Question: Pricing for "hobo" coins

[Eric Olson]

I made this for a friend who plays in bean-bag toss league (yes, that's what I said). Now all the members want one! I don't relish the idea of making 15 of these, but I was wondering what some of you hobo guys might charge for similar work.

 

[gtsport]

Maybe try cutting a die and striking them?

 

[diandwill]

Good looking coin! If you check ebay, there is a huge range of what people get for their hobos. Ther variables seem to be quality (of course) but also if they have a collectible following.
The easiest way would be to charge by the hour. If you are a hobbiest and they take you 2 hours each, how much extra money would make you feel good? $10-$20...$40/ea? Maybe give a little break for the duplication, but don't give them away either. An honest job deserves an honest pay.

 

[Red Green]

Tossers, Seriously, you're going for the bean bag league thing? Are you sure you're not making tokens for a knocking shop? I don't think you'll find die making and striking coins a simple task. I don't know what you consider constitutes 'honest pay' but maybe you should look into a trade, I mean if it's a token. :thinking:

Bob

 

[mrthe]

Al the way this can't be considered a Hobo Nickel and you csn't sell it lije a hobo nickel or take price reference from,is more like a Token or a Love token, charge for it what do you charge for a little engraving like this.

 

[lesholmes]

Back when I was fabricating silver jewelry I charged extra for duplicating previous work.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

What about casting them? Just an idea. I agree with Mr, this wouldn't be considered a hobo nickel.

I did something similar for a friend who used to be a chef. His team once won a gold medal in a cooking 'Olympics' contest many years ago. The only member who didn't get a medal was the coach and he felt guilty about this for years. He had me copy the medal onto a buffalo nickel. It took me a couple of hours but as he was a friend I didn't charge him. As a thank you he gave me a nice bottle of single malt scotch.

So here's an idea, find out which members of the team really want a coin. Then say to them it will cost them a decent bottle of scotch whisky if they actually want one. You'll end up with a nice selection of malts and in turn can choose to give them away as gifts if you want or drink it as you wish. then the Taxman doesn't need to know. You probably would never go and buy this amount of scotch so it would be nice to have or give away. The small amount anyone would be willing to pay for your time in this probably wouldn't be worth your while and leave you feeling a bit niggled about the deal whereas if it was a barter situation everyone comes out on top.

One tip, explain that every coin is unique and then you won't feel obliged to make every one the same which can be incredibly boring. Good luck!

 

[Artemiss]

As diandwill said, charge per hour. That way it's fair to you and them.

You've already done one, so you know how long it took.

Personally, I would not give a discount for doing more. All you end up doing is reducing your hourly rate.

Cheers,
Jo