Artist Roman Butin (A.K.A. Roman Booteen) turns vintage and contemporary coins into an art form known as hobo nickels . Until I came across his work, I hadn’t heard of hobo nickels. Here’s what Wikipedia had to say about the coins:

“The hobo nickel is a sculptural art form involving the creative modification of small-denomination coins, essentially resulting in miniature bas reliefs. The US nickel coin was favored because of its size, thickness and relative softness.”

The magnificent coin above, entitled Gold Bug, was created by Booteen using two 1921 Morgan dollars and a five dollar gold coin from 2015 to create this stunning piece entitled Gold Bug. In 2017, it sold on Ebay for $9,200. I’m not surprised. Though the somewhat mysterious artist’s work is coveted by collectors around the world, very few can claim an original Booteen. Here’s what he has to say on that subject:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bujd_zSj8d2/

In addition to his glorious coins, Booteen turns vintage Zippos into highly-desirable, collectible objects, too. What an amazing talent! And what a big tease!

You can follow the artist on Instagram and Facebook.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BppsMUxjmA3/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/64_nY2s3kY/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvJifdljSxh/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/_bu1Kes3l5/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXc13jdj7Al/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/-w6QSrM3qm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhmCIo6Dv7p/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/91kduXM3pV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSJsynBDPvI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link