Old (not just old to me) Shotgun caps and my first ring (silver to boot)

[gberl001]

I wasn't even going to keep these shotgun caps until my detecting partner said, those must be old since they appear to have had a paper casing. I hadn't even thought of that as I've always seen plastic but I'm just a young guy. I'm into the history and story behind my finds so I kept 'em. Turns out, they produced between 1885-1891 according to this site. Crazy because I always seem to find rare old casings in my town. I found a 30-03 (from 1905) in my backyard. See that here

I found two 10 gauge and three 12 gauge caps, they all came up as penny readings on my E-Trac. Surprisingly, my buddy never found any, not sure if he was smart enough to know they weren't pennies with his AT Pro or if I just coincidentally found them all. They were scattered all over an old park, no two in the same spot.

And, of course, here is my first ring and my first silver ring at that. Pretty nice looking, although it appears to be about a size 11 as it fits my ring finger.


Lastly, sorry the pics may not be all that great, I hadn't originally planned on posting these until I did some research on the caps.

<Edit>Replaced Ring image with detailed images</Edit>

 

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[Terry Soloman]

Congrats on your first ring!

 

[dirtlooter]

she's a beaut! congrats on both your 1st ring and silver!

 

[CoinandRelicMan]

Congrats on that very ornate looking silver ring! More pictures of it would be nice if you get the chance =) The only shotgun shells I collect are the very rare full length brass and have only found 2 or 3 of them at the most, believe that folks reloaded them.

 

[Rawhide]

I really enjoy finding OLD bullets and casings. I recebtly found one made in the 50's and my tumbler gets a work out on the brass. The ring is very nice workmanship, and fit a very healthy woman. Have been able to date the ring yet? What jewel marks did it have.

 

[david680]

Paper shotgun shells are not exactly a thing of the past, so it alone is not indicative of age. Some trap shooters still prefer paper. Love the ring.

 

[gberl001]

Have been able to date the ring yet? What jewel marks did it have.

No idea on the date, it was pretty shallow three, maybe four inches down in an area of the park that likely doesn't see much trampling. The only markings were the standard .925 and, until you asked, I really wasn't concerned with the other marking of NV10 as I read it meant it was a size ten and that the silver came from Nevada silver. However, now after doing some more quick searches it appears that the NV typically shows after .925 rather than with the size. So, now I'm wondering if it means what the other results were saying which is that it is an Australian size. To top it off, some results are saying that Nevada silver isn't silver but rather an alloy of metals, I'm questioning the validity of this since I would like to believe that you can't print .925 on something if it isn't (maybe unless you note the NV, so maybe it's true).

<Edit> Oh, and it appears that the jewel in the center is an October birthstone... IMO </Edit>

Anyway, looks like I need someone who knows jewelry to chime in here.

 

[gberl001]

Congrats on that very ornate looking silver ring! More pictures of it would be nice if you get the chance =)

Sorry C&RMan, I didn't see your request for more photos 'till just now. I will try to remember to take some tonight.

 

[gberl001]

@CoinandRelicMan The photos have been updated in the original post.

 

[Darrow]

Very nice silver ring!

 

[treblehunter]

Great finds!