Erik in NJ
Silver Member
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2010
- Messages
- 4,037
- Reaction score
- 3,043
- Golden Thread
- 1
- Location
- The Garden State
- 🥇 Banner finds
- 1
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab Explorer SE Pro & CTX-3030
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
Not More Junk!.......What? OMG It's Dirt Ice!
I sadly lost my Mom to cancer recently and have not been posting here for a while. A few days after the funeral I badly needed some peace of mind that only getting out with my Explorer SE Pro can do. I'd just started to detect an historic house that goes back to the early 1800's. Hoping to find older coins and relics was my interest though a flat button and a beautiful 2-cent piece that was virtually laying near the top of the ground were the only things worth mentioning from a prior trip there until this find. This item was the last thing I expected to find at an historic home, much less in the dirt. I have seen the wealth of booty that the beach detectorists find, but finding a ring in the dirt, much less one like this, really threw me. This is the first ring like this I have ever found in 12 years of detecting.
I had, just a foot or so away, dug a semi-junk signal that turned out to be a short segment of heavy copper wire. I'm digging most repeatable signals here as you never know what will turn up, especially after the 2-cent piece which was almost lying on the surface. OK, I get another junk signal, but it repeats well. It's hot out (~90s) and I am reluctant to dig as it's only about 3 inches deep and I'm getting tired. It's probably another segment of that copper wire, but I decide to clear it out anyway. After not digging the plug very carefully in haste, I catch a glipse of something in the bottom of the hole which at first I thought was gold foil or one of those gold colored metal crowns that sits atop of the old fashioned glass christmas ball ornaments we used in the 60s and 70s. Then I realized it was much more--a gold ring! It wasn't until I actually picked it up did I notice that it contained ice! Six oval diamonds in a really nice setting. Stunned--as this was one of the last things I ever expected to find at this site--I just sat there and stared at it. I didn't want to try cleaning it much in the field for fear of scratching it. I was sure it was real gold as it came out of the ground very clean and untarnished, but not sure about the stones. I was just really happy that when I dug the plug to get to this "junk" I didn't put my shovel right into it!!
I had a difficult time concentrating on the detecting after that and quit after a few more minutes at this site for the evening. The last few weeks had brought so much sadness and though this did not erase any of it or make the loss of my Mom any easier, it was a bit of a nice distraction to find a ring like this. I gently washed it up at home with soap and water and could see 18K and a serial number stamped on the inside. The stones were very sparkly and I was sure they were real, but had to verify it with a jeweler first before posting here (I will return it if I can find the owner which I feel is unlikely).
It turns out that all six diamonds are real and in an 18K setting with a makers mark that is barely visible. Each stone is an unusual oval cut at approximately .30 carats making a combined 1.8 carats total carat weight. The jeweler appraised the ring for approximately $2500! I have never been into metal detecting for the money, but purely the historical aspect of it. I had often showed some of my more interesting finds to my Mom from time to time when she visitted my house. I'm sure this one would have put a big smile on her face. I wish I could just hand it to her and say--it's yours Mom!
Thanks for reading this long post and enjoy the pics!
Best, Erik
I sadly lost my Mom to cancer recently and have not been posting here for a while. A few days after the funeral I badly needed some peace of mind that only getting out with my Explorer SE Pro can do. I'd just started to detect an historic house that goes back to the early 1800's. Hoping to find older coins and relics was my interest though a flat button and a beautiful 2-cent piece that was virtually laying near the top of the ground were the only things worth mentioning from a prior trip there until this find. This item was the last thing I expected to find at an historic home, much less in the dirt. I have seen the wealth of booty that the beach detectorists find, but finding a ring in the dirt, much less one like this, really threw me. This is the first ring like this I have ever found in 12 years of detecting.
I had, just a foot or so away, dug a semi-junk signal that turned out to be a short segment of heavy copper wire. I'm digging most repeatable signals here as you never know what will turn up, especially after the 2-cent piece which was almost lying on the surface. OK, I get another junk signal, but it repeats well. It's hot out (~90s) and I am reluctant to dig as it's only about 3 inches deep and I'm getting tired. It's probably another segment of that copper wire, but I decide to clear it out anyway. After not digging the plug very carefully in haste, I catch a glipse of something in the bottom of the hole which at first I thought was gold foil or one of those gold colored metal crowns that sits atop of the old fashioned glass christmas ball ornaments we used in the 60s and 70s. Then I realized it was much more--a gold ring! It wasn't until I actually picked it up did I notice that it contained ice! Six oval diamonds in a really nice setting. Stunned--as this was one of the last things I ever expected to find at this site--I just sat there and stared at it. I didn't want to try cleaning it much in the field for fear of scratching it. I was sure it was real gold as it came out of the ground very clean and untarnished, but not sure about the stones. I was just really happy that when I dug the plug to get to this "junk" I didn't put my shovel right into it!!
I had a difficult time concentrating on the detecting after that and quit after a few more minutes at this site for the evening. The last few weeks had brought so much sadness and though this did not erase any of it or make the loss of my Mom any easier, it was a bit of a nice distraction to find a ring like this. I gently washed it up at home with soap and water and could see 18K and a serial number stamped on the inside. The stones were very sparkly and I was sure they were real, but had to verify it with a jeweler first before posting here (I will return it if I can find the owner which I feel is unlikely).
It turns out that all six diamonds are real and in an 18K setting with a makers mark that is barely visible. Each stone is an unusual oval cut at approximately .30 carats making a combined 1.8 carats total carat weight. The jeweler appraised the ring for approximately $2500! I have never been into metal detecting for the money, but purely the historical aspect of it. I had often showed some of my more interesting finds to my Mom from time to time when she visitted my house. I'm sure this one would have put a big smile on her face. I wish I could just hand it to her and say--it's yours Mom!
Thanks for reading this long post and enjoy the pics!
Best, Erik
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