beckleeson said:So, to sum it up! All of you who say return it because its a class ring! Are you saying return it just because its easy or because its the right thing to do?
With a little or a lot of research i'm sure we could return most of what we find!
How do I find the legal owner of a diamond ring I find at popular beaches visited by tens of thousands of people daily for half the year, when not one of the 8 I have found were engraved and all were sold by chain jewelry stores nation wide?
....... Also witnessed: Man finds Ring. Every effort exhausted to find owner, only to find out Other Man passed away about 10 years earlier. Man tries to sell Ring. Man meets Sheriff. Sheriff takes Ring, issues verbal chastising to Man for attempting to sell "stolen" property. Man exclaims in wonderment how Sheriff concludes Ring is "stolen". Man also explains Other Man is dead. Man shows Sheriff where Ring is found on Map. Sheriff says Other Man's next of kin have rights to it, and that area on Map is by the way, "historically protected". Man mutters bad words about Sheriff under breath. Sheriff asks what Man said. Man says he hopes Sheriff has wonderful day. Ring never seen again. ........
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if one cares enough about a item "mark it" with ones name * it just comman sense --especially if its a "common looking" type item like a wedding band ring.--- unmarked items are nearly impossible to return to a owner.---so if its "unmarked" most detectorist think of it as "theirs" if they find it . - due to it not being easily returnible or "marked".
Tom, you are describing a one-in-a-million type of event. Even in your case, you need to put a "lost" add in the paper. Sorry, but if I find something with no identifying marks in a park or beach, or anywhere, it's NOT going to the police. I will watch the paper for a lost add if it was on top of the ground. If it's been down long enough to require digging, it's been gone for years. Finders keepers. I return what can be, and keep the rest.
If a ring doesnt have a name in it I keep it and dont worry about it.How do I find the legal owner of a diamond ring I find at popular beaches visited by tens of thousands of people daily for half the year, when not one of the 8 I have found were engraved and all were sold by chain jewelry stores nation wide?
How was the Man worse off for trying to find the owner? If he had just tried to sell the ring right off the bat, he would have just had his encounter with the police a bit earlier, gone home and beat his wife earlier, and got divorced earlier. The fact that he tried to find the owner (proof being an ad posted) kept him from being accused of stealing the ring or being prosecuted for some other infraction. Going out of your way to do what's right will make you many more friends than by having a totally self-serving attitude.The cop scenario is completely true (seen it happen)
Easiest item to trace? Other than a medical ID bracelet with the address right inside of it, completely true
Also witnessed: Man finds Ring. Every effort exhausted to find owner, only to find out Other Man passed away about 10 years earlier. Man tries to sell Ring. Man meets Sheriff. Sheriff takes Ring, issues verbal chastising to Man for attempting to sell "stolen" property. Man exclaims in wonderment how Sheriff concludes Ring is "stolen". Man also explains Other Man is dead. Man shows Sheriff where Ring is found on Map. Sheriff says Other Man's next of kin have rights to it, and that area on Map is by the way, "historically protected". Man mutters bad words about Sheriff under breath. Sheriff asks what Man said. Man says he hopes Sheriff has wonderful day. Ring never seen again. Man goes home sad. Man beats Wife. Divorce.
-The End
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I'll tell you what I do with the ones I find. I post an ad on the Craig's list lost and found section with a vague description of the found ltem like: "Found ring at such and such beach. E-mail me with a detailed description." The owner then needs to contact me with the area in which they lost it, features on the ring, metal it's made of, size, etc. If they get all the details correct, it's theirs. If the police show up wanting the ring, I'll give them the crappiest kids ring I can find laying around and file the good ring away for another day. I find enough unclaimed stuff to keep me in bread and beans so returning good jewelry makes me as happy as the owner. I also have no problem accepting a reward as like most of you, I don't get detectors, batteries, or gasoline for free so any contributions toward this hobby are welcome. I also sleep well at night knowing I've done what I can.How do I find the legal owner of a diamond ring I find at popular beaches visited by tens of thousands of people daily for half the year, when not one of the 8 I have found were engraved and all were sold by chain jewelry stores nation wide?
It's a local highschool and lots of people know the guy, he has a record longer than my arm, he was in prison last anyone
knew. Not the kind of person I would care to offer it back or even let know I found it. I may just keep it awhile, seems the metal detecting hobby dosen't pay off in every case.
Here's one way to find out if he's still in prison- NC DPS Offender Public Information ,
If a state has a staute on lost property, it overrides the treasure trove law. Most states have one on the books.US treasure trove laws say yes. You found it you do not have to return it. But most do.
dogpound said:i return all rings i find.............right back into my finds pouch
now if someone approaches me to help them locate a ring i have no problem helping them out. some homeowners report their lost rings to the insurance companys and i'm sure if someone returns their lost ring the ring owner certainly isn't returning their insurance check
bill from lachine said:Folks,
Interesting thread....I've been following this for awhile.....I've only found 2 graduation rings over the years.....
a couple of years ago found a white gold 10k ladies high school grad ring....it had the school name, year and the person's full name on the inside of the band....
1:- Contacted the school via email advising I had found something which I believed belonged to one of their grads and gave them my contact info and asked them to pass this along to the person in question to contact me.....zero response from the school...not as much as an acknowledgment of receiving my message.
2:-Tracked down who I presumed was the owner on twitter and joined and posted a message asking if that person attended said school....zero response.
I did my bit and the ring is still in my collection....only so much we can do to try and return the personal items we find.
Regards + HH
Bill