Didn't know if this was an appropriate place to post a find. I'm pretty new to this forum, and not finding my way around very well. SO, here goes ...
Let's just start with the video ...
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO0OVLllgCM[/video]
So, as usual, I made my way back to my old mineral springs hotel site yesterday afternoon. (I've been hunting this 80+ acre spot for 6 weeks). I only had three hours to hunt, but I wanted to get some dirtfishing time in because bad weather is moving in tonight.
I decided to hunt near the top of the hill where the building sat. I actually focused on an area slightly behind where the "later" part (built in 1885) stood. I worked near a small cluster of trees.
I had only been at it for about fifteen minutes when I got a solid, repeating VDI of 74 on my MXT. Looked like a solid penny, so I dug, expecting an old wheatie. I cut a nice, big plug ... and my head almost exploded when I saw this staring at me out of the bottom of the plug ...
Holy Shamoley! That's gold! And not just any gold. It's BIG Gold. Here's a shot fresh out of the dirt that I captured from the video.
It is so HEAVY! I mean, it's the biggest gold ring that I have ever, personally, seen. Just a little under a full half-inch in width ...
Here it is in my lovely wife's hand ...
It is 18k, and bears the mark of, "Mermod & Jaccard Jewelry Co."
I did some research on the mark, and found this information on a site describing some art deco silver pieces made by this company:
So ... the company existed under the names of "Mermod & Jaccard" only between the years 1845 and 1865. That means this ring was manufactured just before or during the Civil War!!
The ring has a fancy script-inscribed name inside, but I cannot make it out due to what appears to be heat damage. Indeed, even if the ring were an inch or two deep in the ground when the building burned, it was close enough to incur some damage from the intense heat.
Needless to say, I am seriously stoked about this find. I hope to be able to find someone nearby with a scale tomorrow so I can get an accurate weight and calculate the exact gold content. I weighed it on a small scale at the hospital where I work a part-time job, and it totaled it at exactly 0.5 ounce, but I don't trust that measurement ... seems a wee bit hefty (but close!).
Honestly, I'm not sure if this ring will have more value in its gold, or in the fact that it is a 160 year-old antique. From that perspective, I'm not even sure how to get it checked out.
I also found some other whatzits and a 23mm flat button that had me thinking "half cent" for a while ... but only left me broken-hearted.
Thanks for looking, and enjoy the video. And give some thought to hitting up my Youtube channel and subscribing.
Blessings,
Geoff
Let's just start with the video ...
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO0OVLllgCM[/video]
So, as usual, I made my way back to my old mineral springs hotel site yesterday afternoon. (I've been hunting this 80+ acre spot for 6 weeks). I only had three hours to hunt, but I wanted to get some dirtfishing time in because bad weather is moving in tonight.
I decided to hunt near the top of the hill where the building sat. I actually focused on an area slightly behind where the "later" part (built in 1885) stood. I worked near a small cluster of trees.
I had only been at it for about fifteen minutes when I got a solid, repeating VDI of 74 on my MXT. Looked like a solid penny, so I dug, expecting an old wheatie. I cut a nice, big plug ... and my head almost exploded when I saw this staring at me out of the bottom of the plug ...
Holy Shamoley! That's gold! And not just any gold. It's BIG Gold. Here's a shot fresh out of the dirt that I captured from the video.
It is so HEAVY! I mean, it's the biggest gold ring that I have ever, personally, seen. Just a little under a full half-inch in width ...
Here it is in my lovely wife's hand ...
It is 18k, and bears the mark of, "Mermod & Jaccard Jewelry Co."
I did some research on the mark, and found this information on a site describing some art deco silver pieces made by this company:
So ... the company existed under the names of "Mermod & Jaccard" only between the years 1845 and 1865. That means this ring was manufactured just before or during the Civil War!!
The ring has a fancy script-inscribed name inside, but I cannot make it out due to what appears to be heat damage. Indeed, even if the ring were an inch or two deep in the ground when the building burned, it was close enough to incur some damage from the intense heat.
Needless to say, I am seriously stoked about this find. I hope to be able to find someone nearby with a scale tomorrow so I can get an accurate weight and calculate the exact gold content. I weighed it on a small scale at the hospital where I work a part-time job, and it totaled it at exactly 0.5 ounce, but I don't trust that measurement ... seems a wee bit hefty (but close!).
Honestly, I'm not sure if this ring will have more value in its gold, or in the fact that it is a 160 year-old antique. From that perspective, I'm not even sure how to get it checked out.
I also found some other whatzits and a 23mm flat button that had me thinking "half cent" for a while ... but only left me broken-hearted.
Thanks for looking, and enjoy the video. And give some thought to hitting up my Youtube channel and subscribing.
Blessings,
Geoff
