Thanks to you two, Gaius and Admin. I will try to get any one of theses references and train a lot for being able to chose serious sellers on ebay.

The two book by Tom Pollio mentioned above are to be especially recommended.

This review is entirely correct.


This comprehensive guide fills a critical void in the available literature regarding ancient finger rings comprised of base metals and low grade silver alloy. Increasingly, these modest relics of times past are being unearthed and sold through a growing assortment of worldwide venues. Unfortunately, the accompanying descriptions are often inaccurate and unreliable in the extreme. To date, the available reference material for researchers and collectors has been almost entirely restricted to the historic and "high end" pieces of the past, i.e., the gold and precious stones of royalty and the very wealthy. The public has had next to nothing with which to evaluate these common rings.

This guide not only examines the physical structure of these pieces, but also the images and symbols which are such important elements of these ancient artifacts. As such, this book is an invaluable guide not only for merchants and collectors, but also researchers, students and educators regarding the types of ancient rings so conspicuously missing in the available literature.

Dennis five printed recommendations are as follows:


F.H. Marshall, Catalogue of the Finger Rings: Greek, Etruscan and Roman, in the departments of antiquities, British Museum. Originally published in 1907. Pictures are tiny & grainy but a ton of examples with accompanying descriptions


O.M. Dalton, Catalogue of the Finger Rings, Early Christian, Byzantine, Teutonic, Medieval and Later ..... In The Museum British Museum. Another standard reference, this one from 1912


Friedrich Henkel, Die römischen Fingerringe der Rheinlande und der benachbarten Gebiete. Roman rings from Germany. Published in 1913. Grainy pictures again and text is in German
1913

T.N. Pollio, Ancient Rings: An Illustrated Collector's Guide. A good modern compilation of common finger rings from the Bronze Age to early Modern Period. Available in paperback and eBook from Amazon

T.N. Pollio, The Art of Medieval Jewelry: An Illustrated History. Another profusely illustrated modern study of common finger rings from the 6th to 16th century. Also available from Amazon

Gaius

You will find this useful though it is fairly basic.

https://finds.org.uk/counties/findsrecordingguides/finger-rings/

Kelly

Thank you one more time.
Can you tell me were to find pictures of real roman rings? I will use them for comparison in my quest for some authentic ones....

Dennis none of the rings in these listings date to the Roman Period. The initial two appear roughly between the 8th and 11th centuries. The assortment in the final listing run the gamut from approximately the 10th and 14th centuries. The exception are the three decorate rosette rings, which are dateable to between the 15th and 17th century. So the good news is they are all authentic. The bad news is none of them are Roman. If you have your heart set on a Roman ring, skip these three listings.

Gaius

Ok...
What about these rings from the ebay seller petronius_2008?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185622034210?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=LqKESQQuScG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=01VYJqiaRlS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

https://www.ebay.com/itm/185622032358?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=LqKESQQuScG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=01VYJqiaRlS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

https://www.ebay.com/itm/175437387574?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=LqKESQQuScG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=01VYJqiaRlS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Dennis no reputable dealer would require anyone to substantiate the obvious. If they want to sell a toy ring from a box of Cracker Jack as Caesar's signet the burden of proof is not on the buyer.

Gaius

Dear Gaius,
Thank you for the coments about the rings.
I would like to send some technical justifications to Mr. Davies for asking the refund, as he continues to afirm that the rings are authentic ancient items. Can you provide it?

Dennis I had a look at these nine pieces and can tell you categorically none of them are dateable to the Medieval Period:

1. AN ANCIENT BRONZE RING WITH A GEMSTONE INSERT FROM THE MEDIEVAL ERA: Probably vintage costume jewelry. "Gemstone" is likely glass
2.  Same as above. Used to find this stuff at flea markets & garage sales when I was a kid
3. Costume jewelry – same as above
4. Ditto the above
5.  Same as above
6. Appears somewhat older than the other items. Possibly 19th century costume jewelry
7. A really mangled piece of antique junk
8. Late 19th or early 20th century costume jewelry
9. More antique or vintage junk

That antiques-and-artefacts-uk reacted so sharply when you requested a refund is likely attributable to angst over losing the profit. Can't believe for a second any knowledgeable or reputable dealer would mistake this stuff for medieval.

Just my two cents

Gaius