It’s not often that an item comes up for sale that not only encompasses the entirety of a collecting genre, but also sets the record for highest price recorded in that genre. The “Dicer” Hobo Nickel, a coin carved by George Washington “Bo” Hughes in 1939, is easily the most recognizable and famous old original hobo nickel ever carved. After 50 years in private hands, Chris Dempsey, of Dempsey & Baxter Rare Coins, acquired this coin in the 21st annual Original Hobo Nickel Society auction on January 12th, 2013, for a record setting price of $24,200. This price dwarfs the previous record of $13,750, and will likely stand for years to come. 
For more information about hobo nickels, feel free to visit http://www.hobonickels.org/
Precious Metals and Stories in Stone 
Reblogged this on Collecty.net.
Here’s the updated story from the Erie paper this morning: http://www.goerie.com/article/20130125/NEWS02/301249873/Erie-collector-pays-record-%2424K-for-coin
Story of Erie collector pays $24K for coin: http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013301249873