Vhat happund to der Fuhrer?

Ray in CA · Aug 19, 2008

Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

I completely forgot to post this find from early last week. I hit a vacant lot in Banning that I've detected before, but since the last time I was here the lot has been disced. I came up with this .925 ring near the edge of the sidewalk. The lot dates back to the early 1900s so who knows who lived there throughout all these years.

At first I just thought some gothic kid had lost it, or perhaps a motorcycle thug, but then I see the swastika on the side! I've never dug up anything with a swastika on it. But come to think of it, Banning did have some pretty undesireable people living here at one time. :icon_pirat:

Ray

jimb · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

Looks like an SS ring. They had the same scull on their hats.

jimb · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

Make that skull!

tymcmurray · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

:icon_scratch:

Slingshot · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

If it proves to be real, it could bring $10,000. Some GI's from the European theater of war brought back some of these SS Deaths Head rings, but alot of copies have been produced through the years and have proved popular with the motorcycle crowd. Even the copies go for $50. You need to get it checked out just to make sure. These rings were highly valued by the Nazi SS, and were returned to the keeping of Heinrich Himmler in the case of an SS ring wearers death in battle, it is surmised that the SS believed that the soul of the dead soldier would enter the ring. Himmler kept the rings in a special container in a castle I can't remember the name of, but it was around 10,000 rings. Upon approach of the Allied forces in 1945, the rings and other SS ceremonial paraphenalia were hidden, and have not been located as far as is known. They were supposedly hidden in a cave, boobytrapped, and the mouth of the cave blasted shut. I have done some research on this location years ago, and believe the "official" cave story is missdirection by the Nazi's. This would be a heck of a treasure to go after for some of our European members. Your ring is a nice find, congratulations!

Trond · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

Wow, i have always wanted to find something like that. I hope it is the real thing, if so- you are a very lucky hunter.

gold fish · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

I got a repro one of those about a year ago, I was a little nervous about saying anything figuring it "belonged" to a bike club. The one I got is in really nice shape, but as I said definatly a repro. Do a websearch for "nazi ss honor ring", they retail for abot $300-400, unless they're real, then they sell for ALOT more.

Paul4x4 · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

Unbelievable find! Hope it's real

Instant banner find if turns out to be authentic. Way to go :thumbsup:

RevJoel · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

A good site for info on the Himmler SS ring.

http://seifukuwatch.kir.jp/english_no1.htm

Paul4x4 · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

None of those rings inside the link look exactly like this found one. Hmmmm...the ring seems to be pretty worn out, so maybe that's why it looks so different(well the skull part at least) compared to the others. :icon_scratch:

Paul4x4 · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

Side by side comparison with a known original ring:

Michigan Badger · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

Cool find for sure and maybe worth a bunch of money.
But there are lots of replicas so have it checked out. It looks right to me.

Also, years ago I found something with a swastika on it and hated it because I thought it was Nazi. Later I discovered the swastika was used long before the Nazis used it.

Badger

rmptr · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

I'm not real big on the death's head jewelry that seems to be popular with the kiddies, these days...

Can't quite figure it out. Life should be fun.

Pain, suffering, death... not high on my list!

rmptr

cammobunker · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

Apparently there are several known variations of this ring.
First thing to check: it should be two piece, with the seam of the ring underneath the skull. The skull should be a separate piece soldered onto the band, if it isn't, it's a cheaper repro.
But, there are repros made with the two piece construction too, and there are some that are scary good. The usual way that the fakes get outed is the engraving inside, which should have 'S.B.', a last name, and a date, and a silver hallmark. The names of all honor ring holders are known. There are several mass produced copies that have names (Wolff, Kroeger, Seetzen, and Schultz are among them) and there's a widely distributed repro that has H. Himmler but no other name (presumably so you can engrave your own...)

Considering the better repros retail for $300 and up, not a bad find, even the "cheap" repros run in the $50-75 dollar range.

Ray in CA · Aug 19, 2008

Re: Vhat happun'd to der Fuhrer?

Wow, I didn't realize what an interesting find this was!! Thanks everyone for the information.

However, I think it is a reproduction. Notice the "sterling" mark, which I'm pretty sure the Germans did not put on their rings. Also, it is a single band, not two, and the skull is not a separate piece. Here's a few more photos.

What I can't figure is just who in the world would want to buy a ring like this (apart from a neo-nazi) knowing what it represented.

Definitely NOT cool.

Ray