The “Palm Trees Away” Hobo Nickel is a hand-carved, artistically modified Buffalo nickel featuring a palm tree-themed landscape, a distinctive departure from classic hobo portraits. Typical for hobo nickels, these miniature sculptures start with a standard Buffalo nickel (minted 1913-1938), which provides a generous “canvas” due to its high-relief Native American bust and soft nickel-copper composition. The artist carves away, reshapes, or adds to the coin’s surface, creating a bas-relief scene, such as palm trees against a horizon, often evoking distant travel or tropical escapism.

Designs like “Palm Trees Away” are considered modern hobo nickels, utilizing advanced engraving techniques for vivid depth, clean lines, and intricate details. Classic era nickels (1913-1940s) typically featured simpler motifs—men in hats or bearded profiles—while today’s artists are able to render entire landscapes and imaginative scenes. The value and collectibility are determined by artistic quality, subject matter, and condition. Unique subject matter like landscapes, animals, or thematic scenes (in this case, palm trees and perhaps a winding road or horizon) command higher premiums in the market compared to common motifs.

Collectors prize these pieces as folk art and numismatic curiosities, with the best examples signed by contemporary carvers sometimes fetching hundreds to thousands of dollars. The combination of creative vision, hand-carving skill, and a rarely used tropical theme makes “Palm Trees Away” a desirable addition for both hobo nickel enthusiasts and folk art collectors.