πŸ† HONORABLE MENTION It doesnt get any better than this!

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
A few weeks ago I was metal detecting across the road from a well known local pizza restaurant called Big Eds. This restaurant opened in 1970 and hasn't changed in all those years. You step through those doors and its like stepping back in time. A street runs along one side of the building and on the other side of that street is a sidewalk and a row of well spaced trees. I was searching along that sidewalk and finding a few wheat pennies and quite a bit of modern change and I got a good signal in an area between the walk and a tree. Just a short distance from the tree I uncovered a large 14 K gold mans class ring. Class of 1984.

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I could not believe my eyes! My first class ring! My parents, brother and sisters all detected in the 70's and early 80's with my brother (DangLangley) and I being the only ones really keeping up with it now days. I was too young to do much more than watch when my parents were really heavy into it but I remember the class rings they and my siblings found over the years. Ever since I took up the hobby around 8 years ago a class ring has been on my wish list of finds.

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The owner of the ring had his full name engraved inside it and my husband, only one year below him in school, remembered him and looked him up and we found that he lived only a few houses down the street from us.
Across the street from his house is a park where I metal detect sometimes. I have been keeping an eye out when at the park hoping to see someone I could talk to in person and inquire if he still lived there. Tonight I came home after a long and stressful day at work and decided to grab some relaxing time detecting in the short span of daylight left and I headed off to the park.
I parked across the street from the park and saw a gentleman standing at this house talking to another man and I felt a flare of excitement. I strapped all my gear on and got my detector out and as I was heading toward his house I saw the other man leaving in his truck and then I couldn't see the owner of the house anymore.
With a sigh I turned to cross the road to the park and I heard a voice ask " Did you find anything good?" I turned and scanned the area several times and couldn't see anyone. Then I saw a hand raise above the picket fence and heard "Im up here". I walked up a few steps and introduced my self and he gave me his last name and it sounded mighty familiar. :o) I asked him if his first name was Keith and he said yes. I smiled and said "Hang on a minute, I have something to show you" I hopped into my car and raced the short distance to my house and grabbed the ring.
When I got back to his house he was still sitting on his patio behind the fence and he rose to met me on the steps. I explained to him how I had been detecting across from the restaurant a few weeks ago and said I found "this" and I handed him the ring.
He took it and studied it for a couple of seconds and then his entire expression changed. His eyes opened wide and he looked at me in shock and as he turned the ring to look inside for the inscription I said, "Yes, its yours".
Guys, I don't mind telling you that my heart is in my throat as Im telling you this. I don't know who was happier at that moment, me or him. He asked me how much I wanted for it and I told him nothing, it was his ring. He insisted several times and I refused. I told him that was his ring, it belonged to him and I was just happy to get it back to him.
His eyes lit up even more and he told me he knew what he could do for me. He is craftsman and hand crafts picture frames, mirror frames and restores antique lamps and even crafts lamps from pieces he finds at a nearby salvage store. He invited me inside his home and showed me his work. He is a super nice guy and doesn't give himself enough credit for his talent.
He told me how he came to be separated from the ring. He was working at Big Eds restaurant and was in the upstairs employee bathroom and took the ring off and laid it on the sink to wash his hands. He forgot and when he came back it was gone. He said he was pretty sure who took it as there was only one other guy working that evening who had access to that bathroom. The guy who took it didn't get to enjoy his spoils for very long because it was found just across the street from the restaurant.
When I called him later after getting home tonight to ask permission to share our story with you all and to post his picture he told me that he had mowed many a lawn to be able to buy that ring. With six kids being raised on a postman's salary there wasn't much to go around on extras. I hope its ok that I posted this here. Although I found the ring a few weeks ago, I did find its owner today and I feel blessed to have had the experience of returning it to its rightful place. I met a great person and I believe I acquired a new friend to boot.

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Thank you all for letting me share this with you. I don't think I will be able to top this one.
Melissa

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turf_aholic

Full Member
May 5, 2009
118
84
PNW
Great Story-Great positive post for our hobby...

Would be nice to have this as part of a detecting show!
Well done
 

Minrelica

Bronze Member
Mar 24, 2010
1,461
580
Minnesota
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Minelab EQ 800, Minelab SE PRO, Minelab X-Terra Pro & 14 other machines
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Nice story Melissa. Honorable mention without a doubt.

Did you find out how long ago he lost the ring?
 

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TENNESSEEGAL

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
turf_aholic said:
Great Story-Great positive post for our hobby...

Would be nice to have this as part of a detecting show!
Well done

Awww gosh, Turf... Thank you!!
 

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TENNESSEEGAL

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
WIT said:
Nice story Melissa. Honorable mention without a doubt.

Did you find out how long ago he lost the ring?

Thanks so much WIT! He said he lost it in 1985. Wow, I guess that means its been in the ground around 27 years!
 

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TENNESSEEGAL

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
OOPS! I just saw where I managed to post one picture twice. Sorry about that!
 

Gunrunner61

Silver Member
Jan 12, 2011
2,963
457
Dalton,Ga.
Detector(s) used
Whites MXT, E Trac, Garrett Pro Pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Kudo's to you Melissa, Thats what makes this Great hobby of ours! to see the look on a persons face when they first see a piece of jelwery
that they had given up on ever seeing again. You are a good Ambassador for our Hobby, HH:thumbsup:
 

Dig Daddy

Full Member
Apr 20, 2012
135
6
Southern Maryland
Detector(s) used
Whites Prism IV
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
What a great story and find. GOD Bless you!!! Your reward was more of value than that ring I'm sure. Kudos to you! :thumbsup:
 

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TENNESSEEGAL

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Gunrunner61 said:
Kudo's to you Melissa, Thats what makes this Great hobby of ours! to see the look on a persons face when they first see a piece of jelwery
that they had given up on ever seeing again. You are a good Ambassador for our Hobby, HH:thumbsup:


Thank you so much for your kind words, Gunrunner. Its a moment I will never forget. :)
 

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TENNESSEEGAL

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Dig Daddy said:
What a great story and find. GOD Bless you!!! Your reward was more of value than that ring I'm sure. Kudos to you! :thumbsup:


Thank you Dig Daddy! I really feel like God dropped that ring in my lap and chose the perfect moment for me to return it.
 

tennessee digger

Bronze Member
Sep 14, 2011
1,672
701
Nashville
Detector(s) used
Tesoro and Troy Shadow Fisher Gold Bug Pro Minelab Equinox 600.
Great post and a great deed on your part. You did the exact right thing and I'll bet that you will get rewarded for it many times over. Tennessee digger
 

sonofadigger

Bronze Member
Apr 22, 2012
2,201
783
SOMEWHERE
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
MINELAB E-TRAC MINELAB SAFARI TEKNETICS OMEGA 8000 GARRETT AT PRO GARRETT PRO POINTER VIBRA PROBE 580
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Thats is a great story honorable mention for sure
 

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TENNESSEEGAL

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
nyantler said:
That my friend is what it's all about... makes yaa just feel good inside... great story!

Thank you NY! I'm still riding high! Lol
 

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TENNESSEEGAL

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
πŸ† Honorable Mentions:
2
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
tmanfromtexas said:
Tennesseegal that was a really cool story and you are a testament to our hobby. TMAN...

Awww thank you Tman. :-)
 

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