or death) alcoholic drink known as “jungle juice,” “sock wine” or “squeeze.”

Given the facial expression on these three carvings and the footnote on hobos and Sterno, I am nicknaming this unknown classic carver “Stern-O.” Hopefully, the use of this poisonous alcoholic drink wasn’t too wide-spread.

The carving characteristics for "Stern-O" are listed as follows:

1. Derby with outlined crown that nearly touches the rim of the nickel and hatbands decorated with vertical cut lines. Derby is tilted back on the head with the front brim pointed to the left of Liberty.
2. Deeply carved hair and Amish style beard.
3. Nicely detailed and positioned ear that touches the underside of the hat brim.
4. Frown lines across the brow.
5. Outlined profile with a large nose with an enhanced nostril.
6. Notable modifications to the eye (eyeball) and mouth.
7. All examples have a carved crease running from behind the nostril to below the cheek.
8. Outlined shirt and jacket lapel.
9. Dates are intact and range from 1920 to 1935 on the three specimans.
10. LIBERTY is intact although worn on Example 3.
11. Smoothly-dressed field behind the head.
12. Dark substance in cuts cteates nice contrast to the carving.