I picked up a metal detector today at the pawn shop, found a kid ring

[fantolay]

Keep us updated on these and get them appraised man

 

[lokiju]

OP, please update once you get it appraised.

 

[SAWYER]

Will any jewelry store give me an appraisal? I'm going to post all my decent/good finds in this thread!

 

[mrblotto]

Always wanted to get a metal detector. Sounds like fun OP!

 

[SAWYER]

I found a couple good md sites and it is amazing the stuff people find, especially the people in Europe

 

[gorcorps]

Will any jewelry store give me an appraisal? I'm going to post all my decent/good finds in this thread!

No, but most will give you at least an idea of what it's made of. Pawn shops could tell you what THEY would pay for it but it's getting hard to find a good pawn shop anymore. A lot of them simply don't know what they're dealing with.

Things to look for with old jewelry is oxidation. Don't try and buff it, shine it, or clean it much other than water. If you ruin the petina you may damage what value it may have if it's old enough. Now your copper based alloys like brass, bronze etc will get quite dark or green with age, like the pennies. If you don't see a lot of darkening in the yellowish metal then you're probably dealing with gold as it doesn't oxidize as fast or in the same way. Compare it to something you know is gold to see the difference in color.

 

[Imp]

Only times I used metal detectors were at work looking for t-bars in the water. The geniuses who planted them (probe attached) drew shit maps and didn't keep the pictures of where they left them. Mother effers, I got drenched and it was the middle of summer (90+ F days). Grrr... never using one again.

 

[SAWYER]

I went to a pawn shop today to buy a flash and brought the rings with me. The first ring is plated and didn't offer anything, the second ring they offered 40. If a pawn shop offered 40 I figured it is probably worth at least 2-3 times that

 

[Paladin3]

I went to a pawn shop today to buy a flash and brought the rings with me. The first ring is plated and didn't offer anything, the second ring they offered 40. If a pawn shop offered 40 I figured it is probably worth at least 2-3 times that

Nice. Just about every treasure hunter I've ever met has a few good finds they like to brag about. Other than that, they say that if you can pay for your batteries then you are doing well.

Fresh air, exercise, the thrill of the hunt and possibility of finding something amazing...what's not to like?

 

[Squisher]

OP, you know they have metal detecting clubs and at events you'll pay a fee to enter and they'll seed an area with all kinds of worthwhile stuff and see who can find it. Finders Keepers. My old next door neighbor used to go camping for weekends where they held these things.

 

[*kjm]

I went to a pawn shop today to buy a flash and brought the rings with me. The first ring is plated and didn't offer anything, the second ring they offered 40. If a pawn shop offered 40 I figured it is probably worth at least 2-3 times that

Go to a local jewler they will give you what it's worth.

 

[Patt]

Just read this today ... applicable:

Wired Article on Metal Detector Guys