UBB.threads Forums Uniform & Accessories The Honor Ring Forum Gorilla head skull opinions please

Happy holidays, friends! This is a recent pickup of mine. Made of brass or bronze, it has a good bit of honest wear, including some nicks, and the band is slightly bent and out of round. Nice dark overall patina to the metal. I would love to hear what you guys think.

hi dak-41
good early morning to you this skull ring you just posted is made of brass not bronze none of them are bronze they were made with silver coated over brass . yes it does have much wear and out of shape no big deal not to sure yet if its a real one your pictures arnt the best to make a good judgement call here last is it marked with silver content marks if so please show them so we all can give you our opinion god bless andy militarynut

I've never saw black painted eye sockets on this type of the ring, only in red or w/o paint

Andy, silver content mark on brass ring? Wo0t?

Here is advertisment from period newspaper

Here is my ring

Nice ring Trigger! I have wanted a skull for a while and am hoping I got a good one.

hi trigerself
opps sorry i forgot no silver content mark on brassskull dumkopf me when we get better pictures we can give a better judgement call so far im not convinced have a great day guy andy militarynut

TRIGGER: Nice ring and nice pic in the Christmas tree!!

Pics are real not good

I'll post some better ones tonight when I have it in hand again.

These might be a little better pics.

its had a tough life that's for sure.

Looks like grind or drag marks on it...
- is the very back of the band thin? Still can't really get a good view of it or its true coloring. Not convinced yet either...

The back of the band is thin, it's a very lightweight ring like some of my westwalls. Under my 20x loupe there are lots of contact marks, especially around the protruding eye/nose areas, but lots of dings elsewhere too. It has had tough wear, possibly from being field worn. In hand the patination is deep and uniform, and starting to darken even more in spots. I will try to bump up my camera resolution and get some better pics of the back for you.

hi dak-41
these outher pictures show the ring in a better light i would say in my humble opinion its a real skull ring hope every body here agrees we shall see best of luck with it merry christmas to all andy militarynut

Thanks, Andy, I appreciate your vote of confidence!

Here are some more pics at a higher resolution that hopefully will help.

band seems a bit thick,,still has a very good chance though..
I have a mint example and a dug example, just can't get to them easily. [They don't do so good in the ground]

The ring has been featured here before. /try a search with 'Gorilla'.. Since you can't get a good enough photo try comparison if the other featured ones show up good. Try and compare band thickness, fissure [crack] on head,,maybe even a teeth count..
Trigg,,can you do a birds eye/over head shot o yours so he could check band thickness?
Any other member who has a good cam and a good example of the ring, if you can post a few shots to help out it would be appreciated.

I read the recent thread on them by svenga as well as some posts by Odal on WAF, and downloaded all the pics I could get for comparison. One pic that Odal had posted on WAF showed an example that looked almost identical, but no rear shots I'm afraid. It really is a thin lightweight ring contrary to what it may seem in the pics. The actual band width is 1/32 of an inch according to my tape measure. Can anyone else get a measure on theirs?

Thats .794 millimeters for my European friends.

20 teeth, which seems to be the norm in the pics of good ones I compared it to. The head fissure contains very small holes as detail, and that seems to line up too.

Saw that last month on emedals... $125 great price if it's good- they are hit or miss on rings tho--- this one? Gorilla head skull

Yep, that's the one. Their pictures weren't that great, but the price was good so i took a chance...they have a return policy if not. They are about 60-40 on their rings being ok. Hoping to get some good feedback on it from you, G, and Odal. What are your thoughts?

I don't know, man... for as worn as it is... that top-down pix showing the band thickness is a problem for me, and I imagine Gaspare sees that and doesn't like it either. Here's my gorilla from same angle. I bought this from Gaspare.... notice the thickness.

Any way you can get an actual measurement on your band thickness for me for comparison? Despite the photo, My ring band has a thickness of 1/32 inch which is pretty thin in reality.

That's packed well away man... won't be near that ring anytime soon. If u like ur ring, regardless- that's all that matters!

1/32 is thin, that's true... but I would be hesitant about any uniformity of thickness, especially in any worn ring... but again..u know, if u like it - enjoy it!

Ring is original and thickness depends on condition. As much it was worn as thinned band will be. I have two rings - one is in mint condition, second in worn. Second was found in the ground.

I have handled a hoard of mint ones (for sure G. will remember) and still own 2 of them.
Thin bands.

Odal, is the tapering of the band toward the rear important in these rings as well as the thinness, in your opinion? (My guess was yes- and I do not see that either in the emedals ring...) but I'd love to hear your thoughts on that

Well, I mean I do like it, but for the collection it is original only. The only two fakes I've kept are a couple that I use as daily wearers, and the gorilla head is way too thin for that. I'm trying to get a thumbs up or down so I know where I stand with it. Hoping that someone has one accesible to them so I can get a comparative measurement.

Doesn't appear to taper, dak. If it's important- besides the thinness, which I believe it might be... (even sergeys 2 rings taper towards the rear) and should especially if a worn example- I don't believe it's good. But let's see what odal Gaspare Andy say- etc. but with the wear there prob should be unless we hear otherwise. I don't think the measurement itself is going to be enough in that case. Anyone can cast the right size.

If you wish to sell this ring, I will be happy to buy it

Umm.. ok, well anyway the important thing is its authenticity. That someone will buy it means nothing. I bought horse s**t cigarettes in Juarez when I was a teenager...meaningless. (And disgusting)

C'mon thickness is not an argument.

I have mant Latvian rings and there is also rings with same stamp but different thickness. It depends on silver or other metal template thickness and press pressure.

Ok, dak, guys- I'm done. Believe what u want. Don't listen to me odal
Or Gaspare. I don't really care if ur ring is good or not, I'm not measuring my ring- I'm not helping u or ANYONE who wants to pimp up BS fake rings (especially that fraudster reichskansler or that arrogant mr coffee AGAIN). I am OUT.

I think somebody has paranoia and buthurt about it :)))

No, I could care less. But we are ALL tired of U trolling legitimate rings and honest opinions with your unnecessary inflammatory comments.

It's just an opinion based on facts and own experience also I've showed pictures with comparison. Your opinion is based on "Let's see what odal Gaspare Andy say". I do not care what you think. I'm not trying to force you to buy this ring - just share my opinion. It's up to topic starter to accept it or refuse.

P.S you don't see the difference between two different types of skull rings and you are talking about authenticity...it's funny.

I'm smart enough to know what I don't know, trigger... deferring the final say after giving my best opinion to REAL experts like the three you just mentioned is just common sense. I don't want this ring and am not trying to pimp one up or rip one down. I'm giving of my time, effort, and knowledge freely with no strings attached or ulterior motive solely for the advancement of shared knowledge and love of/for the hobby. That, in my opinion, is what a discussion forum is primarily for (and no, I don't need to ask anyone to qualify that opinion!) yes, it's true I mistakenly identified the skull ring. What's funny about that? You have never made mistakes mr. Infallible? Here's what I did when u pointed that out... next post "you're right, trigger." Don't try to rip me down just because of your sense of inadequacy before a panel of men more knowledgeable than yourself. Just because you have some rings means nothing. Besides ripping down good rings like the SS rune for sale a couple weeks ago (which by the way I know u wanted... because at the same time u ripped it down you offered a fraction of its value multiple times to purchase!) you also manage to pump up fake rings as real for some unknown reason... gottliebs luft ring?? It makes no sense. we are all wise to u trigger so I will make u a deal- u don't comment on my rings and I won't comment on yours. Let the panel decide for as long as it continues to exist. Honestly you strike me as a very young man so let me end with a piece of advice- a touch of humility goes a long way.