Help with hallmark on pre 1860 gold ring I found?

[redbeardrelics]

Attached is a photo of a plain gold wedding band I dug from a roughly 1840-1860 era privy, in Baltimore about a decade ago. The inside is deeply stamped in capital letters "CAL". The inside was at one time also engraved lightly in cursive writing, but it is too worn to make out any of that writing now. I had it tested at a pawn shop and they came back with a reading of 20K. I assume this is a type of hallmark, and not someone's initials, because I figures their name(s) were what was once in the cursive writing. I don't suppose "CAL" would have been short for California, or have anything to do with the gold that started flowing from there post 1849? Thanks for any help you can give.

 

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[cj5479]

From what I've been able to find, there are other gold items such as coins, that have the same "CAL" stamped on it. It appears that is the origin of the gold, California circa 1849. The 1848 gold piece had it too. The 1848 Gold piece was minted from the very first gold sent east from the famous California Gold Rush, and each coin bears a special "CAL." Stamp above the eagle as recognition of the pedigree and source of the gold.

 

[redbeardrelics]

From what I've been able to find, there are other gold items such as coins, that have the same "CAL" stamped on it. It appears that is the origin of the gold, California circa 1849. The 1848 gold piece had it too. The 1848 Gold piece was minted from the very first gold sent east from the famous California Gold Rush, and each coin bears a special "CAL." Stamp above the eagle as recognition of the pedigree and source of the gold.

Cool, Thanks, I will have to look into that. Funny thing about digging this was that it was on a vacant construction lot, and we were about 4 feet down into this privy (it was only 5 feet deep total), and this elderly gentleman in his 90's came up to talk, and find out what we were doing. We told him the truth, "digging for bottles from the 1800's". He tells us we won't find anything there because he grew up in that neighborhood, was in his 90's, and there was only an early service station there when he was just a lad. We explained that we were looking for privies/bottles from the houses that were there 90 years before the service station was there. He then asks us the question that we get from over half of the people that approach us digging privies in the city " do you find any gold?". Again we tell him the truth, " No, never found any gold, just bottles and assorted trash". He hangs out and watches us for the next ten minutes, until the gold ring pops out. He then looks at us like we were lying to him the whole time. That was the first and last time I ever dug gold out of a privy. lol.

 

[redbeardrelics]

BUMP.. My 2006 coin Blue Book shows only the 1848 gold quarter eagle having a "CAL," stamp, which has peaked my interest. Just wondering if anyone else on the forum might have seen this marking on any jewelry, gold or otherwise, or have a yay or nay opinion on whether this ring might be stamped CAL for the same general reason as the 1848 quarter eagle? Thank you.

 

[Mackaydon]

Since you asked, I don't buy into the thought that the CAL on your ring has anything to do with the gold find in California in 1848; just pure coincidence.

 

[cdsieg]

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