Gold mourning? ring

[Muddyhandz]

Hey there,

I found this gold ring a couple of months ago at an old park deep down and I can't quite figure it out.

An old camera and 20+ pictures later, here's what's inscribed........







From what I can read it says......

Edw(small d) Vaughan Williams Obt,, 15 Augt,, 1808 Obt,, 37.

I thought at first it was "Oct" but maybe "Obt" or it could be "Olt."

When you see the top part, the 37 could be 31 as the 1 and 7's are confusing, which means it could be "Oct."

Here's the top........



At first when I found it, I thought 1875 but after looking longer, both the 1 and 7 are the same so then it's 1815 ??

I got it tested and it's 10k which surprised me as I was expecting 9k or something of an older mixture. The top is yellow gold and the base/band is orange gold.

It weighs 4.4 grams.

This ring has left me somewhat baffled.

Any thoughts?

Cheers,
Dave.

 

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[pl8man]

I know nothing about it but man is it a BEAUTY ! Congrats
Glen

 

[mamabear]

can't help ya, but that is sooo beautiful! great find!

 

[ohiowhiteguy]

real nice find..better look out someone might find the family and tell them you found it...
unless you wanna return it...HH
OWG...

 

[UnknownBounty]

It looks to me like its 1818. since the first "1" is the same. and if you look at the back, the 37 is different. It could be 1878 but i think earlier. also the date 1808 is earlier. I would track him down if its at all possible. Than you may have a more definite answer, that may pose more great questions.

 

[bill from lachine]

Muddyhandz,

Beauty of a ring......I'm leaning in the same direction as you probably a mourning ring.....possibly worn by the widow of
the deceased.

Regards + HH

Bill

 

[CoilyGirl]

Very pretty! It has such a pretty luster to it.

 

[capt-zero]

I agree with unknownbounty, but it has more the look of a mans ring to me. Especially considering the weight.

 

[mical66]

that front looks like initials and a date
E V W
7,8,75

july 8th 1875 ? since the inside says 1808 i assume it would mean 1800's

Edward Vaughan Williams
its a small ring so a womans or childs,,, im thinking womans. maybe a Mothers mourning ring , the date 7 8 75 would put the child ( if true ) at 13 yrs of age ?

just a thought.

 

[Wildcat1750]

That is one of the most beautifully engraved gold ring finds that I've seen yet!

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

Just guessing, but I'm thinking german spelling on the month's abbrev.

Also, it just might be the lighting, but the band part sure "looks" like higher karat than 10, top looks like 10.

 

[Davo]

Very nice! I think there's an obvious difference between 1's and 7's; the 7's have long descenders and a wavy top thingy, the 1's don't descend and have a short top thingy tucked in close. There also appears to be a difference in the 'obt' before 15 Augt and the one before 37. I think the second one is actually alt, which is a German abbreviation for age. Obt is an abbreviation for obit, or death. So I think the inside inscription indicates the death date of August 15, 1808, aged 37. I agree with mical, the outside of the ring is EVW 7 8 75. Given the day-month format of the death date, I think this date is August 7, '75. It's the most puzzling bit of the whole thing to me. It might indicate the birthdate of 1775, but if so, someone would not be good with math. The age would be only 33, not 37.

 

[DJWEHAGE]

Quite the mystery. Very, very cool find! I hope someone can shed further light on this one!

 

[mical66]

sorry ,, like i read in a earlier post,, some times you do some thing that makes you look like a fool , * open mouth insert foot *
guess i will learn to not type and do math in my head from now on.

1775 - 1808 is like Davo said 33 years

 

[DJWEHAGE]

If you google Edward Vaughan Williams you find some good info. Do not like Wikapeadia but it may be useful. Don't have time to post everything it says because I am at work!

 

[Muddyhandz]

that front looks like initials and a date
E V W
7,8,75

july 8th 1875 ? since the inside says 1808 i assume it would mean 1800's

Edward Vaughan Williams
its a small ring so a womans or childs,,, im thinking womans. maybe a Mothers mourning ring , the date 7 8 75 would put the child ( if true ) at 13 yrs of age ?

just a thought.

You may be right about the top face as there's a dot right after the first 7.

It seems to be a small man's or boy's ring.

 

[Muddyhandz]

Rick and Davo, I agree with the possibility of German abbreviations.

I thought of that before but then something else on the ring took me down another avenue.

That's why I'm a little unsure.

 

[Davo]

The internet search (do not like google ) brings up mostly info on a British lawyer/judge who was born in 1797 and died in 1875. I can't make connections on the numbers/dates, other than maybe '75.' I think this guy is a different one, but can't find any others.

 

[SusanMN]

Cool find. You should try looking for the name at ancestry.com. If you enter the full name, the state where it was found and your guess at birth or death date you might get your person.

 

[jewelerguy]

that's really cool