completely stumped

Steve · Jan 12, 2020

Clueless as to what metal this is made from. Judging by the style and location it's at least 50 years old. It appears to be handmade.. so not pt or ss. No black patina so it's not silver. It has a weird sound to it when I flick it... like a metallic ring to it.
I'm going to take a wild guess and say around 25% silver.. but no idea what the other metal is.
Pd is another possibility, but I've never seen anything like this ring before made from PD.

Any guess? I'll send it in for s test sometime next month.

Also there is no pitting on the front of the signet. A quick buffing and it will look good as new

Cfmct · Jan 12, 2020

Pewter? Nickel silver.. I think they called it german silver which has no silver in it though... sort of looks like it as I have a chunk of nickel silver..

bruinvikes · Jan 12, 2020

Cfmct said:
Pewter? Nickel silver.. I think they called it german silver which has no silver in it though... sort of looks like it as I have a chunk of nickel silver..

I was thinking pewter as well.

Steve · Jan 12, 2020

Cfmct said:
Pewter? Nickel silver.. I think they called it german silver which has no silver in it though... sort of looks like it as I have a chunk of nickel silver..

Could be. Ironically this beach was occupied by Germany during ww2.
I have a feeling it's going to be worth about the same as an empty beer can

Mud-puppy · Jan 12, 2020

If its hand cast and 50yrs old I'm gonna guess Babbitt...a guy could take an existing ring and do a lost wax a mold and pour in some Babbitt...
I hope not though...I hope its a really old P4....What does it sound like on your detector?...Thats really the first sign I go by...What did my detector THINK it was...

Steve · Jan 12, 2020

Mud-puppy said:
If its hand cast and 50yrs old I'm gonna guess Babbitt...a guy could take an existing ring and do a lost wax a mold and pour in some Babbitt...
I hope not though...I hope its a really old P4....

Not likely p4. The technology just wasn't here. That's why I knocked off ss, and pt. Pewter is likely right.. pretty good metal actually. Sitting in the ocean for decades and good as new with a quick buff

KOB · Jan 12, 2020

I found a ring similar to that years ago. Couldn't figure out either what it was made of. Took it to a pawn shop where they had one of those expensive digital analyzers. It came out as being magnesium. Only one I ever found. Very weird.

WaterWalker · Jan 12, 2020

You could do a specific gravity test.
Weigh the ring out of water,
Weigh the ring in water
Divide the ring out of the water by the difference.

To get the weights in grams to the .01 place (.001 place is much better for accuracy):
Make a gallows from a piece of wire to hang the ring from so you can weigh it in air and they slide a plastic pill bottle with water in it under and then up just high enough to just cover the ring with water.
The gallows with the string you will hang the ring from must be zeroed out before attaching the ring. When all is set and the ring is hanging, record the weight.
Now slide the water under and up to just cover the ring and take the reading in grams.
Now do the math and check against a specific gravity chart of metals.

here is a link to doing specific gravity a bit different (without making a gallows)

https://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=243009&highlight=specific+gravity+testing.

MuddyMo · Jan 12, 2020

WaterWalker said:
You could do a specific gravity test.
Weigh the ring out of water,
Weigh the ring in water
Divide the ring out of the water by the difference.

To get the weights in grams to the .01 place (.001 place is much better for accuracy):
Make a gallows from a piece of wire to hang the ring from so you can weigh it in air and they slide a plastic pill bottle with water in it under and then up just high enough to just cover the ring with water.
The gallows with the string you will hang the ring from must be zeroed out before attaching the ring. When all is set and the ring is hanging, record the weight.
Now slide the water under and up to just cover the ring and take the reading in grams.
Now do the math and check against a specific gravity chart of metals.

here is a link to doing specific gravity a bit different (without making a gallows)

https://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=243009&highlight=specific+gravity+testing.

I'll probably never do this but it's good to know. Thanks for posting it.

Steve · Jan 12, 2020

Sitting in a hotel. Was hoping someone had a quick,answer. Whatever metal it is its probably worthless

OBN · Jan 12, 2020

I have several nickel (metal) rings from the 40's/50's, several SS also...from the color I would say nickel..like a gunmetal gray

Steve · Jan 12, 2020

OBN said:
I have several nickel (metal) rings from the 40's/50's, several SS also...from the color I would say nickel..like a gunmetal gray

Whatever it is is pretty remarkable. I've only seen gold stand the test of time like this metal. A quick buff to take off the oxidation and its brand new

OBN · Jan 12, 2020

Steve said:
Whatever it is is pretty remarkable. I've only seen gold stand the test of time like this metal. A quick buff to take off the oxidation and its brand new

three..

Flying Dutchman · Jan 13, 2020

Did find an old ring once (Netherlands) that was stamped 18k. Came out clean but still had an od colour.
A melting flame made it solve into black bubly smelly mass. Think melting it, is your best option!
We have a name here for that silver looking stuff, its called 'Alpacca' which is used for el cheapo jewellery.

completely stumped

Steve

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