One of the Most Amazing Metal Detector Finds in History Reminds Us of the Value to be Found in Gold Wedding Rings

There are metal detector finds . . . and then there are metal detector FINDS that go down in history.

One of those extraordinary finds happened in 2019 when a man got a new metal detector and, on his second outing with it, found a gold wedding ring by a path. What makes this ring so extraordinary? According to a story reported in CNN:

If you search for “class rings” on eBay, you are going to find a lot of them for sale. There are old high school rings and old college rings. And if you visit a junk shop, an antique store or even a pawnshop, chances are you will find class rings for sale in them too. Why? There are a lot of reasons. Sometimes when people need cash, an old school ring is the first thing they think of selling. And then there is the unfortunate fact that when people pass away, their heirs often end up with the deceased person’s valuables, which often include a class ring or two.

At Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners, we are in the business of making it as easy as possible for you to determine the value of precious metals and precious metal jewelry, be it karat gold, silver, platinum and even palladium and rhodium. If you send any item made of precious metals to us, our lab technicians can quickly determine what it is made of and tell you its value at current trading prices.

Your answers about high-value sports rings answered!

Back in 2014, a gang of thieves broke into the Yogi Berra Museum in Little Falls, New Jersey and stole two American League Most Valuable Player plaques and some of the World Series rings that Yogi had been awarded during is long and storied career as a Yankee. At the time, the plaques were estimated to be worth as much as $350,000 each, and the rings were said to be worth more than $40,000 apiece.

What is the most unusual thing about gold? If you think about that question for a minute, chances are your answer to it will be, “Gold is beautiful.”

Of course, that answer is right. Gold really is beautiful, which explains why it has been the most sought-after metal on earth for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians and Assyrians loved it, as did the Vikings, the Incas, the king and queens of Europe, and everyone else through the ages. Chances are your grandparents and parents had gold wedding rings and if you are married, chances are you and your spouse have them too. And if pure 24K gold weren’t beautiful enough on its own, it can be made into rose gold, white gold, and even green and pink gold by adding other metals.

Let’s say you have a gold wedding ring that you would like to sell or recycle. Let’s also say it weighs 10 grams, which is pretty typical. So how much gold is in it, and what is it worth?

The first question to answer is, how much pure, 24K gold does it contain? (The 24K designation means pure gold.) Here things get a little complicated and require some calculation. But here’s what you need to know . . .

“I just got a beautiful piece of silver-plated jewelry,” says a man in New York. “Is there any chance that the silver is plated over gold?”

That’s a logical question

There have been times in history when big financial events seem to come at the rate of one or two a year. This is not one of those times. Every day seems to bring a big piece of financial news that could threaten the trading price of gold. For example . . .

Have you heard that half of all marriages end in divorce? If you do a little research online, you will learn that statistic is not true. It seems that in about 1980, the divorce rate hit an all-time high of 40%, and is be declining today. That could be because more young people are skipping marriage - and if you don’t get married, how can you get divorced?

We watched the royal wedding. Did you?

And while we were caught up in the wonderful spectacle of two young people starting their married life together, we couldn’t help noticing that a lot of jewelry was on display too. (We assume that most of the gold and gemstones we saw were the real thing, given the wealth of the celebrities in attendance and the serious nature of the event.)

Bling has been around for centuries. Marie Antoinette, members of the Russian Imperial family and all kinds of royals from past ages have loved to adorn themselves with shiny, oversized pieces of jewelry. They were apparently trying to send a message that said, “I can afford this stuff, you can’t, I am richer than you are, and you better be impressed.”

Only a few years ago, it was easy for crooks to sell items they had stolen – silverware, jewelry, firearms, what have you. They just drove to a pawnshop located some distance from where the crime had occurred and sold what they had stolen. The situation was bad for everyone…All that is now changing, thanks to new online databases of stolen goods