My contest entry for @goldmatters family heirloom giveaway
The amazing @goldmatters has a giveaway for $100 in mene credit, for showing off a family jewellery heirloom.
So here is my submission:
Whether or not you can call it an heirloom I'll let you decide but this is my grandfathers gold ring. His name was Edward Melvyn Thomas (EMT) and he's been dead for 33yrs. After my grandmother passed away 17yrs ago the ring then passed to my father, being the eldest of their 3 children.
Now although my father is still alive he has passed the ring to me because he knows I have an interest in precious metals and trusts I would never sell it. One day I will pass this on to my son and hopefully he will do the same once he has a family of his own. So does this make it a heirloom?? Or does it need to be passed down through more generations before it becomes one?
My grandfathers was a "big" man and I'm assuming this is where I get my build from, as I tower over my father who is only 5'8". My grandfather worked his whole life down the pits/mines of South Wales. He ended up the manager of an iron ore mine in a nearby village of Llanharry.
My grandfather is the gentleman on the far right (tallest and widest 😜)
Evidence of iron ore mining in this area can be dated back to the early 3rd Century and the land has been mined continuously on and off since then. At one stage during the 20th Llanharry iron ore mine was the only working Iron ore mine in Wales.
(taken during the late 1950's)
(taken during the 1960's)
The mining of ore in llanharry finally ended in 1971. My grandfather helped to see out the shutting down of the pithead and the "capping" of the shaft. The site was finally abandoned in 1974 where this commemorative plaque was made and given to him as a thank you for his work.
The ring itself is quite a chunky thing. It weighs just short of 15g.
Like all UK jewellery, it has been stamped and hallmarked.
The ring is only 9k (325) and was assayed in Birmingham (anchor) in either 1925 or 1950. The letter "A" depicts the year but I'll need to do more research to determine the style and then conclude the exact year.
It's current market value would be £170 approx, unfortunately I do not know when or how much he paid for the ring. All I know is that to me the ring is priceless and no amount of fiat could convince me to sell it.
Finally, although its not very clear from this photo, the ring "swims" on my finger. Its not the fact I have small hands, but that he must have had very big hands.
So this is my submission for the @goldmatters giveaway and now I'd like to see what @owenwat, @huw28582 and @silverstackeruk might have lurking in their cupboards.
Whoa, that's really cool! You found out so much stuff!
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Fantastic story, i really enjoyed reading this history! Thank you for entering, resteemed