Heres a good idea when you find a ring

[Coins4Cheese]

Here's a good idea when you find a ring

When you find a ring that has precious metals in it, instead of selling it to a refiner or a jewler, how about posting an ad in the paper about it? You could offer to sell it for a couple hundred dollars over the actaull value of the ring. People are willing to pay a lot of money for sentemental objects that they lost.

 

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[BIG61AL]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

While your idea sounds good on the surface there are some key factors that come into play. A found ring may have been lost years or decades ago. Finding a owner that has moved away or even has passed on is almost impossible. Unless a ring has very specific identifiers to the owner is a very hard task to find the owner. Throw in that the world is full of thieves and shady people who would not hesitate to lie to get a free ring.

 

[Noodle]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

.... People are willing to pay a lot of money for sentemental objects that they lost.

SOME people are willing to GIVE back to someone who has lost a sentimental object...

Sorry, this topic just caught me off guard and seemed a little greedy to me. So many people on TNET go out of their way to find the owners of objects they find to just GIVE them back to the rightful owners. To set folks up in order to get them to "pay a lot of money for 'sentemental' objects that they lost" (and you found) by placing ads in papers just hit me wrong. Sorry. Maybe I misread the message...

 

[Coins4Cheese]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

.... People are willing to pay a lot of money for sentemental objects that they lost.

SOME people are willing to GIVE back to someone who has lost a sentimental object...

Sorry, this topic just caught me off guard and seemed a little greedy to me. So many people on TNET go out of their way to find the owners of objects they find to just GIVE them back to the rightful owners. To set folks up in order to get them to "pay a lot of money for 'sentemental' objects that they lost" (and you found) by placing ads in papers just hit me wrong. Sorry. Maybe I misread the message...

Well, if you sell it to a refiner, it has the possibility of being melted down, and in that case, it'll be unidenifieble. But if you sell it in the paper, the owner might be re-united with the ring. So yes, it does seem a little greedy, but would you rather have it melted down, and the owner would never get it back, or would you sell it to the owner, so atleast he has it back.

 

[Coins4Cheese]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

While your idea sounds good on the surface there are some key factors that come into play. A found ring may have been lost years or decades ago. Finding a owner that has moved away or even has passed on is almost impossible. Unless a ring has very specific identifiers to the owner is a very hard task to find the owner. Throw in that the world is full of thieves and shady people who would not hesitate to lie to get a free ring.

Ok, yes a lost ring may of been lost for decades, but if it was lost acouple weeks ago, and the owner is freaking out about it, it'll be worth it to put it in the paper. Liars/theifs wouldn't want to take it from you, because if they did, they would be loosing money if you were to sell it acouple hundred dollars over melt.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

Noodle, your stance, taken to its logical conclusion, would really mean that we all shouldn't even take our rings to the smelters at all. No matter how long we *think* they've been in the ground, because there's no statue of limitations on lost and found, right? The laws of each state, in regard to "found property" do NOT deal with things like how long a person thinks the item was lost for. The laws strictly deal with value, with NO regard to age. Afterall, a person who wears an antique ring, can loose it yesterday, no? And you find it, see that it's old-looking, and assume it's lost 100 yrs. ago? Therefore the laws have no time stipulations. All items over a given value must (if you wanna be technical) be turned into police lost and found.

So to be logical, with your stance, and "GIVE them back to the rightful owners", there would never be any smelters involved, from the git-go! Only after the police return your un-claimed item, is it yours, and only then can you send it to the smelters. Of course NONE OF US does this. But I'm only saying that, in a wierd sort of way, coins-4-cheese has a point. Of course the way it's put, in terms of maximum value gained, it sounds like a hustle. But once you follow down the rabbit trail, the alternative is equally as un-inviting.

I have re-united rings with owners, (like class rings that I was able to trace through initials), and did NOT get a "reward" that would have been more than the melt value. So from a strictly capitalist view, I'd have been better to throw it in to my melt box. But on the other hand, I wasn't angling for best value to begin with.

This is a strange topic, because of course, most of us got into this hobby thinking that ...... on top of fun and exercise, there'd be some potential $$ from the finds, right? So with the latter in mind, why WOULDN'T a person think from that angle? But the minute you do that, someone else comes along and quotes laws and such. Strange indeed

 

[Da Sand Crab]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

Rings for ransom...Never considered that one.

 

[savant365]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

I think the original poster was simply giving his opinion of how to get the most money out of your finds. Some people will go to extreme lengths to find the rightful owner and some will sell it off for scrap as soon as possible. Personally I would like to find the owner if it is reasonable to do so but on the other hand I would like to make a profit for finding it also. I am not going to spend money on ads in the paper to do that though. The person that lost it should have put an ad in the paper or on craigslist if it was that important for them to get it back. If there are no initials or inscriptions I will take it to my dealer and sell it for cash. I treasue hunt to find treasure not to be everyones lost and found department. JMHO.

HH Charlie

 

[ivan salis]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

remember a lost item if the owner can be IDed from it --like say a name or letters like DWR carved unto it for exsample --is still the property of the "legal owner of said item " even if lost -- if you put the ad in the paper --like a sort of reverse "lost and found" -- they can come with cops and demand it for "free" --- in effect you can not demand "payment" for the return of some ones lost goods --ie hold them hostage for ransom .

now if THEY however offer a reward in print* for the finding and returning of a lost item , thats differant * you then can show the ad and ask for the reward (that you are entitled to recieve)--since they in effect asked you to preform a service for them via offer of the reward --once paid the reward the item is of course theirs.-- oh and find out in advance in writing exactly how much the reward is. --if thats what you plan to do -- otherwize the "reward" might be $1

 

[Noodle]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

....

Well, if you sell it to a refiner, it has the possibility of being melted down, and in that case, it'll be unidenifieble. But if you sell it in the paper, the owner might be re-united with the ring. So yes, it does seem a little greedy, but would you rather have it melted down, and the owner would never get it back, or would you sell it to the owner, so atleast he has it back.

I'm so sorry, Cheese, I didn't realize my only choices were having it melted down or extortion to the owner. Forgive me. I have a different view on life than you do. We don't operate in the same circles. Carry on with your way of doing things.

 

[Shortstack]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

Noodle, keep following your own guidelines. YOU are all right and those others are only partly correct........if you get my drift.

 

[Coins4Cheese]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

My post was just an idea. If I ever find a ring, who knows what I might do to it.

 

[ivan salis]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

remember if it is easy id ible * its suppose to be turned in to the cops by law (and normally after awhile if no one claims it its "legaly" yours )---some ofthe folks here on T Net go the extra mile and hunt down class ring and other Id ible items and return these items for free -- now a plain jane no marking at all type ring --most folks would go ---too bad for them --its a "keeper" -- which isvery reasonible in a case like that and is totally understandible in my veiw.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

Ivan, you say: " remember if it is easy id ible * its suppose to be turned in to the cops by law " Actually, it doesn't matter whether it's "easily id-able" or not. You (technically) are supposed to turn in anything over a given dollar value. CA, for instance, is $100 value. I can't seem to figure out if that's intrinsic value (melt & stone value), or the value when new (what it might cost in a jewelry store case).

Anyhow, just food for thought, for those that want to be totally "legit", they're going to have a hard time doing so. Might as well hunt for loose change, or things that are valued at less than $100, haha.

http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/code/getcode.html?file=./civ/02001-03000/2080-2080.10

And to those that want to go the legit route, and figure "no harm turning everything in, afterall, you get to keep it after 90 days", notice that YOU are required to pay the police for the cost of the published notice they put in the newspaper, if you want to keep the item you turned in to them.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

"People are willing to pay a lot of money for sentemental objects that they lost."



Wait dude. Are you suggesting selling it back to the owners? I'm confused. How about placing an ad in the paper PRAYING someone claims it because they've probably been shedding some tears over losing it....It's a better feeling then the cash. Trust me!~ HHHH

 

[Coins4Cheese]

Re: Here's a good idea when you find a ring

....

I'm so sorry, Cheese, I didn't realize my only choices were having it melted down or extortion to the owner. Forgive me. I have a different view on life than you do. We don't operate in the same circles. Carry on with your way of doing things.

Jeez, it was just a thought... And your idea of "extortion" is not what I was thinking of...