The Dirt Fisherman
Jr. Member
- Oct 2, 2015
- 77
- 137
- 🏆 Honorable Mentions:
- 2
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Equinox 800, Nokta/Makro Simplex+, Whites TRX Pinpointer
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
I’m sure a lot of you read my dads post (ammoman) about our hunt last weekend where we found some old jewelry and coins and such. Well, I had found a 14k class ring.
As soon as I got home the Hunt for its owner began. Luckily this time I had a school that actually had a graduating class the year that was stamped on the ring. 1988. Inside of the ring was the first and last name of the gentleman who lost it. Again, this makes it easier than last time because last time all I had were initials. SO, to social media I went. Didn’t take long to find the guy I believed to be the rings rightful owner. I’m guessing his account profile was private since the information available to me was pretty vague and there didn’t seem to be very many posts, BUT, the information that was there was enough for what I needed. I sent him a private message.
A couple days passed and I didn’t receive an answer (because the message hadn’t been seen yet) and me being super excited about the situation I went back to his profile to see if his job was listed. It was! So I google his workplace and give them a call. Receptionist was very friendly and forwarded me to his line. No answer. I was pretty upset about it cause I’m dying to talk to this guy to see if he’s the man I’ve been looking for. I left a message explaining that I had found an item that I believe belongs to him and that I’d like for him to call me back. Almost my entire workday had gone by and I hadn’t received a call back.
Checked the social media message. Still hadn’t been seen. At this point I’m going crazy not knowing if this is my guy. I call his workplace one more time in hopes that there will be an answer. Super friendly receptionist forwarded me to his extension. Rang, and rang, and rang, and as soon as I was going to let out a disappointing sigh a hello came through from the other end! I introduced myself and stated that I had a question. He goes “okay”. I asked if he had ever lived on the corner of this place and that road and he replied “yeah, I did” and then gave me the house number to further confirm this was indeed my guy.
I said “I have something that belongs to you and I’d like to return it”. He kind of laughed a little and then told me the story of how he bought the place and how it was FULL of the previous owners stuff. He probably thought that I had found something of theirs and thought it was his as there was so much stuff left there. He finally asked what I had. I responded with “I have your class ring”.
He was excited to hear that and told me about how he lost it. He had been doing some work on the roof and had lost it then. He had checked the gutters and never found it. He remembers saying to himself that he should probably take it off so he didn’t scratch it which I find hilarious cause he ended up loosing it instead. We tried to arrange a time to meet up so I could give it back to him but our schedules didn’t line up. A couple days later he was able to make it out to my work to pick it up. We talked for a bit while we walked through the shop and into the employee parking lot about metal detecting and stuff like that.
Finally, after roughly 26 years of the ring being buried in the earth the moment came. I got it out of my car and dropped it into his hand. And then that’s when his face lit up. It’s exactly that moment that I look forward to the most. The moment where they’re reunited with an object that they thought was gone forever. We walked back across the dealership. He asked me how much he owed me or how much I wanted for it. I told him I wanted absolutely nothing and that this is what the hobby is about. This is what makes digging 10,000 pull tabs worth it. He insisted on giving me a finders fee. We argued about that for about a minute or two but he wasn’t budging so I accepted and thanked him and used it for gas on my way home.
I really do hope that one day all of you get to experience the thrill of returning a lost valuable that you’ve found. This really is a rewarding hobby and I can’t wait to see what I dig next. Be safe folks, dig everything, and happy hunting.
As soon as I got home the Hunt for its owner began. Luckily this time I had a school that actually had a graduating class the year that was stamped on the ring. 1988. Inside of the ring was the first and last name of the gentleman who lost it. Again, this makes it easier than last time because last time all I had were initials. SO, to social media I went. Didn’t take long to find the guy I believed to be the rings rightful owner. I’m guessing his account profile was private since the information available to me was pretty vague and there didn’t seem to be very many posts, BUT, the information that was there was enough for what I needed. I sent him a private message.
A couple days passed and I didn’t receive an answer (because the message hadn’t been seen yet) and me being super excited about the situation I went back to his profile to see if his job was listed. It was! So I google his workplace and give them a call. Receptionist was very friendly and forwarded me to his line. No answer. I was pretty upset about it cause I’m dying to talk to this guy to see if he’s the man I’ve been looking for. I left a message explaining that I had found an item that I believe belongs to him and that I’d like for him to call me back. Almost my entire workday had gone by and I hadn’t received a call back.
Checked the social media message. Still hadn’t been seen. At this point I’m going crazy not knowing if this is my guy. I call his workplace one more time in hopes that there will be an answer. Super friendly receptionist forwarded me to his extension. Rang, and rang, and rang, and as soon as I was going to let out a disappointing sigh a hello came through from the other end! I introduced myself and stated that I had a question. He goes “okay”. I asked if he had ever lived on the corner of this place and that road and he replied “yeah, I did” and then gave me the house number to further confirm this was indeed my guy.
I said “I have something that belongs to you and I’d like to return it”. He kind of laughed a little and then told me the story of how he bought the place and how it was FULL of the previous owners stuff. He probably thought that I had found something of theirs and thought it was his as there was so much stuff left there. He finally asked what I had. I responded with “I have your class ring”.
He was excited to hear that and told me about how he lost it. He had been doing some work on the roof and had lost it then. He had checked the gutters and never found it. He remembers saying to himself that he should probably take it off so he didn’t scratch it which I find hilarious cause he ended up loosing it instead. We tried to arrange a time to meet up so I could give it back to him but our schedules didn’t line up. A couple days later he was able to make it out to my work to pick it up. We talked for a bit while we walked through the shop and into the employee parking lot about metal detecting and stuff like that.
Finally, after roughly 26 years of the ring being buried in the earth the moment came. I got it out of my car and dropped it into his hand. And then that’s when his face lit up. It’s exactly that moment that I look forward to the most. The moment where they’re reunited with an object that they thought was gone forever. We walked back across the dealership. He asked me how much he owed me or how much I wanted for it. I told him I wanted absolutely nothing and that this is what the hobby is about. This is what makes digging 10,000 pull tabs worth it. He insisted on giving me a finders fee. We argued about that for about a minute or two but he wasn’t budging so I accepted and thanked him and used it for gas on my way home.
I really do hope that one day all of you get to experience the thrill of returning a lost valuable that you’ve found. This really is a rewarding hobby and I can’t wait to see what I dig next. Be safe folks, dig everything, and happy hunting.
