San Quentin State Prison silver ring ! Its #100 and its my largest silver ever !

[pl8man]

San Quentin State Prison silver ring ! It's #100 and it's my largest silver ever !

What great three days of hunting ! Tonight was the topper . I hunted with EAGLEFORCE tonight for about an hour and a half at a local school . Ryan struck GOLD right away , check out his post . I was finding quarter after quarter for a total of $10.47 ! The sun was down so we started heading back to the trucks . My last target of the hunt would be one of my best ever ! I had a +87 at one inch , I'm hoping for big silver , come on #100 ! It was #100 ring of the year and my largest ever silver ring found in 14 years ! It weighs 18.1 grams of sterling silver . The best part is it's from San Quentin State Prison ! I believe it is a inmates ring , prison made . I still can't believe the things that are found in school fields . Who wore it and why were they on the school grounds . Anyone have any ideas about this ring ?
HH
Glen

 

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[pl8man]

It probably did come from the "gift shop"
Local Intelligence: The Hobby Shop, San Quentin State Prison - The Bay Citizen

Like I said in my last post my buddy Jeff worked as a San Quentin guard and still has a friend that is a guard now . He said he feels it's made by an inmate illegally . It would have a sterling stamp or 925 if it's new from a gift shop . It has no stamps at all .
Glen

 

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[SQKellerman]

i love the ring! Inmates used to make the rings from the 1980's to the early 1990's. Production was stopped due to copyright infringements since the design was taken from belt buckles manufactured by Pigville Ironworks. The molds were to be destroyed but many were sent to family or friends of inmates. This ring may have been produced by one of the molds that did not get destroyed rather than an original one made by inmates.

 

[pl8man]

i love the ring! Inmates used to make the rings from the 1980's to the early 1990's. Production was stopped due to copyright infringements since the design was taken from belt buckles manufactured by Pigville Ironworks. The molds were to be destroyed but many were sent to family or friends of inmates. This ring may have been produced by one of the molds that did not get destroyed rather than an original one made by inmates.

Great info ! Thanks
Glen

 

[tngirl]

Glen, that is an awesome ring!

 

[NashvilleLife]

That's awesome buddy! You're wrong about one thing though... that's not your biggest ring, you haven't found it yet... HH!

 

[ernie pr]

Nice find my friend.

 

[pl8man]

Nice find my friend.

Thanks and welcome to the forum !
Glen

 

[pl8man]

That's awesome buddy! You're wrong about one thing though... that's not your biggest ring, you haven't found it yet... HH!

I hope your right
Thanks
Glen

 

[bootybay]

I hope it fits ya, its one neat looking ring..

 

[pl8man]

I hope it fits ya, its one neat looking ring..

It does fit but I'm not sure it would look good on my finger
Thanks
Glen

 

[cntrydncr1]

very cool find!

 

[pl8man]

Here is some more info that a friend found for me .
Glen


"In the 1960?s 25% of the inmates were engaged in some form of cultural activity. In 1968, the New York Times featured an article describing items being made and sold at San Quentin, including men?s and women?s jewelry, (including cuff links, earrings, necklace pendants, pins in the forms of animals and birds, and bracelets) which were being made with metals and stones. Inmates would pay for their own materials from sales during the annual arts and crafts show, which was open to the public, and through year round handicraft-store sales to prison visitors. Today, prisons continue to offer arts and crafts for inmates even while much work is spent bringing facilities up to basic federal and state standards. In New Jersey, inmates are supported by a nonprofit organization called New Jersey People for Prisoners Art, Inc. The group is one of a handful of such groups throughout the country, which support artists and artisans who are behind bars. Administration officials note that research supports the fact that inmates involved in artistic activity are not as prone to violent confrontations.

There's a museum at San Quentin, which prominently features a prison jewelry exhibit. The inmates here have reportedly made some amazing things over the years. San Quentin State Prison opened in July 1852; it's the oldest prison in the State of California."

 

[Iskuli]

How dare you beat me to 100 rings this year.....great job. AWESOME silver.

 

[TwigsLady]

What great three days of hunting ! Tonight was the topper . I hunted with EAGLEFORCE tonight for about an hour and a half at a local school . Ryan struck GOLD right away , check out his post . I was finding quarter after quarter for a total of $10.47 ! The sun was down so we started heading back to the trucks . My last target of the hunt would be one of my best ever ! I had a +87 at one inch , I'm hoping for big silver , come on #100 ! It was #100 ring of the year and my largest ever silver ring found in 14 years ! It weighs 18.1 grams of sterling silver . The best part is it's from San Quentin State Prison ! I believe it is a inmates ring , prison made . I still can't believe the things that are found in school fields . Who wore it and why were they on the school grounds . Anyone have any ideas about this ring ?
HH
Glen

This ring was made by my husband, Twig, in the 1980's. He was a jeweler and made it as part of his in cell hobby program. He made several thousand of these rings during his time there.

Joy

 

[TwigsLady]

i love the ring! Inmates used to make the rings from the 1980's to the early 1990's. Production was stopped due to copyright infringements since the design was taken from belt buckles manufactured by Pigville Ironworks. The molds were to be destroyed but many were sent to family or friends of inmates. This ring may have been produced by one of the molds that did not get destroyed rather than an original one made by inmates.

This isn't quite right. My husband, Twig, actually made the design himself from wax. They were still being made just this past year by inmates. Unfortunately, after my husband left San Quentin in 1989, a guard decided to copyright his design and has been getting royalties off his design for many years.

Joy

 

[TwigsLady]

That's the first joke I made when I got home and showed it to my Wife
Welcome to the forum !
Glen

It could easily have come from the prison gift shop, or the many gift shops around the San Francisco Bay area that ordered rings from him by the hundreds. They sold them in local gift shops and they sold really well.

Joy

 

[TwigsLady]

Oh, if you want to contact the original designer directly, I know he'd love to hear from the guy that found it. Just pm me and I'll put you in touch.

Joy

 

[maipenrai]

Cool that the ring already has a lot of history to it, its a KEEPER!

 

[steelheadwill]

Here is some more info that a friend found for me .
Glen


"In the 1960?s 25% of the inmates were engaged in some form of cultural activity. In 1968, the New York Times featured an article describing items being made and sold at San Quentin, including men?s and women?s jewelry, (including cuff links, earrings, necklace pendants, pins in the forms of animals and birds, and bracelets) which were being made with metals and stones. Inmates would pay for their own materials from sales during the annual arts and crafts show, which was open to the public, and through year round handicraft-store sales to prison visitors. Today, prisons continue to offer arts and crafts for inmates even while much work is spent bringing facilities up to basic federal and state standards. In New Jersey, inmates are supported by a nonprofit organization called New Jersey People for Prisoners Art, Inc. The group is one of a handful of such groups throughout the country, which support artists and artisans who are behind bars. Administration officials note that research supports the fact that inmates involved in artistic activity are not as prone to violent confrontations.

There's a museum at San Quentin, which prominently features a prison jewelry exhibit. The inmates here have reportedly made some amazing things over the years. San Quentin State Prison opened in July 1852; it's the oldest prison in the State of California."

Neat Find and Article.
Lots of talent behind the wall, and if you can't make it yourself, someone can get it for you.

Cons Rule

 

[CRUSADER]

Nice chunk