I have several class rings that were foolishly lost by someone years ago. Should I return them!!??

Cupajo

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I have returned more rings in my years of metal detecting than anyone I know and I been thinkin about the "returning rings thing" and am trying to decide how long a piece of jewelry needs to be lost and out of the owners life forever for me to consider it mine!!!!:shrug:

I have a class ring from1972 and another from 1973, lost for 40 and 39 years respectively and wonder if my financial needs should superceed the moral obligation to return the ring to the person foolish to lose it in the first place and who likely considers it lost forever anyway!!

One inclination I have is to keep my finds to myself and only return one if the person comes to me in an honest effort to recover their ring.

I do feel more strongly about returning wedding rings that are clearly marked!

Only one or two rings I have returned didn't bring me as much pleasure as I have had in returning the rest.

One of those has never been acknowledged to this day several years later.

The other brought the wedding band looser and me joy, but never culminated in the dinner promissed by the rings delighted recipient after I took time off and traveled a half hour to find the ring, which took more time and return it.

Seems like a good thread to start...........

CJ
 
This couldn't be a serious question!

You would seem to be in favor of the ring being returned to the one foolish enough to lose it in the first place.

Let me ask you this then, at what point do you stop trying to find the owner?:?:

Upon trying to return a ring last year I asked the school to contact whoever they had on record with the initials in the ring and a return call informed me that there were two and neither could be contacted. I later got a call from a policeman that told me not to sell the ring because he volunteered at the school and was making every effort to locate the owner.

It is now over a year later and I am still waiting for someone to contact me.

How long must I wait?:?:
 
like it or not,,,,, I believe that if you find it,,,, you can keep it,,,,, if you want to return it then do,,,, if not melt it and enjoy the profit,,, flame suit on
 
I give you alot of credit trying to return these rings CJ...

A few won't like my words but I do not go out of my way to return any rings and that is my choice... I will look for and return a ring if asked to but I refuse to search for the owners of any rings I find. I had two bad experiences trying to do the right thing but no more...

Whatever I find with my detector goes into my collection.
 
In this situation I think one year is adequate. The ring(s) has/have been lost approximately 4 decades and you gave the school and a policeman one year to find the owner. When you turn something in to the lost and found at the police station, if no one claims it after 90 days you pick it up and you are the rightful owner...

As far as the rings I find...I'm leaning towards Craig's position. The owner of the ring could have sought out someone with a detector or bought one themselves. Not like I'm planning on getting rich off the misfortune of others, but we have expenses too. Good metal detectors cost money, and they ain't gettin' any cheaper. Finds are getting harder to find. I'm just saying...
 
I have returned rings. I have sold rings. I have had liars try to steel a ring by falsely claiming it many times. I have decided that if I can't find a "LOST" ad the I keep it. People that don't keep a lost ad current with the internet have abandoned the ring. They make NO effort to recover it, so why bother them and create a big problem for your self.
 
The "honorable" thing to do is try to find the owner, but after reading on the forums about insurance companies replacing them etc My personal opinion is that someone lost the item and when found it belongs to the finder.

What the finder chooses to do with the ring after the fact is his decision.

Personally I am not in it to be a recovery service. The amount of money, time and effort put into the hobby make any finds I may make...mine to do with as I see fit. That's not to say that I'd never return an item, just that IMO it's the finders choice what to do.
 
Sorry I missed that you had tried with no results! If you tried with no luck I would say yours to keep and enjoy! I just think class rings and wedding rings with some type of ID should have a chance to get back to the rightful owner. I did see some of your other post that you had some success in returns and that is great props to you and job well done!
 
I give you alot of credit trying to return these rings CJ...

A few won't like my words but I do not go out of my way to return any rings and that is my choice... I will look for and return a ring if asked to but I refuse to search for the owners of any rings I find. I had two bad experiences trying to do the right thing but no more...

Whatever I find with my detector goes into my collection.
When I find a gold or nice silver ring I look at craigslist.org for a few days to see if someone posts about it. Everything here is fresh drops as far as I can tell. I am with Craig. I tried to help a lady find her silver ring "with diamonds" at Clearwater beach. I did not find it but then I was accused of "maybe finding it" and not telling anyone. ? Man was I totally pi$$ed and made my feelings well known in a forceful way. I have heard many stories about how some people treat us even after trying to help them or contacting them to return something. That is why I quit The Lost Group. I am not going to be accused by some a$$ after trying to help and it happens more than you know. Be a nice guy until it happens and then you will stop.

Back to old rings....finders keepers tough cr@p. Most class rings come with a replacement agreement when you buy it. Just like the monster ring a hunter in Virginia Beach returned, it was already replaced years ago by the included insurance. Then the school heard about it and wanted it instead! Remember the thread that went for page after page and was on the news there?

You want to feel good? Cash them in and give the money to a worthy charity.
 
Hell, that,s why I bought a detector, so i can return all the shiite people lost..................get real and screw good karma............................
 
I give you alot of credit trying to return these rings CJ...

A few won't like my words but I do not go out of my way to return any rings and that is my choice... I will look for and return a ring if asked to but I refuse to search for the owners of any rings I find. I had two bad experiences trying to do the right thing but no more...

Whatever I find with my detector goes into my collection.


AMEN to that. If people want to return rings based on a personal belief then so be it. But there is no person on here who knows if it is right or wrong for another person to do the same as they do. :roll:

I like Craig choose to keep ALL the rings I find. I really dont care if they have the persons birth date, address, telephone number in side, it all comes down to if you feel comfortable doing what you believe in. ,,,,,

,,,,i guess some would call me a huge jackwagon :lol:

but i can live with that.
 
Hell, that,s why I bought a detector, so i can return all the shiite people lost..................get real and screw good karma............................

lol i just read beerdoodles post after i posted. i was gonna right to h$ll with good karma, :lol: im glad someone posted it!!!

ps beerdoodle, ill drink to that!
 
If it were me I'd try to return the rings. Granted there are situations where it's difficult to track down an owner of a ring. Class rings, if the school name and year AND some identifying symbol or initials are present, are just as easy (if not easier) to return than engraved wedding rings.

However, if I were in financial dire straits I'm not sure what I would do...

Then again I probably wouldn't be out metal detecting if I were that hard up for money. I'd be digging through dumpsters for recyclables. :D
 
If it were me I'd try to return the rings. Granted there are situations where it's difficult to track down an owner of a ring. Class rings, if the school name and year AND some identifying symbol or initials are present, are just as easy (if not easier) to return than engraved wedding rings.

However, if I were in financial dire straits I'm not sure what I would do...

Then again I probably wouldn't be out metal detecting if I were that hard up for money. I'd be digging through dumpsters for recyclables. :D
:laughing: I like the pic of the sunglasses on the dogs a$$! You trying to tell us something? :laughing:
 
In one word CJ, NO.... You have returned more rings than probably this whole board combined. I have seen one returned here and there, but most knew the area to hunt for the item, you do all this extra legwork to actually find the owner. Your time and effort involved in that task I have not overlooked.

It strikes me that it is a dilemma for you. If so, only you know "when to say when" on trying to find the owner. I feel you have done more than you ever needed to trying to find some of the owners.

Most would be happy with many of your finds you have posted. For you, finding something good is a curse. Your real hunt begins.... For the owner... I personally could not go to the lengths you have...

Maybe for you it is not the first find in the water, but the second find on land... ;)

Be safe... Your friend...
SSC:p
 
It is up to you what you want to do with the rings, I just wanted to say that those rings could have been lost the day before you found them though. Some people actually wear their class rings as adults...
 
Well Partner after what happened to me Monday I'm rethinking my position on the subject. Current finds , like the story below will be returned, but anything else will be going into my collection....period.

After finding two lost rings, a wedding band, that had just been lost, was recovered within minutes, and an ( AWESOME ) Air Force Academy ring that had been lost the week before, rewards offered by both parties were turned down in lieu of pictures. I have yet to received a picture from either party.

I must say however, good Karma came my way within an hour of returning the last ring. I found a man's gold ring with 7 diamond settings.
 
I will look for and return a ring if asked to but I refuse to search for the owners of any rings I find.
:thumbsup:

:pirate2:

Pirates until the end. I don't spend thousands of dollars, my time researching, freezing, burning, gas money, and God knows what else to return my treasure. If I'm asked to hunt for something I will. The rest is mine. Especially on Public land.
 
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