Iron Ring -- Need Help to Identify

[Advocat]

My Dad passed away a couple of years ago. This weekend, we family members were sorting through remainder of his personal items, and came across an unusual ring. It's made of iron, and it was in a box with some other rings that looked as though they belonged to Dad when he was still a kid as those were pretty small-sized rings. The iron ring is a size 12. I can wear it on my thumb or first finger, and although it is a bit loose it is not so bulky as to be uncomfortable.

The ring surfaces are smooth. The "top" is a rectangle that stand up on the ring as the main feature. The rectangle has cross-hatching and the number "5" in the middle. The cross-hatching design is also on the "shoulders" of the ring below the rectangular top. The upper part of the ring, including the rectangular top, almost appear to have been carved because there are minor irregularities in shape when one area is matched to the same area on the other side of the ring. Also, the cross-hatched design is not of uniform spacing so does not appear to have been stamped on the metal, more like it was incised in some way.

Pictures attached. If this was a finger ring, I don't understand the significance of the numeral "5" on it. If it was not a finger ring, I can't figure out what it could have been. There's no wear pattern that would give any clues. It can't have been used as a stamp because the number 5 would be reversed on a stamped image made by it.

My Dad was born 1922, and his father was an amateur archaeologist ... I have wondered if this ring could be an archaeological find, but wouldn't the number 5 be pretty recent?

Any ideas?

 

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[mojjax]

That is a cool ring - I hope it gets ID'ed

 

[diggummup]

Thinking outside the box. Kind of looks like trench art. I wonder if that is a ring fashioned from the ring off of a bayonet? I'm not too familiar with the actual sizes of the rings on them though. Cool ring.

 

[frankendime]

I agree with diggummup. The "top" has a dovetail look to it. Like it was attached to something else.

 

[diggummup]

You should post this in the "what is it?" forum.

 

[Advocat]

Thanks diggummup -- I have posted to the What Is It forum (hadn't seen that forum before).

As regards it being possible trench art, I am pretty sure the 5 was stamped into it rather than hand-cut, wouldn't that have been hard to do out "in the trenches" so to speak, as the iron would have to be hot enough to take a stamp? Have also looked at some images of bayonet rings and I can see where that could be a possibility. Today they are made from steel, but "back when" it looks like some were iron. However, the ones I've found pix of have a screw to tighten/loosen the ring, and the shapes would not exactly lend to the shape of this ring although maybe not all bayonet rings are shaped the same way.