Silver ring with gold US coin

[bentdiggin]

This is my first post. I have been reading for months and decided this is a good place to get help. Everyone seems very knowledgeable and I feel like an idiot at times. Anyway, I dug a silver ring with a $1 US gold coin mounted on it. The ring has "Pure" stamped on the inside. There are some marks on the edges that are decorative I think. I would like help in finding maker and time period. This was found in a town noted for a Civil War battle. I have found some artifacts from the war close to where I dug the ring. Any help would be appreciated. Hopefully the pictures are clear.

 

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[SoCalBeachScanner]

Did have the coin verified. It is the real McCoy. I think the ring may be hand made as well. The coin is held in place by some type of heavy solder or paste. Jeweler never seen anything like it. He said the same thing though. Thought it wasn't real then came back and said it's real and I think old. LOL.

If the date of the gold coin is on the back side, personally, I would have it flipped around with the date showing. The other side might be in pristine condition. Maybe back in the day when it was made, the date didn't mean anything. I would still like to see a clear close-up of that gold coin in the ring.

 

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[Argentium]

Wow - interesting group of finds for sure ! The ring looks old to me - the style of the word "pure" as seen in your pic looks rather archaic
as does the usage of that particular word ! much more common for a modern ring would be the designation .999 or "fine silver" the coin
also appears genuine from your pic . Great finds !

 

[slider66]

Congrats. That is really awesome.

 

[gimper]

Beautiful assortment of historical gems, each one a quality find,crowned by that ring! As a group I would vote banner indeed! Real hard to beat!!!

 

[treblehunter]

Very nice finds, I like the idea of having a coin dealer/expert look at it. It might not be possible to take off the coin without ruining it. Where ever you found it, I would be going over every square inch very slow and low, digging everything. Good luck finding more.

 

[Msbeepbeep]

Wow! Do you know how to start out with a bang or what! Double congrats!

 

[Tom_in_CA]

bentdiggin, what state are you in? Congratz.

Making coins into jewelry is not a strictly modern phenomenom. There was a fad to make coins into jewelry in olden times. Eg.: in bezzles, or into earings, etc.... A buddy of mine found a $5 gold piece mounted in a bezzle, that was sickeningly soldered straight to the gold bezzle. The place he found it was a country picnic site that had not been used since the 1930s (the newest coins we find there are 1930s). That, plus showing it to some vintage jewelry people, confirmed that it was jewelry done back in the teens or '20s like that. Another example is love tokens.

Thus your ring might have been done in olden times, not modern times. As attested to by the other old coins you found there

Congratz!

 

[CRUSADER]

I wish you could get better pictures? Can you borrow a friends camera with macro function?

 

[lab rat]

It might not be possible to take off the coin without ruining it.

Making coins into jewelry is not a strictly modern phenomenom. There was a fad to make coins into jewelry in olden times. Eg.: in bezzles, or into earings, etc.... A buddy of mine found a $5 gold piece mounted in a bezzle, that was sickeningly soldered straight to the gold bezzle. ...

Your coin in the ring may in fact be genuine -- awesome find! If the jeweler says it was soldered on, he would know, and I agree with Tom_in_CA that solder would be an indication of age. Back then they were using what they perceived as 'common' but 'obsolete' coins in jewelry. People weren't as much into collecting back then as they are today.

I also agree with treblehunter-- taking the coin off would risk damage to the coin and ring both-- definitely would lose value. The next step should be to take it to the Antiques Road Show and get an appraisal.

 

[lab rat]

Another point: Note that the date side is hidden-- Most probably because the date didn't mean anything to the maker or buyer. The coin was not of significant age at the time!

 

[bentdiggin]

Who do you take the ring to that can do an appraisal?

 

[flakefinder]

I dont think you can find ring better then that one , awesome digges, Congrats!

 

[gtfm2345]

Bet that confused the hell out of your detector!!! Awsome

 

[Gunrunner61]

Congrats on that find and the others from the same site,
It is a cool find and personally I would leave as is! jmho

 

[bentdiggin]

Once again thanks for all the comments. I am going to leave just as is and take it to historian to try and find if possible the maker and original owner. In my opinion it is over 100 years old and would have been a wealthy person to put a coin into silver for show off purpose. Much like the young people do with their bling. Wish me luck. I really enjoyed the feedback

 

[romeo-1]

Those are some epic finds!

 

[Mackaydon]

The large coin is a 2R coin; minted in Mexico City and contains 0.903% silver. The assayer's initials (FF) are relatively rare but not rare enough to affect the value. But being rare, they can help provide the date range of the coin without seeing the other side. The dates for the FF assayer were between 1778 and 1784; and in the single year of 1786. This one exception (1786) IS a valuable coin and commands retail pricing starting at about $200 in VG.
Don........
PS: The small coin has the diameter (approx 18mm) as that of a 1/2 R.
Sure would like to see the other sides of these coins.

 

[AU Seeker]

The date is on the side mounted to the ring. The US $1 gold coin was minted in 1840s til 1851 I believe. I have to take it off the ring to see the actual date. It is pretty cool in the old silver.

Very nice ring and also your other finds!!!

The $1 gold coins like yours (Type 1 Liberty Head) were made from 1849 to 1854, most dates are worth around $250 in fair condition and key dates up to $1100 to $2000 in fair condition.

 

[Mackaydon]

As mentioned above, can we please see close up pics of both sides of those three coins?
Don......

 

[bentdiggin]

As mentioned above, can we please see close up pics of both sides of those three coins?
Don......

I still am no better with pics. But, I am trying to get you a better look at the coins. The small one is hard to tell much on even with magnifying glass. Hope this helps. Thanks for the identifying of the coins. I knew they were Spanish but not from Mexico. Mexico would make sense though since the soldiers from the Civil War had just returned from the Mexican war. Thanks again and I hope these are of help.