Ring dilemma...*UPDATE*

Walrus350

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Joined
Oct 16, 2017
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696
Location
Southern California
I found my 5th ring today and was dissapointed. It was a class ring!
It had identifiable info such as: initials, graduating year and school initals. DOH!

The pirate in me says to keep it, but I'm way too old to know better.

What steps do I take in due diligence?

Call the school? Ask for owner name or give them my info?

Call the maker, Balfour?

I'm on the west coast and I suspect the school is in the east coast.\

Any info on how I go about finding the owner would be appreciated.
 
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Years ago I tried contacting a school and they refused to help but the board of ed helped me and when I went to return it she slammed the door in my face and told me never to invade her privacy again... :lol:

Do what you feel is right to you... I returned one last year and my pirates license was revoked :lol: the girls entire name was in the ring and she had lost it the day she received it.
 
Walk around the location you found it at. See and lost ring pictures posted to telephone poles, walls etc? If yes, then contact to return. If no then all yours. At least you can say you tried.
 
You need to FOLLOW your heart. Do what YOU feel is right PERIOD.

I return them and have returned over 47 critters all gold.

Call the school and ask for the librarian if you are interested in finding the owner. They have all the yearbooks and plenty of kids that love helping.

I have gotten rewards that are worth far more than scrap value for the rings. I also have got nothing.

If you want to hear a story and see a smile on someones face, then try to return it. If you try and hit a brick wall, at least you can feel you did your best. BUT, whatever you do, don't look back in regret.
 
I would try to return it. I lost my class ring right after high school and would love to have it back. It is part of the reason that I detect now and is why I always try to find the owner when I find a ring that I can ID.

BCD
 
The high school alumni association may be another area that can assist you in identifying the owner and possibly even their address.
 
A less honourable man would at the very least step outside his door and shout "did anyone lose a ring?".. and if no one answers, consider it yours.. I mean at least you tried! Right?

But I do ask myself the same question as you do.. If it's a high school right, how many of us would really care.. I still have mine from 40 yrs ago, made of gold, but if I had lost it, apart from the monetary value, who cares.. but if it had been a university ring, which has more 'rights of passage and achievement' meaning than a high school grad ring, then I might consider it more valuable, and I would do my best to try to reunite it with it's original owner....

But that's just me.. I'm funny that way.. ;)
 
Can you even identify the school? There are so many schools in the country that have the same name or initials. You said you thought it was an east cost school, what made you think that?

If it is not a local school then you may have your work cut out for you. I wish you luck because it sounds like you want to try and return it.

Ray
 
Balfour and the others only keep records for like 5 years. Sending to the school you never know. I try FB,CL and such. Look real hard. Then it becomes a melter. Lots of rings are lost the same year of issue and they get a new one to replace it. Just depends on your conscience. Ive melted several class rings I couldn't find the owner. But will tell you if it eats at you too much never get into beach hunting. You post expensive lost stuff with a pic everybody lost it when the phone rings. Ive heard some weird stories. Have returned rings and it felt good. Also returned a few I should have just smacked with a hammer and moved on. Got reamed out once by some girl who for some reason thought I pocketed her friends car keys. All that did was make me quit helping and leave the beach. Hopefully you get a feel good story out of it. Sometimes you don't.
 
My last class ring return started with looking up the school on Facebook. I then left a message on the page asking for contact information after I explained what I was doing. Found him in Missouri. He had only had the ring for two years before he lost it. That was in 1984. He was so excited to get it back.
 
I'm going to keep it posted in the lost and found in craigslist for a couple more weeks. Then I'll reach out on FB and do some digging.
I really don't want to come out of pocket for a return. Hopefully he's here on the left coast.
Thanks a bunch for the input!

HH
 
I found a church ring that belonged to a decon. after all of my homework, he forgot he lost it after less than a year and wanted me to drive 2 hours to return it to him. we finally met up and he was wearing the same ring. he blessed me and left. never again. silver and 24k :mad:
 
I know I'm a hardass and all, but if they cared so much about these things, why'd they lose em to begin with? :pirate2:

Come on now, you haven't lost something you treasured? LOL or don't you have children that love to latch on to things and loose them for you?

A LOT of the rings I have returned were lost in the 50's - 70's. Way before underwater detectors were popular and the folks just thought they were gone for good. People get quite a shock when you find something they treasured but lost accidentally and never thought they would see again.

I have friends that are pirates and never would return anything. They are friends because I don't judge them. I let them do what they feel is right and they do the same for me. They kid me a bit sometimes. However I really have the last laugh because of all the places I can get into and the folks I meet. A person can make a lot of money in this area with the experience and equipment I have.

I received a 500.00 reward for returning a ring. I got a 100.00 reward for a silver ID bracelet. I have a lot more rewards and places that opened up to me also. I would never have got that much in scrap for either piece.
 
Come on now, you haven't lost something you treasured? LOL or don't you have children that love to latch on to things and loose them for you?

A LOT of the rings I have returned were lost in the 50's - 70's. Way before underwater detectors were popular and the folks just thought they were gone for good. People get quite a shock when you find something they treasured but lost accidentally and never thought they would see again.

I have friends that are pirates and never would return anything. They are friends because I don't judge them. I let them do what they feel is right and they do the same for me. They kid me a bit sometimes. However I really have the last laugh because of all the places I can get into and the folks I meet. A person can make a lot of money in this area with the experience and equipment I have.

I received a 500.00 reward for returning a ring. I got a 100.00 reward for a silver ID bracelet. I have a lot more rewards and places that opened up to me also. I would never have got that much in scrap for either piece.

:D Naw man, I'm a land pirate straight up! I have a theory about lost stuff. It's genetic I think. Some yards at old houses don't have much, but others are stacked. When they're in small towns, (at least in my area), they tend to pass the property down the family.

My family has always been VERY frugal and careful and taught the next generation the same way. My buddy's family are ALWAYS losing their keys, wallets...everything. Their family property was packed with stuff. Coinage galore, keys, tokens. You get the picture. I've been lucky to pull a couple wheats and one copper ring from three different properties occupied by my kin. I doubt I've lost more than a couple coins and never anything cherished. No kids either! :lol:

Anyway, I'm very much a finders keepers kind of guy, but I always tell my permissions right at the start if they have lost anything important on the property and describe it to me before I start I'll get it to them if I get it under the coil. I guess there's a little conscience bouncing around in there...:grin:
 
I don't mind trying to help out and return something but if it is going to cost me then it better be something special and not something that is not worth much. I have returned watches, glasses, and keys. Never found a ring that could be returned but I would try. I am just not going to spend a lot of time trying to find the owner or money if it is not that valuable.

Ray
 
:laughing: Gotta Love it! When a person takes up this Sport, sooner or later, a person will wrestle with this subject...Lots of cool and uncool posts about 'return' attempts....

Each Return Attempt is an experience in your Life you will have never gotten otherwise...Some are worth the effort, some are not, some are very depressing, some are Lifechangers, some are break evens, some are loss leaders and a depressing kick to the pills...

Ya just never know! No Right or Wrong here, no Moral Highroad to rigidly ascribe to....Roll with it on a case by case basis..

So, Now, after the experiences and moral/mental wrestling events...

What I do is, I dwell on it a little...Let my heart and the find speak to me a little bit for a week or more before I take any further action...Hey...I have it in hand, the 'loser' is no more out than they were a week ago, so I have a clear mind to make the 'right decision' in my corner and what happens is only up to only ME...

Yeah..Its all about ME at this point...I bought this gear, put in the time, learned this skill, got up early, burned gas, and 'accidentally' found this lost item...At this point, I am not under any obligation to 'do the right thing' to nobody but myself, and when it comes to this, I am my own worst enemy...:laughing:

I do like an appreciative 'Lost Item' recipient...one who respects my effort/skills and recompenses accordingly...or at least may 'pay it forward' to some poor but deserving b'tard....

I'ma gonna need some mercy someday from a Stranger! Doubt I will get it, never seems to happen to me...but I sure have given it and am well deserving...'Karma' is wasted on smelly hitchhiker Hippys, so no help to me there....In the end of the matter, for a Free Ranger in a World all alone...

I Probably shoulda just kept the gold and called it quits! ..still..a guy has some intrigue and compassion to figure out a find...just for curiosities sake if nothing else..might make a major difference in somebodies Life.....Ya just never know what the next ping will be....

A nice dirty Q is a better find than a moral wrestling event!..I hate to take on myself! Even though I know my weaknesses, I'm up against a crazy no account who doesnt ascribe to the Marquesse de Queensbury rules! That can take a baseball bat straight to the noggin! Has a left hook!...I generally run away from myself if I can...Ah, the joy in finding peaceful little parking lot pennies..:laughing:

Melt it!
 

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Walk around the location you found it at. See and lost ring pictures posted to telephone poles, walls etc? If yes, then contact to return. If no then all yours. At least you can say you tried.

Not sure I’d really call that a try. If it was 6 months or 6 years ago, no “Lost Ring” flyers will still be around. I would just ask myself, would I want someone to return my lost class ring if they found it?” And yes, I did lose my 1966 class ring winthin a year of purchasing it. I’ve also returned a couple. Off my soapbox now.
 
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