Luftwaffe Ring, new find

[big ned]

The problem that I've always had with very worn rings is that they simply couldn't have gotten so much wear during the few years of the war that they were being worn. They weren't made of Lead, afterall. Even cheap alloy silver is a wee bit more durable. And I can't imagine that After the war's end that they were continued to be worn-especially the SS rings often seen. I've got silver rings that I have worn for almost 40 years, and they don't exhibit anywhere Near such wear patterns. And then, of course, there is always that odd debate over why so many of them are found with split shanks-usually in the same places, despite the kind or thickness of the material. There is the argument that they might have been worn for years after the war by the Allied soldiers who "found" them and brought them back, but this argument fails when the split shank is taken into account. Such a ring would be a constant source of pinching. This is why only rings with rock solid provenances should be paid decent money for....

10 minutes in a cement mixer with a bag of sand and gravel is all it takes.

[Duff]

Funny - As I'm looking at these pictures I thought the exact same thing - how in the hell do these rings always seem to have MASSIVE face wear!?...... I just do not collect these things..... This is one exact reason...

[odal]

Well known period pattern. They were in silver and germansilver.
For me this ring has a good chance because the structure of the plate background is still visible.
Here a pic of one of my rings (germansilver)

[GeneralPutnam]

Hello Gents. Rings are not my strong suit and I am making a statement or juding the wear on this ring.

I wanted to share my grandfathers ring.
He participated in the Civilian Conservation corps during the 1930s- for those not farmiliar with it, it gave construction and infrastructure jobs to poor men that needed work

He purchased this ring in 1936 (there were many company's selling souvenir items) plus its similar in design to the ring you are discussing.

He was very proud of his service in the CCC.

He was drafted in 1944 and fought with the 83rd division from November 1944 to the end of the war

I have family pics showing him wearing the ring.

after the war he worked in construction.

He was injured in 1955 and ended up in a home where he passed away. my grandmother took his ring because she was afraid the nurses would steal it

19 years of punishing wear- no fairy tale stories about it.

Its stamped sterling and has his initials engraved on the inside

never been cleaned or messed with. the break in the band was made when he lost part of his hand in a work accident.
he would wear this on his index finder

just my two cents
General Putnam

so this ring has be through the ringer back breaking work and war.



So 100% honest wear

[harryamb2]

agree with Odal very worn but original.

[Martin C]

Hi Friends,

So far a interesting analysis, Thank you Gentlemen! For what its worth, under a jewelers loupe i can see that the ring was resized at one time and this place is where the split occurred.

Thank you Mr. Odal for providing the image of your ring!

Mart