Gems and Jewelry
$155,000 royal ring dug from plowed field
A retiree from Manchester, England found a tiny ring while metal detecting plowed fields at Manley Old Hall on the edge of the Delamere Forest in Cheshire. It turned out to be a 650 year old piece of jewelry commissioned by Edward III for one of his supporters.
The ring brought £84,000 (approximately $155,000 US) at auction, which the finder will split with the land owner. The find was originally valued at only £3,000 by government appraisers.
You know, here in the state we just don’t get the chance to even dream about a 650 year old anything, other than maybe a gold nugget. Anyone from the US gone on one of thse European hunting trips?
Via “Telegraph.co.uk”:http://www.telegraph.co.uk
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Treasures of the RMS Titantic on tour
The touring Titanic artifact exhibition is wrapping up its 2006 touring schedule with stops in five more cities nationwide. Since 1991, the touring expedition has been seen by over 15 million people worldwide. Schedule stops include:
* Des Moines
* Long Beach
* San Francisco
* Las Vegas
* Miama
Along with treasures like this diamond ring, the tour features stock certificates, personal artifacts, coins, and even currency. Models and other exhibits round out the tour.
The show features 100 authentic artifacts recovered from the ship’s debris field. Tour what guest’s state rooms looked like aboard the ship that sank and come face to face with a real iceberg.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $6 for kids.
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Mermaid’s lost charm recovered 53 years later
In “Weeki Wachee Springs”:http://www.weekiwachee.com/, Florida you can see real live mermaids. Well, sorta. Women in mermaid suits anyhow. They put on an underwater theater of sorts. They’ve been doing this since the early 1950’s, which is where this story begins.
It seems that two of the “merpeople” Florence and George fell in love, and got married. Florence was later killed in a car accident, along with one of their two children. Fast forward over fifty years.
One of today’s generation of mermaids happen to spot this small silver charm glinting in the sand near the area where the mermaids perform. It says Florence on the front and Charlie on the back. Charlie is still living, and the charm was returned to him — a symbol of his past love, and tragedy.
Via WLTX TV
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State lays claim to demolition diamonds
Officials in Bangalore are laying claim to a cache of diamonds discovered in the walls of a house that was recently demolished. A man working at the house found the diamonds, and sold them before the officials could get their hands on them.
According to local “Treasure Trove” law, any treasure that is over 100 years old is property of the state and must be reported. Following a judges ruling, the diamonds were seized and turned over to the government. One unhappy workman, I can tell you that.
The diamonds had a value of Rs. 1 “crore”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crore, which I understand to mean 1 million rupees, which is worth about $21,700 US. Somebody who knows what they are talking about please correct me if I’m wrong.
Via The Hindu
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