18k baby ring from very old site in woods

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

I have been re hunting my old sites in the woods of W PA with my deeper DD coil. This morning went to the old chimney in the woods location where I have found a 1876 seated quarter and 1891 dime. This morning I had an hour and only got one good target.
This came out packed with dirt, so thought it was a button. When I got home cleaned it and the dirt went away revealing a very small ring. Then I saw some gold only on edge and thought maybe gold plated, but used my finger nail to reveal more gold under rough layer of dirt.
Took a while but it is an18k ring.
Any ideas on this?

 

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[WHADIFIND]

Well, you said in the woods, chimney? Maybe....a very, very early grave for a child pioneer that didn't make it?

This is why I wish we could make our finds talk.

Interesting find!

 

[Worm-Slicer]

Looks like flaking on it, and brass beneath. It may be like some that are marked 18k, but in fact are plated and not entirely through-and-through gold. Still nice old find though.

 

[Carolina Tom]

It "almost" looks like a relatively modern plated ring. Is the plating popping off in pics 3 and 4?

I don't want to be the bearer of bad news... so I'll show myself out now.

 

[Gridwalker306]

I've found rings with karat markings that wound up being plated. Makes me cry "NOOOOO!", like When Anakin Skywalker realizes he's become Darth Vader.

A look through a jewellers loupe will give you your answer.

Any ring found at an old spot is a good find!

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

I've found modern and semi modern gold plated jewelry in the dirt before. The degraded plating would flake off when cleaning. This seems to be a thick layer of gold, no flaking, around a brass base. There is a crack where you can see some red metal. Never found old 18k stamped before, not sure.

The location was sort of behind the cellar hole about 30' near a path over looking a hallow. If this was a very shallow grave (6" target) would bones from a baby 125 years in the ground still be there? Or would they decompose?

 

[trapperart]

Congrats

 

[Trezurehunter]

What a nice little ring. Nice find.

 

[BeenThere DugThat]

Regardless of the value, I like that ring. As you were saying on my thread, the weeds (especially knotweed) are indeed starting to get in the way. There's certain areas where it's not as bad. I prefer the woods just like you do.

 

[Retired Fire]

That's cool. As for the bones, most likely the bones of anyone especially a baby would be gone. But that largely depends on the climate and soil conditions. Wet clay and loomy soil will tear bones apart rather quickly but dry sand and heat will preserve them much longer. Also animals will eat and scatter bones in order to get calcium and other nutrients as well. If it were a grave the ring may have only been placed on the surface as a mourning process. But with the plating coming off I am willing to bet it isn't quite old enough to be on a 125 year old grave. It could be a dropped ring or something. Also people will put more effort into marking a childs grave so look around for old stones with engraving or a circle of stones maybe.

 

[dirtlooter]

it is heart stopping when you dig up a ring that looks totally gold, good gold like the 18 kt that is stamped inside it only to find a small place where the plating has come off. but it is still a great find and now you have a story to tell about it. congrats on the ring find

 

[pa-dirt_nc-sand]

Like Whatifind said, I really wish this find could talk. It's a really trash free hidden site about 1/2 mile in the woods. Probably known to many hunters over the years, and a random hiker. I've found old pottery, ceramic doll parts and cork top whiskey bottles here. It shows up on the 1876 survey map, but gone by the 1930 aerial survey. The ring is really small, would not even come close to fitting on top of my pinky like other baby rings.

 

[toasted]

Congrats. I found a cool little gold infant ring last year(.7grams) I've also found quite a few rings stamped 14 k that clearly were not.

 

[WHADIFIND]

I've found modern and semi modern gold plated jewelry in the dirt before. The degraded plating would flake off when cleaning. This seems to be a thick layer of gold, no flaking, around a brass base. There is a crack where you can see some red metal. Never found old 18k stamped before, not sure.

The location was sort of behind the cellar hole about 30' near a path over looking a hallow. If this was a very shallow grave (6" target) would bones from a baby 125 years in the ground still be there? Or would they decompose?

Well, first of all, my first impression would be that this is just a dropped ring. Maybe even a "toe" ring.

But, if we want to solve a mystery we must be able to stretch the mind to every contingency.

Like....does anyone know how an 18kt ring might corrode/tone over 125 years? 225 years? 500? Might it maybe get really dark like that one?
How about if it was buried while still on a finger? And that body decomposed completely away? Might that change the "norm" for it's corroding?
As far as the shallowness of the find? How might have the ground eroded over 1-2-300 years? How about predators digging up the remains?

Ya see? There are just sooooooo many possibilities!

In any case, whether it's really gold or not is very easily determined. The real story is how it came to be there.

Only the ring can.....

"Know..........the REST of the story."