🏆 HONORABLE MENTION Ring recovery! (A feel-good story for all of you)

brianc053

Hero Member
Jan 27, 2015
972
3,359
Morris County, NJ
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
XP Deus 2
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hi everyone. In my area of Northern NJ there are enough people who know that I metal detect that I'll occasionally get calls / texts from strangers saying, "hey I hear that you are a metal detector (sic). Can you help me find my ring?"
To be honest, during the 1 year that I was part of RingFinders I was only able to help one person, but I failed to find the item (mostly rings, once an earring) about 7 or 8 times, and it was discouraging.

So when I got one of those texts this past week my expectations were low. The gentleman who contacted me had lost his wedding ring at a friend's house. The ring (made of tungsten, not gold) was in his back pocket with his phone, and when he pulled out the phone it apparently fell into some brush. (The ring was not on his finger because apparently he and his wife are going through some issues and are separated - which plays into the story in a bit).

When the gentleman explained that he knew the area where the ring fell my hopes were raised a little, but I also know from experience that people don't always remember events exactly as they occurred. And he did tell me that his friend has a metal detector and they had tried looking for it with no success, although he said the friend didn't know how to use his detector.
So, with all this in mind, I said "sure I can make the 1-hour drive out to where you lost it and give it a try" but I also worried that this would be another failure.

I did a little research on his friend's house and it turns out to be an 1820's farmhouse (which also plays into the story in a moment). I met up with the gentleman there yesterday, and I happened to park my truck right next to the area where he was parked when he pulled his phone & ring out of his pocket. The area was grassy & brushy with leaves, although the guy told me he and his friend blew the leaves away from the area (What?!?!? Why?!?!) to "make it easier to look". (At that point I figured the ring had been blown down a small hill and into thick brush.)

But - I gave it a try anyway. I was disciplined and worked the small 20'x20' area in a grid pattern, and during my first two passes I dug all targets and found the typical pennies, foil, screws and a lineman's inspection plate off of the nearby telephone pole.
The third pass took me into what I called (out loud to the guy) the "Money Zone", and about 5' into that pass I got a perfect 17 near the surface on the Equinox. My excitement grew a little, but as I cleared the surface debris away I didn't see anything and expected another penny or something similar.
I dug in a little with the Lesche and popped the item out, and I was surprised - but not shocked given the "money zone" and the perfect signal - that it was actually his ring. I was a little surprised it was under the surface, but someone probably stepped on it while initially looking for it and their foot probably pushed it into the dirt.

With ring in hand I simply said "Found it!" loud enough for the gentleman to hear. The guy was a little ways off from me, and he came running over.
I need to explain that this gentleman is a rather burly man, probably in his 30s, with a robust beard and wearing a workman's shirt. He looked like he had come from a job that involved manual work, and he also would look very natural as a lumberjack or in one of those manly beard trimming commercials.

As I dropped the ring in his hand the look of amazement on his face was...indescribable. And then I could see that he was quickly getting emotional. He actually turned and walked away from me, and when he came back a few moments later - with the ring already on his finger - I realized he had stepped away to compose himself. I'm not sure he was full-on crying, but the tone of his voice changed and revealed his emotional reaction as he simply said "this is the best thing that has happened to me in weeks. It's been a rough time."
And then, "Can I give you a hug?" which I gladly accepted.

He tried to offer me some money and I flatly refused.
But I did ask for a favor: I asked him to ask his friend if I could metal detect the house's yard.
The gentleman quickly called his friend, and we've made arrangements for me to return in the coming days/weeks to do some detecting for items lost a lot longer ago than that ring!

I felt so good about making a positive impact on this gentleman's life, and maybe...just maybe...I might have saved a marriage.

- Brian

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Last edited:

Lenrac2

Silver Member
Apr 1, 2021
2,761
6,386
Illinois
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
Denise-Nokta Legend/Garrett Apex Nox600
Bob-AT Max/ Nox800
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Congrats on your great ring return and new permission! Can't wait to see what else you find!
 

tnt-hunter

Bronze Member
Apr 20, 2018
1,781
9,057
Mountain Maryland
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
9
Detector(s) used
Fisher CZ-21, Minelab Equinix 800, ,Garret AT Pro,
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Returning a treasured piece of jewelry even if it is not valuable monetarily can mean a lot to some people. You did a good deed and hopefully you will be rewarded with goodies from the yard. Your effort deserves an honorable mention.

Stay safe, good luck and keep swingin.
 

jewelerguy

Gold Member
Jun 28, 2011
11,418
8,876
Oklahoma
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Detector(s) used
White's XLT
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
great job! I hope you find a large cache of very early American gold and silver coins when you return
 

pepperj

Gold Member
Feb 3, 2009
37,024
136,969
🥇 Banner finds
1
Detector(s) used
Deus, Deus 2, Minelab 3030, E-Trac,
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
WTG Brian on the find and return. :hello2:
It's really discouraging to not to find an item, a little guilt actually creeps in at the not finding the lost item.
But the finding/returns certainly trumps those many times over.
Congrats on the recovery.
 

McKinney_5900

Bronze Member
Jul 30, 2010
1,137
925
Congrats on your great ring return and new permission! Can't wait to see what else you find!
I have had an owners actually become so stunned and still and silent, and then cry the moment when handing them back their lost ring. Another owner who lived in a cul-de-sac did a celebration dance jumping all around in the street, when he got his wedding band back. He commented that his wife was wondering if he'd been fooling around with another woman and taken it off. We got to meet the wife too.

I like finding lost jewelry for people. If it's gold alloy or if it's silver, I know what to generally look for in a signal. You don't find them all though. Most times, they were lost some place different than the owner thought it was lost. The ring when the lady cried coulda been one of those stories.

The add within the LostMyStuff site that took us to the property said 100x100 feet of leaved ground. When my friend and I got there, the husband said it could be in his front yard or his back yard, at the next door neighbors, or even WalMarts. I was lucky, after asking what path they used to go to the car, from the house, and found it in about 30 minutes, actually along that leafed in path.

She had been ill for a while and lost a lot of body weight and the nugget ring of her husband she was wearing slipped off.

Reunions of lost things can really impact the owner(s). At the same time, just to be honest, some owners show very little excitement. It can go both ways.

A street dance by a grown man, and shedding of tears, from two different finds gives you a warm feeling. We did accept gas money, ten/twenty bucks. it seemed to make them happy, if that makes any sense.
 

OP
OP
brianc053

brianc053

Hero Member
Jan 27, 2015
972
3,359
Morris County, NJ
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
Minelab Equinox 800
XP Deus 2
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Thanks for all the great comments, and for the Honorable Mention!
 

Nov 25, 2018
611
3,647
Detector(s) used
Equinox 600
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Hi everyone. In my area of Northern NJ there are enough people who know that I metal detect that I'll occasionally get calls / texts from strangers saying, "hey I hear that you are a metal detector (sic). Can you help me find my ring?"
To be honest, during the 1 year that I was part of RingFinders I was only able to help one person, but I failed to find the item (mostly rings, once an earring) about 7 or 8 times, and it was discouraging.

So when I got one of those texts this past week my expectations were low. The gentleman who contacted me had lost his wedding ring at a friend's house. The ring (made of tungsten, not gold) was in his back pocket with his phone, and when he pulled out the phone it apparently fell into some brush. (The ring was not on his finger because apparently he and his wife are going through some issues and are separated - which plays into the story in a bit).

When the gentleman explained that he knew the area where the ring fell my hopes were raised a little, but I also know from experience that people don't always remember events exactly as they occurred. And he did tell me that his friend has a metal detector and they had tried looking for it with no success, although he said the friend didn't know how to use his detector.
So, with all this in mind, I said "sure I can make the 1-hour drive out to where you lost it and give it a try" but I also worried that this would be another failure.

I did a little research on his friend's house and it turns out to be an 1820's farmhouse (which also plays into the story in a moment). I met up with the gentleman there yesterday, and I happened to park my truck right next to the area where he was parked when he pulled his phone & ring out of his pocket. The area was grassy & brushy with leaves, although the guy told me he and his friend blew the leaves away from the area (What?!?!? Why?!?!) to "make it easier to look". (At that point I figured the ring had been blown down a small hill and into thick brush.)

But - I gave it a try anyway. I was disciplined and worked the small 20'x20' area in a grid pattern, and during my first two passes I dug all targets and found the typical pennies, foil, screws and a lineman's inspection plate off of the nearby telephone pole.
The third pass took me into what I called (out loud to the guy) the "Money Zone", and about 5' into that pass I got a perfect 17 near the surface on the Equinox. My excitement grew a little, but as I cleared the surface debris away I didn't see anything and expected another penny or something similar.
I dug in a little with the Lesche and popped the item out, and I was surprised - but not shocked given the "money zone" and the perfect signal - that it was actually his ring. I was a little surprised it was under the surface, but someone probably stepped on it while initially looking for it and their foot probably pushed it into the dirt.

With ring in hand I simply said "Found it!" loud enough for the gentleman to hear. The guy was a little ways off from me, and he came running over.
I need to explain that this gentleman is a rather burly man, probably in his 30s, with a robust beard and wearing a workman's shirt. He looked like he had come from a job that involved manual work, and he also would look very natural as a lumberjack or in one of those manly beard trimming commercials.

As I dropped the ring in his hand the look of amazement on his face was...indescribable. And then I could see that he was quickly getting emotional. He actually turned and walked away from me, and when he came back a few moments later - with the ring already on his finger - I realized he had stepped away to compose himself. I'm not sure he was full-on crying, but the tone of his voice changed and revealed his emotional reaction as he simply said "this is the best thing that has happened to me in weeks. It's been a rough time."
And then, "Can I give you a hug?" which I gladly accepted.

He tried to offer me some money and I flatly refused.
But I did ask for a favor: I asked him to ask his friend if I could metal detect the house's yard.
The gentleman quickly called his friend, and we've made arrangements for me to return in the coming days/weeks to do some detecting for items lost a lot longer ago than that ring!

I felt so good about making a positive impact on this gentleman's life, and maybe...just maybe...I might have saved a marriage.

- Brian

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Well done Brian!
 

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