Help me with this ring please?

[Cubfan64]

I went to Hampton Beach N.H. very early Saturday morning in hopes that some higher than average waves and a little wind might leave some trinkets behind. It was REALLY CREEPY being there starting at 2am because there was so much fog you couldn't see much beyond 50 feet or so. Every time I turned my back to the ocean I had this image of the creature from the black lagoon or a bunch of undead pirates rising out of the depths to drag me to my death!!!

Although I found alot of "cuts" in the sand, I didn't have nearly the luck I had hoped with ~$5 in clad but about 20 minutes before leaving I came across this ring which I need some help identifying.

Here are the things I know about it:

1. It has weight to it - it's not aluminum or some lightweight metal.

2. It is NOT attracted to a magnet

3. In the hopes that it is silver and the "tarnish" is silver sulfide I did about a 2 minute electrolysis which basically did nothing to it so I stopped in order to not damage it

4. I don't know how best to describe the feel and texture of it, but it almost feels like lead - it has no "smoothness" to it like you would expect from a ring and it looks handmade because I don't even think it's uniform in thickness all the way around.

I'm taking it to work with me tomorrow to have someone check it under the scanning electron microscope to get an idea of the metalic components, but if anyone here has any ideas, I would really appreciate it!!

Thanks!

 

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[Monty]

Someone posted a ring of very similar style and what looks to be the same type material on the What Is It or Today's finds forum within the last two weeks. Run back through them and I think you will find it. May be very old and worth more than if made of precious metal......I think? Monty

 

[Cubfan64]

Someone posted a ring of very similar style and what looks to be the same type material on the What Is It or Today's finds forum within the last two weeks. Run back through them and I think you will find it. May be very old and worth more than if made of precious metal......I think? Monty

Thank you - I'll look through previous posts and see if I can find it

 

[Cubfan64]

Does it seem small for a contemporary finger?

The inner diameter is ~17-18mm. It fits on my little finger

 

[Michelle]

worry ring

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

It looks like it was plated at one time. There is a ring found that may be of similar material in "What is it" "Unusual Ring" by Earl1 and "repost of unusual ring" by Michelle. Please let us know what metal composition this is, or if it is Pot metal.

Pot metal is an alloy of various metals, primarily copper and lead. It is frequently employed in casting, due to its low melting point. There were many formulas; the term is generic.

Another possibility is a type of Pot metal called White metal.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The white metals are any of several light-colored alloys used as a base for plated silverware, ornaments or novelties, as well as any of several lead-base or tin-base alloys used for things like bearings, jewellery, miniature figures, fusible plugs and metal type.
Some of the metals that make up a white metal alloy are antimony, tin, lead, cadmium, bismuth, and zinc. Not all of these metals are found in all white metal alloys but are mixed to achieve a desired goal or need. An example would be for jewelry. You would need it to be castable, polishable, have good flow characteristics, have the ability to cast fine detail without an excessive amount of porosity and cast at between 230 °C and 300 °C (450 °F and 575 °F).

 

[Cubfan64]

It looks like it was plated at one time. There is a ring found that may be of similar material in "What is it" "Unusual Ring" by Earl1 and "repost of unusual ring" by Michelle. Please let us know what metal composition this is, or if it is Pot metal.

Pot metal is an alloy of various metals, primarily copper and lead. It is frequently employed in casting, due to its low melting point. There were many formulas; the term is generic.

Thanks for the information - I did find and read the thread concerning the "unusual ring." It's similar, but definitely not the same design and the "unusual ring" seems to be much thicker. If my coworker with the SEM can fit it into her schedule tomorrow I'll post the results. If doing that helps me figure out what it is, I'll offer to do the same with Earl1's ring if he trusts me enough to ship it to me (unlikely to do for someone you don't know on the internet, but I would definitely do it for him).

Interesting idea that it may have been plated before and that what I'm seeing is just the base metal - I'd lean heavily towards that right now.

After reading the thread you suggested I looked closely at the design. I thought it repeated all the way around, but it actually doesn't - there is one spot that doesn't match with any of the others although it is close. I might try taking several pictures and showing you all where it doesn't match.

I need to look up what Michelle said about a "worry ring" as well. I've heard of worry stones, but not rings so I'll be doing some searching and see what I come up with.

Thanks all for your help - this is a valuable resource of information!

 

[Michelle]

Thanks Cypress!

 

[Cubfan64]

I have some dental picks in my hobby area so I used one to do just a tiny bit of scratching on the inside surface of the ring. I'm almost totally convinced now that the ring is an alloy with lead. It just sort of had that feel to it from the start, and when I scratched it, it seems very pliable and the surface where I scratched has a very bright mercury/lead type look to it.

I was hoping I had found a very old ring, but alas it appears that I may have just found a cheaply made plated ring that had it's plating chewed off by the ocean. Not sure I'll ever be able to get any idea of how old it may be.

Thanks again for all the help and I'll still post the metalic composition tomorrow - I'm guessing lead/copper will be the top components.

My offer still stands to do SEM on Earl's ring as well if he wants to contact me.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I am anxious to see the results.

 

[JakePhelps]

Nice finds! Iv always wondered how the detecting is at hampton, its always packed with people 8)

 

[Cubfan64]

Nice finds! Iv always wondered how the detecting is at hampton, its always packed with people 8)

Hi Jake - I've been there a half dozen times this year. Never done any water detecting before much less any ocean water. I have a CZ20 that I started getting to know/learn and use this spring, so I'm far far far from an expert at it. It's a nice beach to go to and I've found tons of clad up along the area just above the high tide mark where so many people park their butts, but what I'm REALLY after is gold and silver jewelry and so far I haven't done real well. 1 14K gold class ring that I returned to the owner, 1 hand made Navajo silver ring with turquoise stone, the ring I posted here, and several cheap earrings.

I know so little about hunting ocean beaches, but I've tried to get out there at low tide as often as possible and I keep an eye out for those areas that look like they may have been dug out lower by the waves and make sure to hit them. I hunt in all metal mode and then check to see if the signal is iron - if not I dig it.

So far I'm not sure which one of the following is true:

1) I suck at metal detecting
2) I'm incredibly unlucky
3) I'm not hunting the right places on the beach
4) All the good jewelry is too deep under the sand
5) Because the water is so darn cold not many people really swim in the water as much as wade around for a few minutes and then go back to sit on the beach - so not as much is lost as there is on the NC and FL beaches.

I have to believe there is gold and silver jewelry there - I just have to figure out how best to find it!! I can tell you one thing, if we get any good storms in the next couple months, I'm gonna be the first one there to hit the beach (probably even DURING THE STORM) to get all the goodies!!!

 

[Monty]

When I compared it to the other ring I meant it was similar in style and appearance, not that it was just like it. I thought maybe they were of the same origin since they were so much alike. Monty

 

[Rusted_Iron]

The metal looks like either pewter or Britannia metal, both of which were sometimes plated (especially in the mid 19th Century), often with silver.

I'm pretty sure from the photo and your description that this is what you have.

 

[Cubfan64]

When I got into work this morning I placed the ring in an ultrasonic bath to try to knock out any salts, sand etc... that were embedded in the grooves.

After doing this I looked at it under a simple optical microscope. I don't have pictures, but I can tell you that there is a small section of the ring that is flat on the inside (maybe 6-8mm long) and under the microscope I can see a grooved circle with the letters S U inside. To the left of that I could swear I see .925 which would indicate silver. I can very clearly see the 2 and with only a little imagination there is a 9 and 5 before and after respectively.

The ring still does not have the look of silver to me, but my friend is going to run SEM on it today in a few locations (there are some spots that are more "silver" looking that others) and I'll post results as soon as I get them.

Thanks for all the interest and comments

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Britannia metal is a pewter-type alloy favoured for its silvery appearance and smooth surface. The composition is approximately 93% tin, 5% antimony, and 2% copper.

After the development of electroplating with silver in 1846, Britannia metal was widely used as the base metal for silver plated household goods and cutlery. The abbreviation EPBM on such items denotes Electroplated Britannia Metal. Britannia metal was generally used as a cheaper alternative to electroplated nickel silver (EPNS) which is more durable.

Its first mention, according to: The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Micropaedia (2002, 15th edition), was in 1769 when it was referred to as "Vickers White Metal."

Some authorities and collectors think that it is this "white metal" that sometimes formed a base for early experimentations in mercury and tin or latten metal plating in the 18th and early 19th Centuries.

One famous use of Britannia metal (also referred to as Britannium) is to make the Oscar statuettes handed out each year at the Academy awards. The 8.5 pound statuettes are Britannia metal plated with gold. [1]

Britannia metal should be distinguished from Britannia silver, a high-grade alloy of silver.

 

[Cubfan64]

Well, here is the result of the elemental analysis by SEM/EDX. He looked at it in various places - both the "shinier" sections as well as the more dull areas and they all came back with almost the same scan.

Looks to me like it is indeed silver (surprisingly) probably with some silver chloride precipitated on the surface.

I'll take a new picture of it when I get home - after sonication it definitely has a different appearance than the other pictures I posted.

Wish I could get some concept of how old it is, but the odds of that are slim to none I'm afraid unless someone recognizes the S U letters inside a circle that are stamped next to the 925.

Thanks for all the help folks - it's always fun trying to solve a mystery!! I told the guys at work that it's obvious to me now that it's a handmade silver ring worn by Sven Ulufson (SU) who was one of Leif Erikson's crew members when he sailed near America (I think a couple of them might have believed me since I said it in all seriousness :P).

It's my birthday this week (the big 42) and I'm thinking of taking the day off to go to the beach. Spend some time detecting in the morning, swimming, relaxing and "sightseeing" in the afternoon and detecting again early evening. Wish me luck - maybe I'll find Sven's matching silver necklace :P

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Wow! That electron microscope is good to have access to! 8) Silver will turn black in saltwater. The initials may be the maker or designer. There is a way to check. I will try to find in old posts. I think the link is in "What is it", "I Need Help" by Chagy a while back. Chagy identified the maker of his find and the years manufactured by the initials.

 

[Rusted_Iron]

Cool! Thanks for posting the results... it's not every day we get to see SEM data on a find

 

[Michelle]

Great job...Still want to see a pic of the cleaned up ring though....Thanks for the help.