Plumbata
Bronze Member
I've been keeping an eye on a construction site in town that is apparently situated on the site of a late 1930s era landfill dump, and while a bit too new for my taste interesting sodas and milks can make an appearance. No luck on the glass front yesterday evening, just some common cobalts and a couple interesting "Philcotron B" "Socket Power Battery Eliminator" jars, used in "a rectifier unit that allowed users to operate their battery-powered radios from standard light or wall sockets."
While chatting with a fellow bottle-hunter I met on the site, a silver (white gold) crescent glinted at me from the dirt/junk pile, and a moment later this was in my hands:
The pictures aren't great, but it is a size 7 ~5.3 gram B.P.O.E. "Elks" fraternal organization ring, seemingly of a 1920s-30s Art Deco design based on the elements on either side of the face, and on the back it is stamped "O.B. 14K" (edit: it actually appears to read "O-B 14K"). I don't know if it stands for "Ostby Barton", a jewelry firm active in that era, or something less appealing indicating it is plated/filled, though the density feels right in-hand for 58.5% gold. Despite wear to the ring, the stone looks scratch-free, shows some fire/color, and the setting is open in the back as one would expect with a diamond. It seems to be about 4.5mm in diameter (edit: I believe I detected a black inclusion in the stone, which while being a flaw is promising regarding authenticity).
It's funny that I've never managed to detect any gold, but have eyeballed or sifted a good number of gold items. Anyway, all thoughts and advice would be appreciated, I really don't know much about jewelry. Happy hunting everyone!
While chatting with a fellow bottle-hunter I met on the site, a silver (white gold) crescent glinted at me from the dirt/junk pile, and a moment later this was in my hands:
The pictures aren't great, but it is a size 7 ~5.3 gram B.P.O.E. "Elks" fraternal organization ring, seemingly of a 1920s-30s Art Deco design based on the elements on either side of the face, and on the back it is stamped "O.B. 14K" (edit: it actually appears to read "O-B 14K"). I don't know if it stands for "Ostby Barton", a jewelry firm active in that era, or something less appealing indicating it is plated/filled, though the density feels right in-hand for 58.5% gold. Despite wear to the ring, the stone looks scratch-free, shows some fire/color, and the setting is open in the back as one would expect with a diamond. It seems to be about 4.5mm in diameter (edit: I believe I detected a black inclusion in the stone, which while being a flaw is promising regarding authenticity).
It's funny that I've never managed to detect any gold, but have eyeballed or sifted a good number of gold items. Anyway, all thoughts and advice would be appreciated, I really don't know much about jewelry. Happy hunting everyone!
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