New Kantinenring #1

[DerFunker]

Hi friends, I'd like to show you all one of my two new canteen rings I've just purchased. This first one is of, I think, a common motif showing snakes entwined on the band, and the typical skull with bones on either side. It has significant wear throughout, especially on the high points, but that's the sort of thing I like to see in these rings - whomever owned this one really enjoyed wearing it.

You can clearly see the 835 inside the band, as well as two other stamps - one looks to me like a letter (F? E?) and perhaps a star... the other is difficult for me to make out.

I'm quite happy with this one, but am a novice ring collector at best, so I always welcome your opinions. Thanks for having a look and taking the time to comment!

-DF

[DerFunker]

OK gents, I did some digging and I think I might have figured out the markings:

F* - Trying to get a clear shot of this is difficult, very tiny... F and a star. I believe this is Gustav Frey, Pforzheim... ring experts, what do you think?




The other mark looks to have the general shape of the Laurin (Ln) mark, I think.





Thanks for any assistance!

-DF

[DerFunker]

I'm having difficulty locating a Frey stamp that looks quite like the one on this ring. Can anyone assist? I had this pinned down as a good one originally, but I'm seeking some verification (matching markings).

Thanks, gents.

[SpitfireVb]

I'm having difficulty locating a Frey stamp that looks quite like the one on this ring. Can anyone assist? I had this pinned down as a good one originally, but I'm seeking some verification (matching markings).

Thanks, gents.

That is a very well-worn ring, as you say. It looks good to me though, albeit you have to be careful with rings that are so heavily worn. Some are worn down artificially in order to hide signs of casting.

If you scout around the various ring fora, you will find many photos of similar marks to the ones on this ring. 'F*' is indeed the stamp of Frey & Co. The 'Ln' is a Laurin stamp of quality that was used early on, mainly before the Nazis took over. I attached a photo of a very similar mark that I found on German Daggers.com. You have to watch these too as it's sometimes hard to tell if a mark is stamped or casted but the latter usually have poor, shallow, mushy details.

[DerFunker]

That is a very well-worn ring, as you say. It looks good to me though, albeit you have to be careful with rings that are so heavily worn. Some are worn down artificially in order to hide signs of casting.

If you scout around the various ring fora, you will find many photos of similar marks to the ones on this ring. 'F*' is indeed the stamp of Frey & Co. The 'Ln' is a Laurin stamp of quality that was used early on, mainly before the Nazis took over. I attached a photo of a very similar mark that I found on German Daggers.com. You have to watch these too as it's sometimes hard to tell if a mark is stamped or casted but the latter usually have poor, shallow, mushy details.

Thanks for having a look and taking the time to comment. I was hoping you'd have a look - I've learned much from your assessments of rings, thanks again!

I had the same thought that someone could obscure casting by mechanically wearing down a ring. I took some more shots below of some areas that wouldn't have normally received wear from contact, and they don't appear to show casting lines. The back of the skull is nice and smooth, and I know that's where casting often shows itself. I took some better shots of the stamps, below, and I think they're OK. Thanks again for your opinion, and I'm glad to know this seems to be a good one.

If you wouldn't mind taking a look at the other ring I posted sometime, Kantinenring #2, I'd be much appreciative.

Thanks a million!

-DF

[Greenhorn]

Wow, fantastic rings! I’d wear one if I owned it, couldn’t resist it. They look so good

Green

[SpitfireVb]

Thanks for having a look and taking the time to comment. I was hoping you'd have a look - I've learned much from your assessments of rings, thanks again!

I had the same thought that someone could obscure casting by mechanically wearing down a ring. I took some more shots below of some areas that wouldn't have normally received wear from contact, and they don't appear to show casting lines...

Thanks for the new photos. Call me suspicious but I see a strange spot on the snake's head. See red arrow on attached photo. Is that the snake's eye, a speck of dirt, or possibly a casting bubble

[DerFunker]

Good eye catching that, but it's actually a reflection of something in the ring, possibly me taking the pic. The dot you see that looks like an eye or bubble looks to be my flash. The snake doesn't actually have an eye, and I tried my best to capture that below. Kinda hard though as that angle always wants to show a reflection, but you can see it's smooth here I think:



Thanks again for having a look, and I really appreciate your level of detail in your posts!