Silver San Quentin State Prison ring ! #100 ring for the year

[PL8MAN]

What great three days of hunting ! Tonight was the topper . I hunted with my friend Ryan tonight for about an hour and a half at a local school . Ryan struck GOLD right away , 14K bracelet . I was finding quarter after quarter for a total of $10.47 ! The sun was down so we started heading back to the trucks . My last target of the hunt would be one of my best ever ! I had a +87 at one inch , I'm hoping for big silver , come on #100 ! It was #100 ring of the year and my largest ever silver ring found in 14 years ! It weighs 18.1 grams of sterling silver . The best part is it's from San Quentin State Prison ! I believe it is a inmates ring , prison made . I still can't believe the things that are found in school fields . Who wore it and why were they on the school grounds . Anyone have any ideas about this ring ?
HH
Glen

 

[mike l]

Wow what cool find. I'm sure it's got an interesting story behind it :thinkingabout:

 

[jkress]

<: <: <:

This is a very unique ring. :smitten: Not to mention the size. :shocked04: Congratulations on a great keeper and #100. |)

I quickly tried to look up some info but didn't find much. Looks a bit crudely made. Hope you can find some information on it. :->

 

[JTGOLD]

awsome ring,great find,wtg.

 

[aloldstuff]

:congrats: on #100 and it being a special ring. Looks huge hope you can find something out about it.

 

[starman2]

:wow:! Awesome ring!! :congrats:! Maybe you should check the field again. The rest of the guy might be there somewhere. lol! Thats a nice chunck to add to your collection! WTG!! HH! :groovy:

 

[del]

unique piece of jewelry :yes: congrats |:cheering:

 

[CODY]

WOW! That is diffently an interesting find. Awesome. Congrats.

 

[zrickkid]

Wow thats a keeper. Nice stuff. you never know at schools do ya! mg:

 

[PL8MAN]

:congrats: on #100 and it being a special ring. Looks huge hope you can find something out about it.

I have a Friend that was a guard at San Quentin in the 1980's & 90's , I'll hoping he will have some info for me . thumbsup01
Glen

 

[POKIE73]

thats one big peice of bling congrats on your find dennis

 

[PL8MAN]

Well I just meet with my friend Jeff who was a guard at San Quentin from the 1980's to the mid 1990's and he felt that it was prison made by an inmate . He said if it would have been found in the prison it would have been taken away , not aloud in prison . He took some picture of it and will be given them to his friend who still works in the prison . He will then take it to the San Quentin prison museum to find out the history of the ring ! I would love to know the true story behind this ring ! This one will be a keeper forever .
Thanks everyone for their input
HH
Glen

 

[Ill Digger]

Wow! Talk about a cool piece! thumbsup01
And a BIG piece at that! :shocked03: :drool:
Sweet find!
Congrats! :grin:

 

[PL8MAN]

Here is some info a friend found for me .
Glen


In the 1960?s 25% of the inmates were engaged in some form of cultural activity. In 1968, the New York Times featured an article describing items being made and sold at San Quentin, including men?s and women?s jewelry, (including cuff links, earrings, necklace pendants, pins in the forms of animals and birds, and bracelets) which were being made with metals and stones. Inmates would pay for their own materials from sales during the annual arts and crafts show, which was open to the public, and through year round handicraft-store sales to prison visitors. Today, prisons continue to offer arts and crafts for inmates even while much work is spent bringing facilities up to basic federal and state standards. In New Jersey, inmates are supported by a nonprofit organization called New Jersey People for Prisoners Art, Inc. The group is one of a handful of such groups throughout the country, which support artists and artisans who are behind bars. Administration officials note that research supports the fact that inmates involved in artistic activity are not as prone to violent confrontations.

There's a museum at San Quentin, which prominently features a prison jewelry exhibit. The inmates here have reportedly made some amazing things over the years. San Quentin State Prison opened in July 1852; it's the oldest prison in the State of California.

 

[TwigsLady]

Hi Pl8man:

I saw this post as well as the one I saw the other day in another forum and I thought I'd share the history of the ring here too. My husband, who goes by Twig, was the original designer of this ring. He made hundreds of these rings in the 1980's and shipped them to many different souvenir stores in the Bay Area. He also made them custom for several guards. After he left San Quentin in the late 1980's, a guard decided to copyright his design and has been collecting royalties for his design for the last couple of decades. They were still making them at San Quentin as recently as about a year ago, albeit no where near this quality. I spoke to my husband about the post in the other forum and he was really excited to know that one of his rings had been found. He truly loved making jewelry from the lost wax method. He spent sometimes 15 hours a day making rings and other pieces of jewelry for many years. He did many things custom, such as the ring his sister used to get married the first time, and many other custom pieces of jewelry.

 

[tanacat]

Hi Pl8man:

My husband, who goes by Twig, was the original designer of this ring. He made hundreds of these rings in the 1980's and shipped them to many different souvenir stores in the Bay Area. He also made them custom for several guards. After he left San Quentin in the late 1980's, a guard decided to copyright his design and has been collecting royalties for his design for the last couple of decades. They were still making them at San Quentin as recently as about a year ago, albeit no where near this quality. I spoke to my husband about the post in the other forum and he was really excited to know that one of his rings had been found. He truly loved making jewelry from the lost wax method. He spent sometimes 15 hours a day making rings and other pieces of jewelry for many years.

Wow- what a small world |:cheering: So is this particular one a 'stolen' model or made by Twig himself?

The best part is it's from San Quentin State Prison ! I believe it is a inmates ring , prison made .Anyone have any ideas about this ring ?

Ask and ye shall receive! lol Neat story :clapping:

 

[TwigsLady]

This was made by Twig himself. He was pretty excited to hear that one was found. Some of the guards from the 80's still wear theirs too.

 

[Fire Fighter 43]

:wow: That is Scool and unique find, WTG |:cheering:

 

[PL8MAN]

Hi Pl8man:

I saw this post as well as the one I saw the other day in another forum and I thought I'd share the history of the ring here too. My husband, who goes by Twig, was the original designer of this ring. He made hundreds of these rings in the 1980's and shipped them to many different souvenir stores in the Bay Area. He also made them custom for several guards. After he left San Quentin in the late 1980's, a guard decided to copyright his design and has been collecting royalties for his design for the last couple of decades. They were still making them at San Quentin as recently as about a year ago, albeit no where near this quality. I spoke to my husband about the post in the other forum and he was really excited to know that one of his rings had been found. He truly loved making jewelry from the lost wax method. He spent sometimes 15 hours a day making rings and other pieces of jewelry for many years. He did many things custom, such as the ring his sister used to get married the first time, and many other custom pieces of jewelry.

Thanks Joy for posting your history and info to this forum also thumbsup01
Glen

 

[Weidbeards]

Believe it or not I have the same ring except on mine the prison is yellow. Not sure of the metal. I just pulled it out and cleaned it today. I googled it and this popped up. My friend who did a stint there gave it to me when I lived in sf. Totally bizarre that you just found one. I can send you a pic of mine if you want.