Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/03/19/great-depression-folk-art.html
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note: it is illegal to use these coins in vending machines.
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The coins are beautiful, I certainly do want them.
just a note though, unlike real hobo coins, these are not legal tender and are not actually engraved, rather they are stamped “replicas” and would more accurately be described as commemorative reproductions of hobo style coins. They won’t compare to the real carved coins on etsy, but they will still be cool to add to any collection.
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Which is odd, because to many people these “counterfeit” coins would be considered worth more than the legal ones they replace.
I suppose that is why it is a kickstarter thing rather than an Etsy or storefront thing. It does seem more like they are using kickstarter as a store rather than finding start up but I only glanced over the kickstarter pitch.
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Would like to get some!
They’re cool bits of art, but a $14 “hobo nickel” does rather remind me of Marie Antoinette’s silver & porcelain milk pails.
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All I’ve got is a five.
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Love the designs, but I’d only buy these $14 coins if I could purchase them for 5 low, low monthly payments of $9.99, plus $5.99 shipping and handling. Franklin Mint for hipsters.
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and if it doesn’t come with a set of steak knives, you can fugeddaboutit
Interesting to note that the ‘broken rifle’ was abstracted into the Peace Symbol we know today.
That’s one variety. I’ve also heard that it’s an upsidedown cross that’s been broken for good measure ( Thank you, Jack chick!)
The most plausible origin story for this symbol I’ve heard, is that it’s the superimposed semaphore letters, N and D for nuclear disarmament, that was later adopted as the peace sign.
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These will look like sparkly little stars, like xmas lights I once had, near my hobo fire.
Hobo coins they are not. Inspired by, yes. But not.
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[quote=“redesigned, post:3, topic:97354”]
just a note though, unlike real hobo coins, these are not legal tender and are not actually engraved, rather they are cast “replicas” or commemorative reproductions of hobo style coins.
[/quote]Yeah, this seems kind of important. The whole definition of “hobo coin” is about carving the new design into an existing coin. These look beautiful, and they’re incredibly affordable (I don’t want to say “cheap” because it can imply low quality). They may celebrate hobo coins, and be used to inform about hobo coins. But they’re not hobo coins.
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Haters gotta hate?
Meh-ers gotta meh.
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I backed it just for you. 
Whew - so glad I read the comments before spending $14 on a $1 coin that I had planned to try to spend to buy half a coke.
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That’s correct. From Wikipedia:
“In the 1950s the “peace sign”, as it is known today, was designed by Gerald Holtom as the logo for the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a group at the forefront of the peace movement in the UK, and adopted by anti-war and counterculture activists in the US and elsewhere…The symbol is a combination of the semaphore signals for the letters “N” and “D”, standing for nuclear disarmament.”
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The original design for the peace dollar had a broken sword on the reverse, but people who saw it freaked out because they thought it indicated defeat, and the master hub that was used to make the dies was hand-modified at the last minute, removing the sword.
Here’s an interesting discussion about the rediscovery of the original pattern, bought for much less than it is potentially worth on eBay by a collector:
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So it’s the Franklin Mint of Hobo Coins.
PASS
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