POST MEDIEVAL FINGER RING

1600

Report for H.M. Coroner 2005 T567: Wellington, Herefordshire: gold mourning ring This tiny gold ring is engraved on the exterior with a skull flanked by cross-hatching all round the hoop. The engraving was originally enamelled black and traces remain. The inside is engraved in lower case script: In remembrance of MK, with a central dot after the M and the K, and a maker's mark RM (?) in a shield. The maker's mark is not recorded in the standard works such as Grimwade and Jackson. This is a long-lasting type of memorial ring that continued well into the first half of the 18th century, and in the absence of a dated inscription or identifiable maker's mark, there is no evidence to confirm that this ring is more than 300 years old. As such this ring does not qualify as treasure under the 1996 ActAuthor: J. Rudoe British Museum 4 April 2006