I have just found a class ring, gold, and from 1973. It took me about one hour to find the owner using Classmates - Find your school, yearbooks and alumni online . I guess I could have kept it, he lost it 39 years ago and had forgotten all about it. I just thought, "if it was mine, would I want someone to return it?" I'm meeting the guy on Wednesday.
And that my friends is why handshake ethics are worth the paper they are written on.
Face it- we do things, in part, because of how we want to feel. Some would look up the owner, turn over the ring and simply feel great about it. Maybe a little better with a finder fee. Others, like Uncle Fred, would feel great just walking away from the police station with a gold ring in his pocket that he knew he had no right to but he got one over on the system. Never mind how he explained Chuck Carolina gave him the ring back in their high school days.
Ethics problems are really simple. If you think about it twice, you've found an ethic's problem. If you think about it three times, deep down you already know what you should do.
It's probably not unheard of for someone to post an ethics question on this site who's just looking for some reasonable-sounding person to justify what they feel, deep down, they shouldn't do.
The law. Some states still have "finders keepers" laws. I know for a fact Del. is a finders keepers state.
Personally I make the effort to try to find owners of high school rings and return them. As for gold bands and jem rings, I sell them to my contact.
My question is ,why, after being a member of T Net for 3 years, you haven't read this all before? Frank
chuckinnc,
Welcome to Treasure Net,
In my treasure hunting experience, I have enjoyed great pleasure in returning found objects to their owners. Sometimes, like returning a class ring, the pleasure of watching the expression on the owner's face or hearing his/her comments gives me greater pleasure than the find itself. And there is always the change of a financial reward !!
To me, finding a personal historic item (and a class ring is such) then destroying it for its (minimal) cash value is the crime.
Don.......
I couldn't agree more. If you've seen a person with tears of joy streaming down their face because you've just returned their wedding ring, family heirloom, or other sentimental item, you'll never have anything melted down without trying your best to find the owner.
MINELAB XS-2 Pro ....... XTERRA 305 ....... EXPLORER SE PRO
Dec 2003
S.W. Schuylkill County
40,768
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All Types Of Treasure Hunting
Originally Posted by cudamark
I couldn't agree more. If you've seen a person with tears of joy streaming down their face because you've just returned their wedding ring, family heirloom, or other sentimental item, you'll never have anything melted down without trying your best to find the owner.
after the Response I got yesterday from a person who I mailed this
to a year & a Half agoI have No doubt some people cherish everything
this guy must have been waiting all this time to see someone with a detector show up, just to find out
who found it & stuck it in the mail
Last edited by jeff of pa; Oct 22, 2012 at 04:17 PM.
With the price of gold and silver I might have tears of joy when selling something
In the 2 dozen or so rings I've found and returned to their owners, I haven't found the melt value to come close to the reward (both monetary and in gratitude) of returning them. What is the quote about seeking only money from the movie Star Wars.....something to the effect.....If that's all you care about, that's what you'll receive.....Princess Leia.
I'll admit when I decided to buy my detector I had one thought on my mind was finding old coins and lost jewelry. Not starting a recovery business, sure if my neighbor says hey I lost something can u help me I will. But If I pull a ring or something outta a park that's down 6" it's been there for a while and it's mine. Finders keepers losers wheepers.
MINELAB XS-2 Pro ....... XTERRA 305 ....... EXPLORER SE PRO
Dec 2003
S.W. Schuylkill County
40,768
1970 times
All Types Of Treasure Hunting
Originally Posted by dholland02
I'll admit when I decided to buy my detector I had one thought on my mind was finding old coins and lost jewelry. Not starting a recovery business, sure if my neighbor says hey I lost something can u help me I will. But If I pull a ring or something outta a park that's down 6" it's been there for a while and it's mine. Finders keepers losers wheepers.
no Judgements from me on any ones Opinion
I absolutely agree on keeping any jewelry Without enough info on it to trace it.
but class rings not only have initials, They have the name of the school.
the 2 things making most of them traceable.
yes I'm a treasure hunter & not only enjoy the history & surprises,
I also have that I want to Hit the big one attitude.
Plus occasionally you get a reward returning rings,
or the chance of receiving a Lead you otherwise may not.
Plus the appreciation can sometimes be a treasure in itself
Last edited by jeff of pa; Oct 22, 2012 at 04:34 PM.
I'll admit when I decided to buy my detector I had one thought on my mind was finding old coins and lost jewelry. Not starting a recovery business, sure if my neighbor says hey I lost something can u help me I will. But If I pull a ring or something outta a park that's down 6" it's been there for a while and it's mine. Finders keepers losers wheepers.
And don't forget, there's persons who've had bad experiences trying to return something track-able. I personally know a fellow who found a class ring. It appeared to have just been recently lost, because all he did was get the signal, look down, part the grass, and it was just barely hidden in the grass. He tracked the owner, which turned out to be a neighbor just down the street. So when he went to call the house though, all he got was a voice-mail. So he left a message saying "I have your ring, if you want it, come see me down the street, blah blah". That night, when he sat down to dinner with his family, guess who came knocking at his door? THE POLICE! Turned out, the home had been a victim of a break-in, and this was one of the items missing (the thief must've dropped it crossing the school yard as his exit). Apparently the voice-mail had sounded like an extortion attempt? (perhaps he didnt' specifically say in the voice-mail "found with detector"?). My friend tried to explain to the police that he'd only found it while metal detecting, but he could tell, in the look in their eyes, that it was one of those "sure buddy, whatever" dis-belief. They took the ring, and said they'd be in contact with him later, if they had more questions.
For the next several weeks, my friend didn't know whether he was now suspect in a crime, or whether he should call the neighbors to try to explain further, or what. They neighbor never came by to say thankyou, nothing, nada. From then on, my friend never looked at the intials inside a ring thereafter.
Of course, hopefully that's the exception to the rule. But ... this subject has come up before on the forums, and apparently, this is not unique. There are other situations that were similar (persons demanding that it be mailed to them at the md'rs expense, etc....).
In the 2 dozen or so rings I've found and returned to their owners, I haven't found the melt value to come close to the reward (both monetary and in gratitude) of returning them.
I have returned over a dozen rings over the years. I returned the same ring twice! Every time is different. Some are falling down with thanks, others act as if you owed it to them. I still love looking in my ring case full of gold and silver that I have kept. One of these days, they will become cash from a refinery. I love to return, and I love to keep.
dholland02 I found it odd that the word 'honestly' was even in your response but I guess you are being honest about your point of view.
Here's the distinction as I see it: The ring had a means (or 2) of identification. If you fine a $20 bill on the street- hey, its yours. If you find a billfod with ID and a $20 bill you have a responsibility.
[QUOTE="calisdad"]dholland02 I found it odd that the word 'honestly' was even in your response but I guess you are being honest about your point of view.
I guess I'm the only one in here with the guts to say the truth. Guess that makes a criminal. Think what u want I dnt know u personal or hunt with u so I could careless
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Originally Posted by Mackaydon
