My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring (Updated 2 new pictures)

[Mainedigger]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!!!!!!!!!!! CONGRATS on an outstanding find, one of the best Civil War relics I've seen posting.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Agony and Death on a Gold Rush Steamer: The Disastrous Sinking of the Side-Wheeler Yankee Blade - Grab it through Amazon!

[DCMatt]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

Wow! Beautiful ring!

Do you know anything else?

IDing the boat based on that tiny little "artist's rendering" will be tough. I spent a few minutes looking at pictures and drawings of early sidewheel steamers. Not many have the funnels right at the wheel and many have a visible walking beam on top(not seen on your ring). The stacked decks might indicate a river or lake boat (not ocean going) and would also rule out a gunboat. Another indication is the masts don't look like they are rigged for sails (also very common based on what I saw). Again, it's a rendering and may not be very accurate.

You may get further finding out who camped at the location and trying to get a list of officers names. I would guess that only a ship's owner or captain would have such a ring. Plenty of those types of records available...

Keep us posted.

DCMatt

 

[packerbacker]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

This is a pic of the Waverley built in 1946. It is a copy of the original Waverley that was built in 1899. Looks very similar to the one depicted on your ring. They are ocean-going. The original Waverley was even used during WWll as a minesweeper and was sunk trying to evacuate troops from Dunkirk. I'm sure the one on your ring isn't the Waverley but I think you should not eliminate ocean-going in your search. Beautiful ring!

 

[Silver Searcher]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

Very well done, a great find, is it a Museum Piece.

 

[Kiros32]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

Amazing find but I am curious...how do you know it's a CW ring?

 

[dg39]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

The ring in all probability had a photograph of a loved one in it. (tintype) Photography at that time had developed wonderful miniature images that would have fit in the ring quite easily. The ring probably belonged to a merchant or an officer. Someone of means.Wonderful museum piece when combined with the history of where it was found and the events that occurred in that locality. (And no, I do not think it was as some say a poison ring.)
Steamboats came in a vast number of configurations. The boat depicted on the ring is probably stylized.
DG

 

[dugupfinds]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

The ring in all probability had a photograph of a loved one in it. (tintype) Photography at that time had developed wonderful miniature images that would have fit in the ring quite easily. The ring probably belonged to a merchant or an officer. Someone of means.Wonderful museum piece when combined with the history of where it was found and the events that occurred in that locality. (And no, I do not think it was as some say a poison ring.)DG

Dg - maybe you could help develop my thoughts on this one?
I don't think it looks typically Victorian, I think it looks more Georgian. So maybe it is late Georgian/Early Victorian? See link of the type of styling I am talking about:

http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/ukdfddata/showrecords.php?product=2131&sort=2&cat=115&page=2

Now if the the date of the ship is later (which I'm guessing) then it may have been blank for awhile?

Thoughts?

Great find - keep us updated.

Has it got a hallmark?

 

[dg39]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

The ring could very well be pre Civil War also... 1840+
DG

 

[Rusty in Tenn]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

I'm going to try to answer as many of the questions as possible as I like everyone else is just guessing at the biggest part of this.
As far as Karat goes I do not know, nor does the ring have a halmark.
As I stated in the original post it was found within 15 feet of 3 louisiana cuff buttons and another of the cuff buttons was found at this site on an earlier hunt.
The ring was found in East Tennessee
I'm like everyone else, I didn't notice it til I took the closeups but I too agree the inside of the ring almost resembles a face.
I am going to try to take another picture of the face blew up even more as a steamboat expert thought the 4 marks on the wheel may be initials which might help ID the boat.
Also I have looked at pictures of steamboats for hours on end and have not found a match picture wise so far but would think if someone went to enough trouble to have it hand engraved it would have to be pretty close to what the boat looked like. Plus having a ring custom made with gold and silver inlay and finely detailed would have costed a pretty penny back then also so I still feel that not just the average joe was wearing this ring.
I do have some other information on a regiment that was in East Tennessee and one of the names does have ties to a steamboat but the picture of the steamboat is not even close to the picture but at the same time the steamboat in question is listed at almost 390 tons and the picture of the boat is not even close to that tonnage, also the history of the boat was it sank on the missouri river and all the passengers were killed by indians, this was one account, the other has part of the passengers surviving. All of this is just speculation thou and please don't read into this that I am saying this person and the ring belong together.

Don't worry I will keep everyone posted as I find out more information and thanks for all the wonderful comments..
Rusty Mills
East Tennessee

 

[Rusty in Tenn]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

One more thing,
There were 3 of us that made finds in that small area, As I was digging the ring out my partner dug the first button. After a brief picture taking session of our finds we picked the detectors back and and within 5 mins both my partners dug the other 2 buttons. So I got the ring, one partner got 2 buttons, and the other partner got the other button all within a 10 min period which included alot of smiles and pictures as we all knew we had just hit the motherlode..

and the steamboat I refered to in the earlier post was the "kate Sweeney" but I don't think the picture of the boat and the boats description are the same but someone else might see a different picture than I saw.


Thanks again,
Rusty Mills

 

[packerbacker]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

I don't know if this will help date your boat or not. Notice that it states that the swinging stages were not developed until "After" the Civil War. Your boat does not show any stages. Although yours may be stylized by the engraver, it seems that eliminating something as structurally prominent as the swinging stages would not have been the artists choice. It would be like leaving the propeller off a drawing of an aircraft that had one. My guess is, the boat depicted on the ring is pre Civil War.

 

[The Bulgarian]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

The Face of dead.

 

[ashleen]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

WOW, Rusty,

I had to pull this thread up again for another look..........
fantastic!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DJ_Quinn]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

I looks like the face on the Shroud of Turin....

 

[debistogs]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

Beautiful ring!!!!

HH
Debi

 

[DigDugNY]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

Now thats what I call a ring ...what a find

 

[Night Stalker]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

Wow Rusty, that sure is an incredible, once in a lifetime find! I recently moved from east Tennessee, found a ton of relics during my stay in Tennessee.

It looks like there's a face inside the ring? Maybe haunted - trying to tell you something

Way to Go - thanks for sharing. Hope W&E contacts you.....

 

[Wezzie]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

WOW! Find of a lifetime indeed! The first thing I took notice of was "The Face" Good to know, I'm not the only one seeing it
WTG!

 

[Mr. Morbid]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

Thats a very interesting find... I'd like to see what the jewler says about its worth... Also I was looking at the ring I'm thinking some sort of picture went in the inside part where it opens up... I'm sure you already knew that... But anyway very cool find...

 

[Burdie]

Re: My Find of the Year: Gold Civil War Ring

HOOOOOLLLIIIEEE CRAP !!!!!
Burdie