www.canadiancoinnews.ca An essential resource for the CANADIAN advanced and beginning collector Canadian Large Pages COIN NEWS TRENDS: & Small Cents 16-21 Volume 58 • Number 21 January 19 - February 1, 2021 $5.50 Hobo nickels offer artistic outlet for carvers By Jesse Robitaille a heirloom to be enjoyed for huge coping mechanism. This is the final story in a two- centuries, hopefully, and it’s When I sit behind the micro- part series exploring ‘hobo also quite relaxing as well.” scope and start carving, it nickels,’ a generic term for ar- Dwayne Wolosiewicz, of helps me put away the anxiety tistically altered coins resem- Glendon, Alta., is another Ca- and worries and lets me focus, bling bas-relief sculptures. nadian carver who started feeling almost normal again. I hile the world’s mints carving coins about five years can pass hours at a time using often commemorate sig- ago. art as a therapy.” nificantW historic events with “I was going down the You- mass appeal, they can’t come Tube trail one evening, and I close to the custom-made art- came across a guy that was work created by coin carvers. cutting coins with a little With widespread coin show cancellations and social When it comes to so-called jeweller’s saw and was restrictions in place through much of 2020, the flow of “hobo nickels,” the relatively blown away at the detail numismatic material has been hampered, said Sandy rudimentary production pro- he was getting.” Campbell (right), shown at a 2019 event. cess allows individual artists After watching a few to hone in on distinct themes more videos, Wolosie- or create fast-paced commem- wicz decided to delve Market plateaus amid pandemic orations of current events. into carving and bought “I like to make original, a jeweller’s saw and bench whimsical artwork and try to pin on eBay for $20. with hopes high for 2021 make each one stand out and “When it came in, I set it up By Jesse Robitaille After dozens of shows and better than the last one,” said in my office and started cut- Dwayne Wolosiewicz, of the sales of two high-end collec- carver Josh Ranger, of Regina, ting and was instantly This is the final story of a two- Glendon, Alta., has been tions in 2019, the past year has Sask., who began carving hooked,” he said, adding carv- part numismatic year in re- carving since about 2016. been marred by pandemic re- hobo nickels in 2015 to earn ing “quickly evolved to add- view. He believes he's the first strictions that pushed virtually some extra income after he ing wire elements and stones In late 2019, after speaking carver to include intricate all dealers and auction houses and his wife had a child. to make jewelry.” with several leading collectors, elements such as watch online. Nearly all of the more “I fell in love with the art Soon after, when he saw his dealers and auctioneers, CCN parts, precious stones and than 60 shows slated for 2020 form and quit my job as a den- first hobo nickel, Wolosiewicz wrote Canadian numismatics electronics to his work. was “on the upswing” as it en- were cancelled due to CO- tal tech in October 2017 to try decided he “had to try it.” tered the 2020s. VID-19, and with collectors hes- carving full time.” “I made a few crude hand itating to test their collections’ Not a coin collector – “they tools and tried it out and loved Publications Registration Mail No. 09137 Agreement No. 40069699 Mail No. 09137 Agreement Publications Registration values at auction, the flow of might be at risk of getting it,” he said, adding he has While he doesn’t focus on material has been stymied. carved,” he said – Ranger sim- since replaced his office with a current events or what he calls Compared with auction re- ply enjoys the art of carving, fully equipped metal-working “the trendy wave” of carving, sults in 2019 – including and coins are his favourite studio. Wolosiewicz uses his art form $735,000 for one of only two medium. Pinning down his favourite to pursue “the dark art side of known 1911 silver dollars – this “What I enjoy most about part of carving is difficult, but things.” year’s sales are markedly carving hobo nickels is the sat- two aspects of his hobby stand “As far as I know, I am the lower; however, it’s mostly due isfaction of creating a piece of out. first carver to incorporate to timing. art that can be passed down as “The first and biggest rea- watch parts, precious stones In 2019, the sale of the Cor- son, I am a retired firefighter and electronics and LED lights nerstone Collection of rare and and have been diagnosed with into my carvings, making 3D high-grade specimen coins and post-traumatic stress disor- multi-layered bio-mechanical the George Cook Collection, der and anxiety, so this is a creations that light up,” he considered “the most compre- said, adding most of his carv- hensive and complete collec- ings take upwards of 100 tion of Canadian coins,” real- Josh Ranger, of Regina, hours to create. ized more than $10 million alto- Sask., has been carving One of his pieces was show- gether. coins since 2015. He cased at Berlin’s World Money Offered as a fixed-price cata- enjoys creating pieces, Fair last January – a sign of logue, the Cornerstone Collec- like this carving on a carving’s place in the larger tion sold nearly all of its 1927 U.S. 'Buffalo' nickel, world of numismatics. 'that can be passed down Continued on page 24 as a heirloom.' Continued on page 6 1 2012 SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION FREE POSTAGE ON ALL NON-BULLION ORDERS 1711 Corydon Ave., Tel: (204) 489-9112 FROM THIS AD OVER $500 PRODUCTS (SEE TERMS BELOW) 12995 2012 ‘Aster and Bumble Bee’ Colorized 25-Cent Coin ....................... $34.65 Winnipeg, Manitoba, FAX: (204) 489-9118 13000 2012 ‘Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary of Man-in-Motion Tour’ Canada R3N 0J9 TERMS OF SALE $5 Silver Coin .9999 Fine .................................................On Sale for $55 ORDERS WITHIN CANADA ORDERS WITHIN THE USA 13014 2012 Olympic Lucky Loonie Proof $1 Silver Coin .9999 Fine ........... $39.95 WCDA RCNA (Life) 1. 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