jeweler21
Full Member
- Mar 8, 2013
- 166
- 158
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Explorer SE, Garrett AT pro, Teknetics T2, Garrett GTAX 500, A.H. Electronics Super Pro 5, Fisher VLF 555 D/B, Garrett AT Pin Pointer
- Primary Interest:
- All Treasure Hunting
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.
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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