first ring of the year ...a world away during WW2

[Tank69]

found this cool ring an finally found a little info on it thought I'd share it with you ......the center is the face cut out of a Merc dime (no idea what year ) one side is inscribed Oran with a 19 below it , on the other side it says Africa with 1943 below it on the outside bottom of the band is 3 small trade marks I cant make out ......this is what I've fount out about it so far .

in 1943 WW2 The U.S. 1st Ranger Battalion landed east of Oran Africa and quickly captured the shore battery at Arzew. this Ring is what was known as a trench ring made by the GI's , they would melt silver coins to make the rings an them design them how ever they wanted , while enduring long hours of just sitting in the trenches .

From what little info I can find on the rings themselves they go from $70 -$800

thats about all I can tell you so far other than the hallmarks are driving my crazy wanting to know what they are lol

enjoy an HH Tank

 

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[GioTheGreek]

Awesome find man... and a great story as well.

You have to wonder what thoughts run through their minds in a time like that. Scary times for sure.

Pretty good craftsmanship dont ya think?

Mine wouldn't be legible cause Id be crapping my pants while trying to engrave in that trench.

 

[extractor]

Wicked great find Bro. Banner ! ! ! !

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Fantastic find my friend, one worthy of being displayed in a nice case.....

 

[juju]

That is truly the best discovery you have made so far. Congrats brother.

JuJu

 

[CRUSADER]

I have seen various coins cut out a bit like yours (I have a Head of Geo V from a farthing), but I haven't seen them on a ring until now. As you point out trench art was fairly popular & mostly modelled things in brass cartridges, silver like this with a story is a double bonus find. The hallmark like stamps are probably make believe (as I have no idea where he mine have gone to get them assayed), he just had an eye for detail, although it should be typical on the inside of the ring.

 

[desertfox]

Congrats on a fantastic ring. Lots of history there. Does it fit you?

HH

Desertfox

 

[Mackaydon]

Locals would also make these rings and sell them to the 'invaders'; they sold rings like this to the Germans in Tunis, Africa (not with a Mercury dime head, however).
Very historic; congrats!

 

[sasnz]

Awesome find man, and cool story too, Thats definately a keeper.

Sasnz

 

[birdman]

To me ,that's a banner find considering what it represents!! Awesome!!

 

[tuatara]

Keep it WW2 relics for many collectors are more valuable than artifacts of the Ancient World. Trench art is certainly a find with more difference than some modern stuff with lab created stones.

 

[umrgolf]

Thats an amazing ring Tank.. I agree w/ the banner votes. U have mine

 

[Deepdiger60]

Nice find that ring is a work of ART !! the 1st Ranger Battalion has a long history and still exist today that was my unit over in Vietnam mid 1960,s Black Rock Mountain DMZ , Great find Dd60

The 1st Ranger Battalion is an elite special operations unit of the US Army that is currently based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, United States.

It was originally formed shortly after the United States' entry into World War II and was modeled upon the British Commandos. Members from the unit were the first American soldiers to see combat in the European theater when they participated in the failed raid on Dieppe in France in 1942, during which three Rangers were killed and several more were captured. Later, the 1st Ranger Battalion was sent to North Africa where they participated in the landings in Algeria and the fighting in Tunisia in 1943. In late 1943 the unit was broken up in order to raise two more Ranger battalions before it took part in the campaigns in Sicily and Italy. After World War II, the 1st Ranger Battalion has gone through a number of changes of name and composition as it has been activated and deactivated and re-organised on a number of occasions. However, the unit has lived on in one form or another since then, serving in Korea and Vietnam before being consolidated into the 75th Ranger Regiment of which it is a part today. Recent deployments have included operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the wider global war on terrorism

 

[jeff of pa]

cool looking ring Tank !

How about more Details on the find.

When & where did you find it ?

 

[CMDiamonddawg]

if that ring could tell a story ! The Ranger must have made it back home , alive. Congrats Tank 69 , nice work finding this remarkable WW 2 ring ! Banner find , like your thread 2 8) CMDawg

 

[lennon631]

That is one great find Tank, I put my vote in! Whoever owned it made it home! AWESOME!

 

[ivan salis]

well you know the merc is 1943 or earlier

 

[Tank69]

Awesome find man... and a great story as well.

You have to wonder what thoughts run through their minds in a time like that. Scary times for sure.

Pretty good craftsmanship dont ya think?

Mine wouldn't be legible cause Id be crapping my pants while trying to engrave in that trench.

That is truly the best discovery you have made so far. Congrats brother.

JuJu

Nice find that ring is a work of ART !! the 1st Ranger Battalion has a long history and still exist today that was my unit over in Vietnam mid 1960,s Black Rock Mountain DMZ , Great find Dd60

The 1st Ranger Battalion is an elite special operations unit of the US Army that is currently based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, United States.

It was originally formed shortly after the United States' entry into World War II and was modeled upon the British Commandos. Members from the unit were the first American soldiers to see combat in the European theater when they participated in the failed raid on Dieppe in France in 1942, during which three Rangers were killed and several more were captured. Later, the 1st Ranger Battalion was sent to North Africa where they participated in the landings in Algeria and the fighting in Tunisia in 1943. In late 1943 the unit was broken up in order to raise two more Ranger battalions before it took part in the campaigns in Sicily and Italy. After World War II, the 1st Ranger Battalion has gone through a number of changes of name and composition as it has been activated and deactivated and re-organised on a number of occasions. However, the unit has lived on in one form or another since then, serving in Korea and Vietnam before being consolidated into the 75th Ranger Regiment of which it is a part today. Recent deployments have included operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the wider global war on terrorism

Wow Thanks guys this wild I posted last night never expecting this kinda response on this ring , Thankyou OK lets see if I can answer a few of ya . Gio lol I agree hard to be creative with people trying to kill ya lol ...JuJu thanks Bro that means allot tho I'm not sure if its this or the arrow head that if my best find ...Deepdigger wow that's awesome piece of history on the Rangers thanks that just gives this ring a lil extra karizma in my eyes ....to everyone else thank you for your great comments an your vote for Banner ......Wow I never expected that when I posted this ring ........once again thanks everyone your a great bunch Happy Hunting Tank

 

[Tank69]

cool looking ring Tank !

How about more Details on the find.

When & where did you find it ?

well you know the merc is 1943 or earlier

No problem Jeff ........I found it late Thursday night , spent yesterday afternoon trying to research it so I knew what I had when I posted it Last night . I got a day job cleaning up an old storage shed thats been abandoned but full of trash an junk , the owner of the property passed years ago an the family wanted to have it cleaned out before its torn down .their going to clear the property ( an yes I did ask to hunt it afterwards an got the green light ) to sell .Junk an trash is an understatement but I did find a crushed shoe box by accident that had some old costume jewelry in it , I figured I'd bring it home for the Minnie miners you know how lil girls like to play dress up .I was sitting at home an Red Started looking threw the box lol she woulda made JUJU proud all of a sudden she lets out this scream an yell It's silver ( lol indeed it was ) so I had to look threw it .in all I pulled 3 (925) necklaces 2 small (10 & 14 k )pendants an a pair of 14k stud ear rings an this ring . so there you have it hopefully it wasn't to long winded ,


Ivan your killing me you know I been sitting here wishing I could tell what year that Merc was lol


HH Guys Tank

 

[Tank69]

if that ring could tell a story ! The Ranger must have made it back home , alive. Congrats Tank 69 , nice work finding this remarkable WW 2 ring ! Banner find , like your thread 2 8) CMDawg

I agree CM what a story .....I'd luv to meet the man an hear the story .....I have to admit I wish there was a way to get it back where it belongs but the other side this one is to cool to let go of .