Strange totenkopfrings

[Frundsberg]

Material seems to be aluminium or some other very light metal. Has anyone seen such rings before?

[ww2relichunter]

i would say these are most likely fantasy pieces !!

[Glenn66]

These rings look to be based on the WestWall ring as per the below...

[Frundsberg]

Looks like very similar. The reason why I'm asking is that I personally have not ever seen such fakes on the market. And I also have not ever seen that any fake or any original ring that was made of aluminium. Yes, there are a lot of trench art rings made of aluminium from the WWI already but I have not heared that aluminium was also used in factories or by silversmiths. Thtere are copper and bronze rings, some silverplated, other not but aluminium...

Of course it can be that someone just used aluminium to make some cheap test examples. And when it happened, in 1940 or on 2010 - it is impossible to say. I got these rings from Germany and from a person who does not know much about WWII militaria. As the price was like the price of 5 beers in decent Bierkeller, I just bought them:-). So not a big deal when they are fakes.

[Wagriff]

They look to me like they are, as you were thinking, possible test run pours to check out the dies for a newly made style of fake that has yet to sneak onto the market. Almost certainly, being white metal or aluminum, I can't imagine that these were intended to be rolled into actual rings and soldered to size. The brittle metal would likely crack or break if this were done. The cartoony grin and expression on the skulls should have been corrected, but who can say? That may be just what the fakers is banking on-that it looks too silly to be fake!

[odal]

For me a very, very interesting pattern.
Baught years ago a ready made ring of this pattern. Very cheap. Much to cheap to earn money in making this rings new.
From appearance, style and kind of making, except the material (aluminium), in my opinion very well possible a wwII area item.
My ring ist die struck, shortened, bent and soldered.
In the case of the material we know late made rings made out of zinc - so why not aluminium too?
Here some impressions of my ring - ist in the moment the only ready made one of this pattern i know. Interesting are the 2 "edges" beside the backside of the plate.

In the last years i saw sometimes these ring blanks of this pattern. Always sold as found in a "trashbox" of the former Robinsion Company, Oberstein, Germany. These Company was in the period a maker of badges, buttons ....

For my are this rings/blanks for sure keepers at least we know more about them.

[youthcollector1]

For me a very, very interesting pattern.
Baught years ago a ready made ring of this pattern. Very cheap. Much to cheap to earn money in making this rings new.
From appearance, style and kind of making, except the material (aluminium), in my opinion very well possible a wwII area item.
My ring ist die struck, shortened, bent and soldered.
In the case of the material we know late made rings made out of zinc - so why not aluminium too?
Here some impressions of my ring - ist in the moment the only ready made one of this pattern i know. Interesting are the 2 "edges" beside the backside of the plate.

In the last years i saw sometimes these ring blanks of this pattern. Always sold as found in a "trashbox" of the former Robinsion Company, Oberstein, Germany. These Company was in the period a maker of badges, buttons ....

For my are this rings/blanks for sure keepers at least we know more about them.

This post is either ignorance or wishful thinking. Besides the fact your just guessing on the metal used, just because something is cheap doesn't mean it's real. Someone could of found it, realized it was fake, and was willing to take anything for it. Besides, I've never seen this style on the period canteen list. Guessing isn't good in this hobby, one most study period documentation and photographs.

[odal]

This post is either ignorance or wishful thinking. Besides the fact your just guessing on the metal used, just because something is cheap doesn't mean it's real. Someone could of found it, realized it was fake, and was willing to take anything for it. Besides, I've never seen this style on the period canteen list. Guessing isn't good in this hobby, one most study period documentation and photographs.

Please read correct!
Untill this time nobody said that this are real period items.
I told only facts and that this rings/blanks are keepers untill there is more knowledge about, par example adverts, pics .. as you told.

[odal]

and ...
of course there are some examples of very similar proved period patterns, but in silver

[youthcollector1]

I must have misunderstood you, sorry.
"in my opinion very well possible a wwII area item."
"In the case of the material we know late made rings made out of zinc - so why not aluminium too?"

And yes, similar, but still different.