2nd Ring of 2015

[hotrodzincoln]

Found this last week at one of my favorite soccer field complexes. With some record breaking warm temperatures in northern Utah, I was able to get out more than I usually do in January. Most of the ground is thawed although there are still a few frozen spots. This ring showed a steady 49 on the TDI so I was hoping for gold. When I first exposed it all I could see was the bottom. It was in a frozen clump of sod so I used my hunting knife to carefully cut it out in case there was a stone on the other side. Turns out it is .980 fine silver. There are also two hallmarks that I can't read. According to the web a lot of fine silver jewelry comes from Tasco, Mexico or the Orient. Thanks for looking and happy Groundhog Day!

 

[jim tn]

Neat looking ring. Nice find, for sure. Wonder what made it read so low? HH jim tn

 

[mudpuppy]

Great! Yeah what Jimtn said...about the lower than normal TID?..I have found some silver rings that have that open filligree pattern that hit a just a bit lower than normal, still it should be up closer to the silver range though......might be the frozen ground? It does play tricks on our rigs sometimes, frost seems to be the worst for me.... I have indeed noticed that anything iron close by or a high iron mineralized soil skewing the TID lower....so hunting solid tones no matter what they are is a good way to roll...Nice find HRZ!
Mud

 

[fongu]

Wonderful find, hotrod. Wonder if it had any gold plate on it? I saw a ring on a jewelry site that had diamonds and sterling silver with 24 karat gold plate. Might explain the low price for this ring, but just wondered why it was a 49 instead of higher. Was there any trash in the hole that might have caused this? I showed an 04 on my at/pro one day, but had a good tone and dug a piece of trash or two and a clad dime. I just haven't been able to get out for several months except a few minutes at the house and found a 1964 penny and clad quarter, but it sure helped my outlook on life and cleared the cobwebs out of my head. Wonder what else this old house has to offer.

 

[hotrodzincoln]

Hi, I just looked at the ring again under the magnifying glass and now I think that most of the ring is probably silver plated, maybe plated copper or brass. I think that the filigree in the center might be solid silver. If that is the case, that would probably explain why it showed a constant "49." There was no trash in the hole. I'll do an acid test and see what the test kit says and respond back. Inside the ring is stamped "98" and two hallmarks. If I can get a clear closeup photo I might be able to find out what the hallmarks mean.

Like many of us probably do, I like to guess what's in the hole before I dig it, using the sound signature primarily and the TID as a cross-reference. I'm probably about 80% right with my guesses but it's the other 20% that's fun. Earlier today I dug a "bottle cap" (probable silver chain and charm) and a "penny" (a bottle cap). The lowest TID reading I've dug for silver was mid-70s which was a child's silver ring on edge. I'll post a photo of the chain and charm later.

Fongu - hope you can get out more. It really does help the outlook on life. I'm determined to get out more than 2014 even though I've got a million pressing projects to work on. HH

 

[hotrodzincoln]

Did the acid test last night. Unfortunately, it's not solid silver. Probably just a heavy silver plating. I didn't test the filagree part because I didn't want to ruin the ring. Oh well, I still like it.

 

[asiandigger]

Did the acid test last night. Unfortunately, it's not solid silver. Probably just a heavy silver plating. I didn't test the filagree part because I didn't want to ruin the ring. Oh well, I still like it.

That's why I couldn't figure out why it was reading VDI 49. i found a lot of silver rings before and the lowest VDI was 79. Glad you figure out it was plated. good find though fellow MD