Can Anybody Identify This Ring?

[Dizzylou]

This is my great grandfathers ring and I would like to know information about it. What is the picture of the person on the front (my guess was a roman solider). Why would they put that picture on the ring? Is this an antique?

 

[AGBF]

Someone put the design on the ring because he thought it would be attractive on a ring; it is as simple as that.

There have been posters on Pricescope who looked for coins that were black or green or other dark colors and set them in rings made of metal with the idea that the metal color would set off the design on the coin. I am assuming that what you have there is a coin, but I really have no way of knowing from here. If it is a coin, I have no way of knowing if it is an antique or valuable. Maybe another poster can immediately rule out its being an antique, but no one can immediately verify that it is an antique.

AGBF

 

[Dizzylou]

Thank you very much for the reply. I did not know if people put the soldiers there for a reason such as superstition or religious reasons.

 

[AGBF]

Thank you very much for the reply. I did not know if people put the soldiers there for a reason such as superstition or religious reasons.

Do you know anything (or wish to know anything) about your great-grandfather? While I doubt that the reason was religious or superstitious, I, of course, have no way of knowing. I would tend to wonder if he was interested in classical history or warfare. If you have an interest in your family's history, it might be fun to inquire. (Not that I am able to identify the soldier as a Roman one! I have no idea if he is...I just know that in the Dark Ages no one was using a centralized currency in Europe. So Roman sounded like a reasonable guess to me!)

AGBF

 

[crown1]

Maybe if you google intaglio rings for men it might be helpful. I hope so. I have seen many similar rings over the years.

 

[Dizzylou]

Thanks so much! This gives me more of an idea as to what type of ring it is!

 

[movie zombie]

greek or roman coin.
lots of info on the internet.
usually setting a coin into a ring damages the coin and therefore its value.
however, these rings are popular and I think the visage on this ring is particularly good looking.
and that in a nutshell is all I know about this.

 

[Circe]

Doesn't look like a coin to me, looks like an intaglio used for a seal (as used to impress ones mark into the wax sealing a letter, though if this was made in your grandfathers time, I'd guess it was more for the sake of tradition than practicality). Can't tell if it's an archetypal soldier or a named figure like Athena ... Could gave been sold as either.

 

[JewelFreak]

I agree with Circe, not a coin. Could be a real seal or not -- I kind of doubt it because it doesn't have signs of wear, as if it had been used as a seal, & the soldier is pretty stylized. Intaglio rings have been popular at various times & some were made to look like old seals in Victorian & other periods. You'd need a jeweler who knows antique jewelry to look at it. Nice memento to have, though.

--- Laurie