|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Your Price: $ 14.99
Item Number: 1992 |
|
|
|
|
|
| We also accept Checks and Money Orders. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Manufacturer: Handmade Spoon Rings
Nifty find out of a home. This is a vintage spoon ring which was made out of a piece of flatware (we presume this was made from what was originally a spoon, but it is possible it was a fork, we can't tell and these pieces are generally referred to as spoon rings). There is no marking on the inside of the ring which identifies the manufacturer of the base piece nor the pattern. The base spoon ring has a simple double horizontal line pattern near the top and bottom edges.
What makes this spoon ring unique is that the artist who made this cemented a real Indian Head Penny Coin on the topside of this ring. You can only see the front side of the Indian Head Cent, of course, which shows the full Indian head design along with the 1891 date beneath and the encircling "United States of America". While we are calling this "cemented" to the base spoon ring, we really don't know how this was attached, via soldering or something else, but it is permanently a part of the ring.
We believe this piece to be silverplate (silver plate) as it is not marked nor appears to be sterling silver. This is a medium weight, large size ring. It weighs about 1/2 ounce or about 14 grams. We tried to estimate the size using a ring sizer and it appears to us to be a size 11 (we are not jewelry experts). This ring is not adjustable. This is the type of spoon ring which is curved into a circle shape, rather than an "s" shape. In this case it appears the smaller end of the spoon has been curved into the larger end where the two meet, forming a complete circle, with this smaller end also possibly cemented to the main piece (we can't tell for sure, but this does not appear adjustable).
This came out of a home along with a number of other spoon rings which we were told were all made by one gentleman many years ago, so we do believe this was hand made (handmade) by one person (not a company or manufacturer), who was making these himself to sell. From some other items included at the time we picked this up, and the fact that we were told this had been put away and stored for many years, we believe this ring was likely made in the mid 1960s to mid 1970s period, although we don't know the timing for sure.
Measures about 1 inch greatest exterior width or diameter across the opening and about 3/4 inch interior width to the circle. The silver plate itself is thick, measuring about 1/16 inch in thickness. We think you could also be creative and use this for other things given its size, such as a small napkin holder or something else. The height/width of the ring itself varies with about 11/16 inch the greatest width where the Indian Head Penny is attached and about 3/8 inch smallest width which we would see as the underside of the ring.
We've provided 8 images to show from differing angles. At some angles the camera lighting blands out the penny color but better shows the penny condition, but creating bright "hot spots" off the smooth surfaces. Please use the zoom feature to examine closely.
Excellent vintage used condition, but certainly not "new" or mint looking (nor would we expect it to be that). We see nothing bad nor unexpected for an old metal spoon ring that was hand formed out of probably a used piece of silverware, and which uses a circulated Indian Head Cent coin. Both the spoon ring itself and the coin show age and age wear which supports it to be a vintage piece. There are no large chips, breaks, cracks, etc. For the silverware, it has an overall slightly worn look as one would expect with used silverware, with some marks, scratches, etc. This piece was very dirty from years of storage when received, so we cleaned it up and moderately shined it with polish (we did not shine the penny). You could possibly shine the silver plate further, as there is still some light tarnish to it, but no dark black tarnish. There are many what we would call signs of hand crafting such as tool marks from the bending process on this piece with many flattened spots and indentations, an uneven rounding to one end of the ring where the metal was cut off from the rest of the spoon, etc. The coin itself shows expected circulation wear via tiny chips/indentations, irregular edging, worn spots, etc. Please note that the cement or whatever material used to attach the coin to the base spoon ring is visible as a darker silver area under and next to the coin on the base as well as having some of this on the edge and underside of the coin itself. From a distance when wearing the ring this likely won't be noticeable but you will see this close-up.
We have never seen an Indian Head Penny attached to a spoon ring before, so we find this particularly fun. We are concurrently listing another somewhat similar Indian Head cent ring. This could be an interesting addition to any coin collection, or just a unique gift for someone who is interested in old coins and Indian Head Cents in particular.
Please note: This item will only be shipped to U.S. addresses. |
|
|
|
|