Hobo Nickel Art Coin

A major event occurred in the early 1980s, demarcating the transition from "old" to "modern" hobo nickels. This was the publication of a series of articles by numismatist Del Romines on the subject of hobo nickels. He soon published the first book on the subject, Hobo Nickels (ASIN B0006R7SFW), in 1982. Both centered on Bo and his carvings.
This resulted in some new artists entering the field, most of whom simply copied Bo's nickel artwork from the illustrations in Romines's book. The two major Bo-style copycats were John Dorusa and Frank Brazzell. Together, they produced 20,000 or more modern carved nickels, most of which were copies of Bo's designs. Dorusa even copied Bo's "GH" signature (for "George Hughes") on many of this early creations. Pressure from prominent hobo nickel collectors such as Bill Fivaz convinced Dorusa to stop carving "GH" and put his own initials or name on his works. Dorusa and Brazzell also produced original works, featuring non-traditional subject matter (conquistadors, Dick Tracy, skulls, etc.). The large number of Bo copies led many collectors to label all modern carved nickels as "Neo-Bo's", a term no longer in use.
Other carvers such as "Cinco de Arturo" (Arturo DelFavero) also appeared in the 1980s and 1990s, introducing more modern subject matter (cartoon characters, witches, and animals). Most nickel carvers of the 1980s to mid-1990s are regarded by collectors as mediocre at best, but circa 1995, Ron Landis, an engraver in Arkansas, began creating superior quality carvings. For about four years, Landis was the only nickel carver creating superior carvings, at the rate of only one to two dozen per year (all signed, numbered, and dated). Many other professional engravers have since begun creating hobo nickels. Landis and "Cinco de Arturo" are two of four known living artist practicing this craft prior to the year 2000. The others are Sonny Carpenter, and Bill Jameson (Billzach), All four are considered superior carvers, and ground breakers that inspired the current renaissance.
Some current prolific carvers are converting from quantity to quality, making fewer pieces of high artistic quality (as the market is flooded with lower quality quickly-made carvings). Modern carvings of superior quality sell for about the same prices as classic old original carvings of equal quality by unknown artists.