A good hunt today

dougolf2

Jr. Member
Apr 27, 2019
71
225
Central Illinois
Detector(s) used
Garrett Ace 400, Teknetics Delta 4000
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Today was a good hunt. I found 2 rings. 1 might be sterling, although I suspect it's costume jewelry. The other ring appears to be copper or brass...not sure. I also found my first 2 wheat pennies, yay! Plenty of clad and trash too. Is there a good method to clean the rings? 20190531_174052-1.jpg
 

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Congratulations on finding TWO rings, on the same day! I’ll probably get chastised for saying that I use a soft brush, and dish soap, under warm running water to clean rings.
 

High karat gold usually just needs a rinse. If it's truly silver (.800 or better) I like using the vinegar and baking soda method. That will also work on costume jewelry, but, sometimes the plating will come off if left in the vinegar too long. Start with just a couple of hours and repeat if necessary. The method I use is to get an aluminum can, flip it up side down, put the ring in the end and fill with vinegar (just the cheapest stuff you can find). After it's been soaking long enough, remove and rub with baking soda. Then rinse thoroughly in water and dry. Works good on silver coins too, but, check the coin to see if it's rare before doing it as you might reduce it's value by cleaning it. That can be a judgment call depending on how bad the coin looks to begin with, and what you want it to look like after you're done. Good Luck!
 

Nice stuff. Too hot to dig here. What they said about cleaning.
 

Well Done on the save of the 2 rings.
 

The band on the right is likely silver. Might try drying the band well with a hair dryer or sun and then tap it gently with a solid object to break the encrustation off. After most of the encrustation is knocked-off, follow what cudimark says with vinegar and baking soda.
 

Nice job on the two ring hunt! :occasion14:
 

like using the vinegar and baking soda method. That will also work on costume jewelry, but, sometimes the plating will come off if left in the vinegar too long. Start with just a couple of hours and repeat if necessary. The method I use is to get an aluminum can, flip it up side down, put the ring in the end and fill with vinegar (just the cheapest stuff you can find). After it's been soaking long enough, remove and rub with baking soda.
 

Nice job. I use the vinegar method too
 

like using the vinegar and baking soda method. That will also work on costume jewelry, but, sometimes the plating will come off if left in the vinegar too long. Start with just a couple of hours and repeat if necessary. The method I use is to get an aluminum can, flip it up side down, put the ring in the end and fill with vinegar (just the cheapest stuff you can find). After it's been soaking long enough, remove and rub with baking soda.

Nice compilation here! Thnx for sharing.
 

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You can clean sterling silver with toothpaste and a toothbrush.
 

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