High school class rings, keep or return?

[jeweler21]

High school class rings, keep or return? This is just my personal views and a choice each individual has to make for themselves. I started detecting in 1968 at that time there were very few detectorist, good detectors were expensive and for a person to be in the field as either a hobbiest or professional, you needed to retrieve your investment. I was one of the first persons to search several of the older high schools in my area and as a result, I found 38 class rings in the first two or three years. I talked to school officials and they were not very interested in helping locate the original owners. At that time most 10K class rings were less than a hundred dollars. I was the owner of a local jewelry store and put the rings in a case in my store window and ran an ad in the paper offering to return any ring that a person could identify. I ran the ad for about a year at my personal cost. A good many people came in to look, but not one owner was found for a single ring. However, three rings were stolen from the case. Remember this was before the internet and information was not nearly as readily available.
How were these rings lost to begin with? The biggest portion of these rings were lost by girlfriends, either from a chain around their neck or by having enough tape on the shank to wear a ring that was three or more sizes too large. Nearly all of the students dating or “going steady”, the girls call to her boyfriend was “ring me”.
When gold reached a new record of near a thousand dollars an ounce in the early 1980's, I sold all the rings for melt value.
As the price of precious metals escalated, I became a buyer of scrap precious metals and the first thing that people got rid of was high school class rings because they had very little meaning to them.
College or university rings with degrees on them or a different story and I would do my best to return one these should I find it. And in a few cases in my jewelry stores, I repaired or re-shanked high school rings that the person had worn slick. If I was to find one of these rings that I could tell that the person had used it and it meant something to them, I would do my best to return the ring but If I find a ring with an older date on it and very little wear, I would consider this ring to be fair game because the original owner did not seem to care for the ring to begin with. I would no more look for the owner than I would look for the owner of a gold coin that I found.
Call it greed or whatever you like but these are my personal views.

 

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[christo000]

Nice lots of benefits & karma awesome guys hh

 

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[Vampcatt]

I've got one that I have been trying to return off and on over the last three years, with no luck. I find that schools and alumni associations are somewhat less than helpful, for some reason.
I graduated in Florida, and lost my class ring in Oklahoma in 1976. I've always hoped somebody would find and return that ring. It's been so long since I saw it, I'd be hard pressed to describe it, other than my initials were inside and it had a blue stone.

Where in Oklahoma? If by some stroke of luck it is in SE Oklahoma.. maybe I can help ya out and go hunt it Let me know!

 

[Vampcatt]

Tom,
For me, if I were to discover someone had found "my" ring, I would offer to buy it back, since I would feel a connection to it but not an entitlement.
The money is an interesting scenario. I think most people would fall into two groups - those that would immediately return it, and those that would cover it with their foot until the other person was gone. If I drop something without my knowledge, I've lost it and the finder can claim ownership. If I throw something away from myself with intent to discard it, the item is now trash until somebody picks it up; I've relinquished ownership. If I unintentionally, but knowingly, drop something, but someone else grabs it, I count that as theft.
If I find an item on public property, I would deem it as mine, but return it if I could (legal vs. the right thing to do). However, I feel the owner of private property owns everything in the ground, even if it is inaccessible to that owner. Therefore agreements must be made before hunting there.

It really is mostly a moral issue. As with most finds, it is hard to find owners, and that is if you make the attempt. Like.. I would love nothing more than to find a packed full wallet of money laying in the street.. AS LONG as it was void of ID... because if I KNEW who the owner was, and it was obviously not thrown away intentionally.. I'd have to return it.. MORALLY.. If I found an engraved ring, that I could track the person down.. I'd return it.. just cuz I'd hope someone would so the same for me... it's the right thing to do... how cool to be the hero.. and set an example for my daughter.. all those reasons

 

[christo000]

Karma happens guys beleive me i try & do atleast one good thing a day whether it be to a stranger or a family member & it will follow with good to you

 

[Keep On Diggin]

I would not consider keeping any ring until I had exhausted all reasonable efforts to find the owner and I would gladly accept any reward if offered.