Humongous Ring - Gold or Brass?

[SoCalBeachScanner]

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Went to Huntington Beach by the pier early this morning. I wasn't expecting much in recent finds because this area gets hit hard with MD'er. I scanned around a few Lifeguard Towers and part of the beach. I found some bits and pieces of jewelry, some clad, and toys. I decided to worked obscure areas of the beach very slow and deep.

I found a humongous old Indian Head ring that was very deep in sand and clay mix. It is about a size 8, but it sure weighs a lot for it's size. It is unmarked and required extensive cleaning. I posted before and after cleaning photos. It weighs over 19-grams, doesn't test for 14k, so I'm not sure if it's 10k or brass. I have 10k acid, but everything tests 10k with 10k acid, so I don't trust it.

Thanks for Looking....


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----------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------The last photo is a panorama shot of Huntington Beach Pier
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[lorraine]

I like that ring, SCBS.

It may very well be 10K; I found a 10K ring a few years back that was covered in green .

Please let us know the final word on this great looking ring...if you have it further checked out.

Lorraine

 

[cdv1]

Nice job cleaning it for sure....like Lorraine said it could be 10k due to the green crud that was on it.....unfortunately, brass corrosion can have the same green crud.... I know I would sure wish it was 10k due to its size.... My thoughts are a trip to a jeweler or "we buy gold" place to get it tested....then say no thanks when they low ball you on price! Then be sure to let us know! Very nice ring.

Cliff

 

[Acquisitor]

I think its brass for the following reasons:

1) the ring is quite crudely made.
2) the ring is absolutely not polished, it has clear traces of removed rust, in my experience 8-9k rings (yes we have those in Europe) remain rather smooth, even if they become discolored.

I hope I'm wrong though.

 

[Beach Papa]

My vote is 10k. I found a 10k sapphire ring a while back. It had green crud on it, not all over, but several places. Once I had it cleaned up, the places where the green crud was were badly pitted. Nice looking ring. Would love to find one like that, gold or brass. HH, Beach Papa

 

[wildcarrot]

Bill...Very Cool! Unusual find! I spent some time on the computer looking for your ring...Nothin' even comes close...It's big and knarly, looks old, and I'll bet you, it's one of a kind.
Hope it's Gold.....

 

[SoCalBeachScanner]

I think its brass for the following reasons:

1) the ring is quite crudely made.
2) the ring is absolutely not polished, it has clear traces of removed rust, in my experience 8-9k rings (yes we have those in Europe) remain rather smooth, even if they become discolored.

I hope I'm wrong though.

My vote is 10k. I found a 10k sapphire ring a while back. It had green crud on it, not all over, but several places. Once I had it cleaned up, the places where the green crud was were badly pitted. Nice looking ring. Would love to find one like that, gold or brass. HH, Beach Papa

Thanks Beach Papa ... I hope your right, although my gut thinks that Acquisitor may win this one. I will have it checked out and the verdict will be reported later

 

[scaupus]

Congratulations! What you have there is a Mexican Biker Ring. These weren't made for bikers, actually, that's just what they are called now. They were tourist pieces made in Mexico from demonetized coins in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Indian chiefs; horses; and skulls were the most popular motifs. They were painted. You can still see some of the paint on yours. They almost always have shields soldered one on each side of the ring. These tend to pop off of dug rings, as the makers seem to have used lead solder, not silver solder to attach the shields. I imagine they used lead solder as they had to heat the entire ring to the solder melt temperature; also lead solder is so much cheaper. Unfortunately, I think the lead solder oxidizes in the ground or especially in saltwater, so the shields fall off.

Usually, each shield was decorated with a fleur-de-lis. One that I dug up had both shields still attached, and instead of fleur-de-lis, it had a fine bison sculpture on each shield, which is very rare. You may notice that I use a picture of that ring as my treasurenet avatar. I was very lucky as it still had almost all its paint and the shields were still on it, and the chief's head was unusual in that the features were very finely sculpted, as you can see. Also unusual was the nickel band, and the bronze Indian head on a brass table. Usually they are cruder, and all brass like yours...no slight intended. In fact, you can almost certainly find one very much like yours for sale on ebay almost anytime. Last time I checked a couple years ago, ones like yours were selling for about $100-150 if I recall rightly, but intact, with the shields, though the paint was missing from most of the ones I checked out back then. The more sought after ones, in better condition, can bring double that. I dug mine here in Miami, Fl.

They were almost always done in brass, bronze and nickel, though sometimes you see them in silver. In any case, their value lies in their collectibility not in the value of the metal. Some of them are very sought after. The most valuable ones are the skulls, though my unusually fine Indian chief sold for a premium also. Even so, I very much regret selling it. If you check my earlier posts you will find the post I made when I dug it, with more pictures.

 

[Irishgoldhound]

Look for any markings. Most gold will have a stamp. Take a magnet..if the magnet sticks or is attracted to it, then it's most likely brass. Older gold rings may have lots of wear and the markings no longer visible. Check for discoloration around areas that face constant friction from fingers. If the gold seems to be wearing off and showing a different metal underneath, it's probably gold plates. Great find and I hope it's real with that weight!!

 

[SoCalBeachScanner]

Congratulations! What you have there is a Mexican Biker Ring. These weren't made for bikers, actually, that's just what they are called now. They were tourist pieces made in Mexico from demonetized coins in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Indian chiefs; horses; and skulls were the most popular motifs. They were painted. You can still see some of the paint on yours. They almost always have shields soldered one on each side of the ring. These tend to pop off of dug rings, as the makers seem to have used lead solder, not silver solder to attach the shields. I imagine they used lead solder as they had to heat the entire ring to the solder melt temperature; also lead solder is so much cheaper. Unfortunately, I think the lead solder oxidizes in the ground or especially in saltwater, so the shields fall off.

Usually, each shield was decorated with a fleur-de-lis. One that I dug up had both shields still attached, and instead of fleur-de-lis, it had a fine bison sculpture on each shield, which is very rare. You may notice that I use a picture of that ring as my treasurenet avatar. I was very lucky as it still had almost all its paint and the shields were still on it, and the chief's head was unusual in that the features were very finely sculpted, as you can see. Also unusual was the nickel band, and the bronze Indian head on a brass table. Usually they are cruder, and all brass like yours...no slight intended. In fact, you can almost certainly find one very much like yours for sale on ebay almost anytime. Last time I checked a couple years ago, ones like yours were selling for about $100-150 if I recall rightly, but intact, with the shields, though the paint was missing from most of the ones I checked out back then. The more sought after ones, in better condition, can bring double that. I dug mine here in Miami, Fl.

They were almost always done in brass, bronze and nickel, though sometimes you see them in silver. In any case, their value lies in their collectibility not in the value of the metal. Some of them are very sought after. The most valuable ones are the skulls, though my unusually fine Indian chief sold for a premium also. Even so, I very much regret selling it. If you check my earlier posts you will find the post I made when I dug it, with more pictures.

Thanks scaupus,

Earlier today I did some research and saw some Indian Chief Mexican Biker Rings, but none were close to what I have. I did see the ones with a shield on each side, so I was thinking it belong to the Mexican Biker Ring family. I do believe your right about the ring. It's heavy enough to be a brass knuckle for one knuckle

Thank You for your Imput

 

[JohnnyM]

Interesting find. I have found quite a few rings before, but nothing that looks like that.

 

[lorraine]

Scaupus, looks like you solved the mystery of this interesting find. Thanks for the research and info.

I mistook the green on the headdress as corrosion, but on further scrutiny, it sure is green paint.

I would love to find a ring just like that

Lorraine

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Thats a big one!..What did it read as? I would think if it were brass, it would be reading in the Quarter-Half Dollar range

 

[DrJoePrime]

Hey Bill..Real cool find there! CONGRATS!

And thanks to Scaupus's comment I looked up Mexican Biker Ring on eBay .. and there amongst all the rings was something very similar to my American Indian Chief ring from a few months back..Came out of the wet sand in Long Beach.

Learn something every day on here.


Gotta Love this hobby!

 

[OBN]

Sure has a nice color to it, I dig a lot of brass jewelry and all comes up looking similar, not smooth. And my brass cleans up to look like gold also but let it set for a few months and it will tarnish.
Sure hope she is Gold, A very nice ring no matter what...

 

[lookindown]

Rub it on the palm of your hand until it gets hot...brass will smell bad, gold will have no smell...works every time, try it.

 

[Diggin-N-Dumps]

Rub it on the palm of your hand until it gets hot...brass will smell bad, gold will have no smell...works every time, try it.

Wow...I never knew that

 

[SoCalBeachScanner]

Thats a big one!..What did it read as? I would think if it were brass, it would be reading in the Quarter-Half Dollar range

Hi Diggin,

I don't pay too much attention to the display, but considering I had to keep scanning the hole as I scooped, I believe it was about 71 on the AT Pro. Which is a bit high for gold, but the ring was large also, so the machine can be fooled.

 

[lookindown]

Hi Diggin,

I don't pay too much attention to the display, but considering I had to keep scanning the hole as I scooped, I believe it was about 71 on the AT Pro. Which is a bit high for gold, but the ring was large also, so the machine can be fooled.

I found an 8.6 gram, size 13, 10k band that was a solid high tone on my CZ21, which is coins and silver...it reads a 76 on my AT pro which is a zincoln...I will never leave a high tone.

 

[SoCalBeachScanner]

I found an 8.6 gram, size 13, 10k band that was a solid high tone on my CZ21, which is coins and silver...it reads a 76 on my AT pro which is a zincoln...I will never leave a high tone.

Hi lookindown,

Yeah, the tones can be all over the place depending on depth, orientation of the ring, ground mineralization. I have found very deep beavertail pull-tabs that sounded like silver on the surface with high 80's/low 90's, especially if they are folded in half, but once you dig close to it, it's starts sounding like aluminum and the numbers come down.