A few weeks ago, I Lost My Wedding Ring. It was a jolting experience for me as my wedding ring is a very personal possession. It’s not just something that I could “go get another.” It was the actual ring that I got on my wedding day as a symbol of my commitment to my beautiful bride. I’m not superstitious, so I wasn’t worried about bad luck (Bad luck is scared to come around here, it might get hurt). However, I liked the ring and wanted to get it back.
My plan today was to look for the ring, but first I had to help a friend. Rumor had it that my buddy’s family had hidden some valuables on their land decades ago, and he was curious if he could find them. Yeah, sure. Still, we’re good friends, so he invited me along to help. Lucky for me, he bought a metal detector to help look, so my prospects of finding the ring were already looking up… but that would have to wait.
Not The Actual Metal Detector
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Part 1 (The Treasure Hunt)
I went over to his house around noon and we got to looking. To test his new detector, I took one of the Silver American Eagle’s I picked up a month ago. We got the detector set up, but then we realized it didn’t come with batteries. After raiding the smoke detectors and finding the batteries were getting low anyway, we had to make a run to the store for those pesky 9 volt ones. Soon we were back at the house ready to go. We even successfully located my silver coin that we put on the floor!
We went outside and started wandering around, but didn’t really get many hits on the detector. We found some nails and such that were probably left from the last remodel, but nothing special. Certainly nothing that would qualify as “treasure.”
Not Actual Image of The Man With No Name
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We thought that maybe the metal detector wasn’t penetrating deep enough to find anything, so we brought my coin back out. We tested a certain patch of ground and got no response from the machine, so we knew we could accurately test the coin there. After putting the coin on the ground, we found we could get responses immediately over the coin… but only to a height of around two inches! Anything metal would have to be practically on the surface!
After we discovered that, we figured we weren’t going to find anything. Even if we were right over it, we’d likely never know, so we decided to give up. To be honest, I’m pretty sure my friend just made up the story about “treasure” so he could get a metal detector that I could use; just his way of helping me with my ring search. It's not like it was probable that we were going to find something! Regardless, I have a really good friend.
Part 2 (The Quest For The Ring)
I got home with enough sunlight that I decided to give the ring search another shot. The ring shouldn’t have been buried, so even the equipment I had should have worked.
I searched in front of my truck, because it could have fallen off while I was clearing snow. I got a few hits, but after checking each spot, I found that whatever is there is buried, so it wouldn’t be my ring. No luck
I looked just next to the cab of the truck and got a strong signal, but it was just a rusty set of earbuds. Wouldn’t call that luck either.
I looked next the back of the truck and still found nothing. The signals were for the metal of gum wrapper scraps. I was getting discouraged as I had hoped I would find it quickly.
Then, I FOUND IT!
I was checking around the bushes behind my truck when I got a hit on a patch of grass and checked. The ring was hidden inside a little clump of grass. It was also approximately 20 feet from where I think it flew off my hand. I guess I still have a throwing arm. Maybe I should try out for Major League Baseball!
I went inside, washed it off, and showed my wife. She was really happy that I found it. I am too!
I didn’t find treasure, but I do have an awesome friend, and I got my ring back! All in all, it was a good day. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still got my own share of problems, but I’m thankful for the good things in my life. Oh, did I mention that my lovely wife had made dinner for me? Yeah, I’m blessed!
Haha, that is awesome. I lost mine in 90 feet of water, but luckily it was my back up ring. You need to put some weight on those finger so the ring will stay on.
Ha ha ha, yeah, I need to gain some weight, I guess. Pizza ever day! Woot, woot!
I normally take my ring off when I go swimming because it is more likely to come off in the water. I'm thinking about getting a silicone ring that will grip my finger a little better. For now, I've got this one back!
Sorry you weren't able to find yours. That's good you had the forethought to change to the backup ring. Is that a common occurrence for you? Or just while swimming? 90 feet is a bit too much for most people to go get it. If it were Hawaii, it might be worth a try, but that's a long ways down.
Yay that's awesome so glad you found your ring. My sister has a Canadian friend with a metal detector who scours the beaches here in SA and in Mauritius - he has found amazing and extremely valuable items.
My husband and I have found pieces of porcelain amongst the rocks from the shipwreck Sao Joao which sank off our coast in 1552.
Thank you! I am too. It was been strange to walk around for 2 weeks without it. It's taking adjusting to get back to wearing it, but it feels good. I think I'll be used to it again tomorrow.
That's cool your friend has been able to find so many valuable things on the beach. Does he sell them, or keep them as souvenirs?
1552, that was a long time ago! Same question: sell or display? :)
I'm not sure what he does with the things he finds on the beach, I'm sure my sister told me but I've forgotten! Probably sells them I suppose. The pieces of porcelain we keep, as it's quite cool to have them. A few people living in the area have found pieces, they're all the same - blue and white. I'll take photos of the pieces and write a post about it, quite an interesting piece of history for our little town.
Yeah, I'd like to see what some of them look like. And reading an article on the story of their journey would be cool too!
a memorable experience. I hope it becomes a valuable experience for other friends to be more careful. your friends are amazing in helping you ...
Yes, it was memorable. I will have to be more careful with my ring in the future. I like having good friends. It's nice to know that someone out there has your back, that when you get in trouble, they'll help you out. :)
That was an awesome experience.
For your friend, If he did get that detector for you and not for any treasure of his, whatsoever, then, you need never stop being his friend.
He is invaluable
Congratulations on your found ring. Surely it must be a form of treasure to you too.
I have never used a metal detector before, but I have found some missing items before, after a long frustrating search and prayer that God guide my search.
Congratulations once more to you and your wife @themanwithnoname
Am I invited for dinner?
Yes, indeed! Friend are valueable for the heart behind what they do.
And I realized after reading @gillianpearce's comment and your comment that I didn't make it clear I was referring to the buried treasure as a separate thing from finding the ring; the ring was also treasure. Hey, it's an opportunity for me to improve on my writing clarity.
I had used one before, but I'm not really trained on how to use them, so I can't tell the difference between the different sounds that various metals make. I know what you mean about that long grind of looking through a grid pattern to see if you can locate it. It doesn't hurt to throw out a few prayers either.
Yes, we always have extra. Just let me know a little before you come over so we can put out another place setting for you! :)
I would say that you wrote well and I understood you.
However, there is always room to learn and improve.
About the meal, I think I have just informed you now.
So get my cutleries ready. Lol
That's very gracious of you. Thank you.
Understood, dinner will be served in 5 hours or so. Looking forward to having you! :)
5 hours time is already past my dinner in Nigeria.
Thanks still
Next time!
This reads like a detective story! Wow, I'm glad you kept on trying - it has paid off in the end. Emotional value is real value.
Thanks, I'm happy I was able to track it down. Emotional value sure is worth a lot more than dollars... not more than cookies though. Cookies bring emotional value. Ha ha.
You can pay me in cookies any time.
I see you have your priorities straight. Well done. These are for you. Please do not share them. There will be more for the others. ;)
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Cookie Monster and I had the same look on our faces! OMG YUM YUM YUM!
Yay!!!! You found it and you didn't even have to mow the lawn. 🤣🤣❤
Mowing the lawn might have made it even worse. It could have gotten kicked out someone even further than my rocket-arm can throw. And it could have gotten damaged. I'm really glad to have it back. I guess that means I don't have to give @chackett the reward money. ;)
So glad you got your ring back @themanwithnoname. That's treasure in my book! 😊
Using a metal detector was inspired. I would never have thought of that even though I have one. Which reminds me, I haven't used it for a while. Might get it out again now Spring is coming. Thanks for the reminder! 😊
Yes, it is treasure! I was more referring to the fact that I didn't find buried treasure, but you are correct: a wedding ring is a treasure. The woman who wears the ring is better though. :D
Yeah, if you know how to use it, go for it! You never know what you're going to find. Could be $1,000,000 in buried gold. Imagining what could be down there is part of the fun.
Yeah. I'll have to dig it out. Excuse the pun! 😁
It's in the garage somewhere buried under a load of stuff. I'm thinking my grandson who is three might enjoy having a go on the beach. For the first five minutes at least! 😁
Good pun! Yeah, you should give it a chance. You never know what you could find. And if the grandson does take to it, then you have someone doing the work for you... at least the digging part. Ha ha.
Now I like the sound of the grandson doing the digging. Good idea! 😊
Hey, anything to keep from having to bend over and look in the dirt, right?! The ground is so far down there. :D
Sad, but true! 😁
I'm soooo happy you found it!! It really is something that is irreplaceable!!
My friend here has a land metal detector and an underwater metal detector. Yes, that's right...we don our snorkels and fins and try to find treasure. One day here, my buddy found a beautiful diamond/platinum wedding ring under water. We placed ads to try and find the owner and went to the nearby all-inclusive resorts to see if anyone had reported it lost. Nothing. It was ours to keep.
So we went to the jewellers to determine the value and didn't like the first guys response, so we went to two or three others to make sure we weren't getting 'ripped off'...turns out it was a cubic zircon and cheap metal...pretty popular around here I guess. It really was beautiful though and we sold it for $150 US. Not a bad haul in the end for a fun day at the beach ;)
Thanks, I'm really happy to have it back on my hand. Things feel right again.
Now that is a good story. You should put it in a post with pictures. I'm sure it would do well as a post. People are mostly done reading this, so they probably wouldn't see it... or you could edit the comment to remove it and then make the post. I'm just saying. Gotta maximize that revenue, right?
hahaha more money in the sale of the ring
That is so sweet..
You really are a good guy !
I assume that some plans have been put in place to ensure that you won't lose the ring again?
I always thought that the paper on which people write their wedding vows might be a little bit more precious than the ring, but apparently most people don't have them (I am a marriage celebrant but that never ceases to surprise me). A ring is a symbol of the commitment, but the vow says what you are actually committing to :p
And just so this doesn't sound like a completely irrelevant comment, I have never used a metal detector before, but I have picked up a trinket dropped by a woman running away from a man chasing her in the middle of the night on a busy Tokyo street. I guess I 'found' it in the sense that I saw her drop something but didn't know what it was, and it was cool because there just has to be an intriguing story behind it...
I'm still thinking I'll get another ring that is likely to stay on better. It hasn't been a priority yet. Still have a lot of things on my plate right now.
We have the paper too. So does the county where we mail it in. So we can get another copy fairly easily. The ceremonial paper doesn't have as much information on it as you'd think. I think people focus more on the ring because it's something they wear every day and it's easily visible. The paper is hidden away.
That is an intriguing story! I have so many questions now. "Why was she running away?" "What did she drop?" "Did the man catch her and what were his intentions?" Also, "what did you do with the trinket?"
I am not fussed by the papers but more interested in the vows actually :) I am also pleasantly surprised when people tell me that they kept the paper where they wrote the vows!
Without taking focus from your post, I can answer the question about what she dropped and what I did with it (nothing actually, just kept it for an occasion like this :D).
And in case you are wondering, the words at the bottom of the 'thing' says "Vasilisa".
That's pretty, especially if it's worth something... which it looks like it is.
The papers can get mixed around, but the principles still remain. :)
Oh, I love to metal detect. I have a few expensive machines. Here are a couple finds from the beach.
Wow, you really know what you're doing! And you're apparently not afraid of getting rings stuck on your fingers. Ha ha. What do you normally do with the stuff you find? It seems you've held on to some of it, but do you sell it? Do you have to attempt to track down the owner?
What's the coolest thing that you've found? Your #1 all-time best find?
I've returned 4 wedding rings. You know the best way to get your ring back? Engrave it with something I can use to identify you and make contact!
Second best way is to make an add on craigslist or something saying where you lost it and when. A reward helps with this.
I have kept all my rings except for two. Those two I used to pay for the engagement and wedding ring for my wife and my own ring.
The best thing I ever found was actually something I didn't find. There was an add saying $2,000 reward for a lost ring with the area it was lost in. Apparently, the wife lost it during a surfing lesson. So the possible area was very large.
Me and a buddy split the search area and he ended up finding it. We had said we would split the reward evenly if we did find it, so I took home $1,000.
That's a good tip for people who are getting expensive rings, put your name on it.
That's a crazy story... and cool that you were able to partner with someone who was such a good sport about splitting the reward with you. Made it a lot simpler for him to have someone covering the other part of the beach though. And you both got to help someone out!
Wow that's pretty awesome @getonthetrain! What beach holds those kinds of riches? :) or where are there a lot of people who don't realise how easy it is to lose a ring in the waves :)
Most of these were found in Waikiki beach when I lived in Hawai'i. It really is a perfect spot to metal detect with a shallow amount of sand and a constant supply of new 'finds' delivered daily!
haha My husband and I relocated from Vancouver, Canada to Playa del Carmen, Mexico...land of the all-inclusive resorts. My buddy has a couple of land and water metal detectors and we've had some fun days here hunting as well! It's amazing the jewellery people bring with them on holidays ;)
Great that you found it! What a relief. I had no idea that metal detectors were that bad, is there some sort of technique, because if there needs to be some sort of induction back then maybe there is a certain way to move it?
I talked with a friend who has more experience using metal detectors and he said that there are some that can reach even 25 feet into the ground. This one was just a cheap, $50 one. You're supposed to move it side-to-side, but even then it had a lot of trouble picking up the coin. Maybe it just needed to be bigger, but I think the main thing was that it was cheap.
So glad you found It, my metal detector searches up to 12cm below ground cost me £50 and it found my car keys in the snow last week!
Thanks, I'm really glad too. My hand finally feels normal again. Ha ha.
That's a pretty good reach if it can go that far. Dropping things in the snow is rough. You can't see it and if you want to look, you could make the situation worse by burying it more. Also, it's cold!
Quite a story and it’s great that you found it! I have thought about picking up a metal detector for fun hi had no idea they could barely penetrate the ground... seems like they lose their usefulness if that is the case!
Thank you! I'm glad to have it back as well. My finger finally feels normal again. It felt so light and naked for the last few weeks. It's glad to have it's "clothing" on.
Don't give up on the dream yet. I have come to learn there is a wide variety of them. The $55 ones online should be able to pick up stuff on the surface, but I don't know how deep they go. I found out there are ones that can pick up objects 25 feet under ground. You have to spend 2-3 days learning how to use them though. So if there's something that deep that you're looking for, you might be better off hiring a professional or asking a local metal detector club. I don't really have a recommendation if you're looking to get one for the beach.
You may not have found treasure but you rediscovered treasures all ready in your life. A great friend who will go above and beyond to help out a friend. You also rediscovered a symbol of the love and commitment you and your wife share.
It's true. I'm really happy to have it back. Thanks for stopping by!
Having good friends to help us when we need them is the most valuable thing that can happen to us. Great experience.
you have my support.
I invite you to visit my profile, read my publications and have your help. Thank you.
So I posted a long and thoughtful reply, and then the comment didn't even post. Sorry if this is less than what I typed before.
Thank you for your comments! I really enjoy having good friends. We can help each other out when we're in need.
I did take a loot at your blog. I would recommend being careful with using your comments to ask for people to look at your blog. Some people don't take kindly to it. Just wanted you to be aware.
I would say that your articles should do fairly well. I would recommend including the recipe if you can. Also, always cite your sources! If you use a picture from somewhere, make sure you have permission to use it and that you cite it. Permission means that it's licensed for reuse. I recommend pexels.com pixabay.com and unsplash.com for your images.
I hope that helps. Thanks for stopping by! :)