first ring of the year ...a world away during WW2

found this cool ring an finally found a little info on it thought I'd share it with you ......the center is the face cut out of a Merc dime (no idea what year ) one side is inscribed Oran with a 19 below it , on the other side it says Africa with 1943 below it on the outside bottom of the band is 3 small trade marks I cant make out ......this is what I've fount out about it so far .

in 1943 WW2 The U.S. 1st Ranger Battalion landed east of Oran Africa and quickly captured the shore battery at Arzew. this Ring is what was known as a trench ring made by the GI's , they would melt silver coins to make the rings an them design them how ever they wanted , while enduring long hours of just sitting in the trenches .

From what little info I can find on the rings themselves they go from $70 -$800

thats about all I can tell you so far other than the hallmarks are driving my crazy wanting to know what they are lol

enjoy an HH  Tank

Awesome find man... and a great story as well.

You have to wonder what thoughts run through their minds in a time like that. Scary times for sure.

Pretty good craftsmanship dont ya think?

Mine wouldn't be legible cause Id be crapping my pants while trying to engrave in that trench. 

Wicked great find Bro.     Banner ! ! ! !

Fantastic find my friend, one worthy of being displayed in a nice case.....

That is truly the best discovery you have made so far. Congrats brother.
 
JuJu

I have seen various coins cut out a bit like yours (I have a Head of Geo V from a farthing), but I haven't seen them on a ring until now.  As you point out trench art was fairly popular & mostly modelled things in brass cartridges, silver like this with a story is a double bonus find.   The hallmark like stamps are probably make believe (as I have no idea where he mine have gone to get them assayed), he just had an eye for detail, although it should be typical on the inside of the ring.

Congrats on a fantastic ring. Lots of history there. Does it fit you?

HH

Desertfox

Locals would also make these rings and sell them to the 'invaders'; they sold rings like this to the Germans in Tunis, Africa (not with a Mercury dime head, however).
Very historic; congrats!

Awesome find man, and cool story too, Thats definately a keeper.

Sasnz

To me ,that's a banner find considering what it represents!! Awesome!!

Keep it  WW2 relics for many collectors are more valuable than artifacts of the Ancient World. Trench art is certainly a find with more difference than some modern stuff with lab created stones. 

Thats an amazing ring Tank.. I agree w/ the banner votes.  U have mine

Nice find that ring is a work of ART !!   the 1st Ranger Battalion has a long history and still exist today that was my unit over in Vietnam mid 1960,s Black Rock Mountain DMZ , Great find   Dd60

The 1st Ranger Battalion is an elite special operations unit of the US Army that is currently based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, United States.

It was originally formed shortly after the United States' entry into World War II and was modeled upon the British Commandos. Members from the unit were the first American soldiers to see combat in the European theater when they participated in the failed raid on Dieppe in France in 1942, during which three Rangers were killed and several more were captured. Later, the 1st Ranger Battalion was sent to North Africa where they participated in the landings in Algeria and the fighting in Tunisia in 1943. In late 1943 the unit was broken up in order to raise two more Ranger battalions before it took part in the campaigns in Sicily and Italy. After World War II, the 1st Ranger Battalion has gone through a number of changes of name and composition as it has been activated and deactivated and re-organised on a number of occasions. However, the unit has lived on in one form or another since then, serving in Korea and Vietnam before being consolidated into the 75th Ranger Regiment of which it is a part today. Recent deployments have included operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the wider global war on terrorism

cool looking ring Tank !

  How about more Details on the find.

When & where did you find it ?

  if that ring could tell a story ! The Ranger must have made it back home , alive.   Congrats  Tank 69 , nice work finding  this remarkable WW 2 ring ! Banner find ,      like your thread 2    CMDawg

That is one great find Tank, I put my vote in! Whoever owned it made it home! AWESOME! 

well you know the merc is 1943 or earlier 

Awesome find man... and a great story as well.

You have to wonder what thoughts run through their minds in a time like that. Scary times for sure.

Pretty good craftsmanship dont ya think?

Mine wouldn't be legible cause Id be crapping my pants while trying to engrave in that trench. 

That is truly the best discovery you have made so far. Congrats brother.
 
JuJu

Nice find that ring is a work of ART !!  the 1st Ranger Battalion has a long history and still exist today that was my unit over in Vietnam mid 1960,s Black Rock Mountain DMZ , Great find  Dd60

The 1st Ranger Battalion is an elite special operations unit of the US Army that is currently based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, United States.

It was originally formed shortly after the United States' entry into World War II and was modeled upon the British Commandos. Members from the unit were the first American soldiers to see combat in the European theater when they participated in the failed raid on Dieppe in France in 1942, during which three Rangers were killed and several more were captured. Later, the 1st Ranger Battalion was sent to North Africa where they participated in the landings in Algeria and the fighting in Tunisia in 1943. In late 1943 the unit was broken up in order to raise two more Ranger battalions before it took part in the campaigns in Sicily and Italy. After World War II, the 1st Ranger Battalion has gone through a number of changes of name and composition as it has been activated and deactivated and re-organised on a number of occasions. However, the unit has lived on in one form or another since then, serving in Korea and Vietnam before being consolidated into the 75th Ranger Regiment of which it is a part today. Recent deployments have included operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the wider global war on terrorism

Wow Thanks guys this wild I posted last night never expecting this kinda response on this ring , Thankyou  OK lets see if I can answer a few of ya .  Gio lol I agree hard to be creative with people trying to kill ya lol ...JuJu thanks Bro that means allot tho I'm not sure if its this or the arrow head that if my best find ...Deepdigger wow that's awesome piece of history on the Rangers thanks that just gives this ring a lil extra karizma in my eyes ....to everyone else thank you for your great comments an your vote for Banner ......Wow I never expected that when I posted this ring ........once again thanks everyone your a great bunch Happy Hunting Tank 

cool looking ring Tank !

  How about more Details on the find.

When & where did you find it ?

well you know the merc is 1943 or earlier 

No problem Jeff ........I found it late Thursday night , spent yesterday afternoon trying to research it so I knew what I had when I posted it Last night .  I got a day job cleaning up an old storage shed thats been abandoned but full of trash an junk , the owner of the property passed years ago an the family wanted to have it cleaned out before its torn down .their going to clear the property ( an yes I did ask to hunt it afterwards an got the green light  ) to sell .Junk an trash is an understatement but I did find a crushed shoe box by accident that had some old costume jewelry in it , I  figured I'd bring it home for the Minnie miners you know how lil girls like to play dress up .I was sitting at home an Red Started looking threw the box lol she woulda made JUJU proud all of a sudden she lets out this scream an yell It's silver ( lol indeed it was ) so I had to look threw it .in all I pulled 3 (925) necklaces 2 small (10 & 14 k )pendants an a pair of 14k stud ear rings an this ring . so there you have it hopefully it wasn't to long winded ,


Ivan your killing me you know I been sitting here wishing I could tell what year that Merc was lol


HH Guys  Tank

if that ring could tell a story ! The Ranger must have made it back home , alive.   Congrats  Tank 69 , nice work finding  this remarkable WW 2 ring ! Banner find ,      like your thread 2    CMDawg

I agree CM what a story .....I'd luv to meet the man an hear the story .....I have to admit I wish there was a way to get it back where it belongs but the other side this one is to cool to let go of .

maybe a 1916 D ?  --only the rings maker knows for sure, and hes not telling  --honestly a real "one of a kind" item 

Tank69 that is one gorgeous ring! If it's something that fits one of your your fingers, maybe you'll consider wearing it.
But, if it was me I'd have it in a specialized WWII auction and watch it go to the highest bidder for  . . . who knows how much!

Tank69 that is one gorgeous ring! If it's something that fits one of your your fingers, maybe you'll consider wearing it.
But, if it was me I'd have it in a specialized WWII auction and watch it go to the highest bidder for  . . . who knows how much!

lol I just read your post , I never tried it on lol guess what it does fit  

You got big ole girly hands brother. 
 
JuJu

Wow

Thank you everyone who voted for my ring I'm still in shock here   Thank you  this needs a Happy dance






PS I got your girly hands ya lil redneck dwarf lol

What an unusual find Tank.  This is one of those finds you differently keep and not get rid of it for scrap silver for sure.  Good going.

P.S.  Sorry dude, I have to agree with your brother about the hand thing. LOL

P.S.S.  Good going on making Banner also.

          Soldier's art from any period is very special. Congrats on your ring, your story, and making a well deserved Banner. HH, quindy in Tennessee.

Man tank that thing is awsome! Congrats on making the banner.

Amazing Find!!
Congrats On The Banner!!!
HH!!

What a find! Never seen american trench art from wwII before. Most items i know about over here are from wwI. Keep it!
Sorry bout Your fingers....

Congrats, Tank     Looks good on the banner and on your finger.

  RR

You got big ole girly hands brother. 
 
JuJu

Now that's funny Congratulations on a banner find

that's a sweet find for sure...even better with history behind it..

Very cool piece of history.....Congrat's on the banner 

Great Find! no matter how you found it. 
What I love about this hobby is that it opens our eyes to the unusual and exquisite things out there  ..  whether with metal detector or eyeball.

HH Joe

 Way to go Tank. You deserve it. What a chunk of history. Always enjoy your post and finds  Congrats on the Banner looks great up there!
HH
TnMtns

fabulous ring!!!!!!!!!!!

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome Ring 

Congrats on the Banner Brother. Gonna be hard to top this one.
 
JuJu

now that is a cool ring 

Congratulations on the unique find.   

Congrats on such a cool find. Don't sweat the year. I'd rather find that ring than even a 16-D.

Wow

Thank you everyone who voted for my ring I'm still in shock here   Thank you  this needs a Happy dance






PS I got your girly hands ya lil redneck dwarf lol

I resemble that remark. lol 
 
JuJu

Awesome ring!! One of the neatest little finds I've seen on here

 

Forgotten piece of history and a beauty at best. I wonder what kind of action that ring may have been through I would preserve and cherish that

Oh if that ring could talk, huh? Congrats Tank, that's wonderful

I want to thank everyone , the farthest thing from my mind when I posted this ring was all these great responses an that it would make the banner ....wow it made the banner    ........ I agree with allot of you I really wish this ring could talk to me an tell me its story , I wouldn't mind meeting the person who it belonged to an hearing their story either . Ya know most people see metal detecting as just a bunch of old geezers in funny clothes swinging a detector , others see us as like electronic thieves or pirates trying to find a treasure but they would be shocked to find out how many of us can find 1 single item an the history lesson you learn from it ....... with this ring I found allot of history that I have been sharing with those around me as I'm getting it , an its been fun .......Once again Thank you Everyone for voting banner an commenting on my ring , I don't know if I'll ever be able to top this one but until then I'll keep hunting .


HH Tank 

Nice ring. Congradulation on the banner....

The U.S. Army 1st Ranger Battalion was constituted on May 27, 1942, and officially activated on June 19, 1942 in Carrickfergus, Ireland under the command of Major William Orlando Darby. Volunteers for the first Ranger unit had come from Army soldiers who had been in training in Northern Ireland with the 34th Infantry Division and the 1st Armored Division.

The first Rangers to see combat were 50 men who joined Canadian and British forces in a disastrous raid on Dieppe, France on August 19, 1942.

During World War II the 1st Ranger Battalion fought in Algeria (Operation Torch), Tunisia, Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno and Anzio.

The 1st Ranger Battalion earned two Presidential Unit Citations; one for its actions in clearing El Guettar Pass in Tunisia in March of 1943, and a second for Salerno.

Following actions near Cisterna, Italy in January of 1944, the 1st Ranger Battalion was ,   " captured "  by German forces. The GI that made the ring ,was possibly  a  POW !   The battalion was officially deactivated on August 16, 1944.  Some history on the First !    Happy Fourth everyone ,  CMD

congrats on an awesome find
and big congrats on the banner

Yeah!  Buddy!

Nice find Tank.   

 

YOU MADE THE BANNER!!!!
OMG!!
Way to go!
Love you brother!

Truly an outstanding find.

After reading all of the posts, I got to thinking about WW2 and it occurred to me that if politicians, well known personalities and others joined the military, why wouldn't an artisian of fine jewelry?? You know that patriotism doesn't belong exclusively to the common man. 

It might be worthwhile to research the HallMarks. Who knows, you might be able to add a lot to its history.

Congradulations on banner. May we all have many more.

ED

Verry Sweet ring!

[God bless our veterans! Thank you for your sacrifices!]

Awesome find!!!

A little piece of personal world history!

Congrats on the great find and on making banner!

 

I found one of these in my mother's drawer after she passed, along with one just like it with a Boy Scout emblem on it. I have it in the safety deposit box and it is killing me not to be able to inspect it RIGHT NOW!

Congratulations!!!!

Lisa in So Oregon

tank that is one fabulous find thanks for sharing
hh
dave+bobbie

thank you everyone , its cool folks are still looking at it an posting  thanks everyone .


HH Tank 

 :headbang:That is a nice looking ring 

That ring would be a good item for the "History Detectives" to investigate for you.  If you've never seen that show, I highly recommend it.  It's on PBS. (Check local listings)

Great Find!! 
Cm2db

That ring would be a good item for the "History Detectives" to investigate for you.  If you've never seen that show, I highly recommend it.  It's on PBS. (Check local listings)

Great Find!! 
Cm2db

  never seen em or heard of them but I'm gonna go look em up right now  thanks coinmaster

sweet find tank. congrats

I found one of these in my mother's drawer after she passed, along with one just like it with a Boy Scout emblem on it. I have it in the safety deposit box and it is killing me not to be able to inspect it RIGHT NOW!

Congratulations!!!!

Lisa in So Oregon

Hi Leeame,

If there any chance that you would take a picture of your Trench ring- I'm sure that everyone here would be more than curious to see it!!!!

Yours hopefully

Rory