First gold...but not for long

[mojotrout]

Howdy. I have owned an F5 for about two weeks now. I bought it for jewelry hunting and as an alternative experience to my Tesoros. Today I took it out for only the third time and lo and behold, I find a 14K gold band!

[attachment 265792 ring.JPG]

However, the ring has an inscription that reads "R.C to B. F. Feb 2 1918". I found it next to a basketball court so obviously this ring was handed down through perhaps two or three generations (Im certain a 100 year old man wasnt out thee shooting hoops). So Im obligated to try to find the owner.

How does one go about this? Craigslist? Local newspaper? how long do you give the owner to respond?

In any event, Im still happy I found gold! And It will be nice to get the ring back to someone that likely has strong sentimental feelings for it.

My settings were 90 gain/ +3 thresh/ disc at 3/ Fe notched/ GB at 68/ 4 tones. It rang out at a solid 37. It was only just under the thatch, so about 1/2".

 

[MetalMiner]

I would say the owner is most likely dead. If you put a picture on CL don't mention what the inscription says, the owner should be able to tell you what it says. that's one way to know that it may actually be the owner or a relative. A lot of people will try to claim its their ring. So they need to be able to tell you what the inscription says. Good Luck finding the owner, I think it will be real tough to find them. You could maybe search marriage records for that date & people with those initials. But it may not have been someone who lived where it was lost.

 

[ez4sure]

congrats on your first gold ring good luck on finding the owner hh

 

[mojotrout]

Thanks metalminer, I know it cant be easy to find the owner of a ring, but i figured I should at least try.

And ez4sure-- Im hooked now, so I will be a dedictaed ring hunter for the forseeable future!

 

[bob.oz]

Congrats on the first gold and your endeavor to want to return it.......tough one though!! I try to return any class ring that I find ,loads of info on them.But you got little to go on with that one. Even a fresh drop like yours I look daily at CL and the papers L&F for some one posting such a loss.When posting on CL and saying "inscribed" will keep the "it's mine" people away.You could also post a small sign on the basketball pole"found ring...inscribed"with contact through CL or a #,other players might know of its loss....after that you've done all you can.My return of class rings last summer was....interesting!Good Luck!
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?18,1811620

 

[mojotrout]

Thanks Bob. The park I found it in is very new, only a few years old. So it hasnt been in the gournd for long. i will check the CL and newspaper posts for a "lost" ad as you suggested, rather than start my own "found" ads.

 

[Topdecker]

I recently found an 1857 half-dime at 2" in a fairly new park. You have to look at things through the lens of time - stuff happened before the newer park was built.

Top

 

[mojotrout]

I recently found an 1857 half-dime at 2" in a fairly new park. You have to look at things through the lens of time - stuff happened before the newer park was built.

Top

Hi Top, I agree 100%. However, in my case, Im certain this ring was lost in the past few years. I have aerial photos back to 1939 of this area and until a few years ago, there was nothing around this area but alfalfa fields. During the real estate explosion of 2003-2007 the area in and around the park got sold to developers and subdivisions went in like wildfire. Even as late as 1996, there was only nine farm houses within a mile of this site.

I have contacted the Parks and Rec dept of the area and no one has asked them about a missing ring. I checked Craigslist Lost and Found to no avail. I will hold on to it for a while and see if something develops.

 

[Dan-Pa.]

Our local newspaper will run the ad for free...Gold ring with initials should do it...and keep the scammers away and perhaps original owner can describe and give you the initials leading to a return to the owner....

 

[mudpuppy]

Beauty ring there Mojo! Good for you to try to find the owner..Dan-Pa gave you good advice...just run it in the local paper, not on Craigslist...way to many scammers that will waste your time or try to hijack your computer with spam.
Mud

 

[mojotrout]

Thanks Mud, Dan. Im running an ad through Wednesday. We'll see what happens...