Friends,

Is it true that if a maker’s mark or silver mark is on the outside of the shank, a ring can‘t be German Third Reich period? OK, on 95% of our rings, the stamps are inside the shank or the back of the cartouche. The only two rings in my collection that have a stamp on the outside are a Finnish one and a Dutch one. Finally, I was informed by someone who usually knows what he’s talking about that no German ring has a makers mark or hallmark on the outside.

Is this really true? You guys also know what you’re talking about. It’s a question that comes up reasonably often. I would appreciate your advice.
Thanks.
Stephen

Not exactly true, some countries have laws that imported jewelry must be stamped to show it's imported silver. Some rings are stamped on the outside of the ringband because of it. Also, if you have a Finnish ring that has the silver content stamped in numbers instead of the finnish silverstamp, it's most likely foreign ring that someone bought outside of Finland.

Thanks, Mahler. I am interested to understand how one stamps a ring on the outside of the shank (or even on the inside) without damaging it.

It's a tool you put the ring on, like a steel stick and you can hammer it without bending it, it's also used to reshape a ring that's bent / been squeezed.

Stephen, it’s good you put this topic here again.

Mahler, I didn’t know how they marked a ring at the outside; you picture shows it very well .

Here a skullring, I presume it's original ? marked inside with the German stamp for silver: 835 . Unfortunatelly cleaned by the German jewler, where I bought the ring.

Outside the ring is on the backside a Dutch curled V-stamp , which stands for foreign silver imported to Holland.
PLease see pics:

Very cool, thank you gentlemen. So, having a stamp on the outside of the shank doesn‘t necessarily mean a ring is fake. I guess it also depends on the stamp.

That is a very nice skull ring, Benten. It looks good to me... despite the gleam!

Below is a skull ring that I have worn every day for at least 15 years. It is quite worn, certainly more worn than when I acquired it, and I always believed it to be authentic. It's a well-known pattern with a nice thin band. It has been given a thumbs-up several times.

Ironically, since starting this thread yesterday, I also just noticed that the stamps on this ring are on the outside of the shank. One is the silver content (835) and the other looks like 'RP'. The second letter is badly worn but under the magnification of a jewellers loupe, I‘m pretty sure it is 'RP'.

What do you think about this one?

Cheers,

Stephen

p.s. I might need to acquire a tool like Mahler's. As you can see, the ring has become somewhat misshapen with years of wear, tear and wielding pints of beer.

Here's a better photo of the silver marks.Definitely an 'R', probably a 'P'. 'RP'.

It is not easy taking a picture with an iPhone through a loupe, let me tell you!

Here are a couple of pictures of the Finnish ring mentioned above. I call it that because it was found on the Karelia Peninsula. Also, when I posted it here previously, Gaspare reckoned it to be Finnish or German, and possibly prewar. I‘m posting it again because the maker mark is also 'RP'. Interesting...

Most all German made / sold in Germany during WW2 were on the inside.. It was a work of art to them even though thought of as Kitch they wanted neatness and perfection..

I strongly recommend 'International Hallmarks on Silver by Tardys'. Or simply do a search on Tardys silver hallmarks... True some countries will import and when the piece arrives it gets stamped on the outside. The book goes in to import / export marks,date codes for various countries, maker marks etc. They are inexpensive used and usually a small size thats handy to take to shows..

This is the tool that stamps on the inside....

Thanks for the tip, Gaspare. Hope you are well.

I would be careful with the RP stamp, it could mean it's a repro. I have seen a couple of rings (not ww2 rings but fake vintage rings) that has RP stamp similar to that one. I think I have one somewhere laying around.

Was sold as a silver vintage ring (didn't look like this in the pictures when I bought it ), but it's not silver, and the hallmark is fake. I'm pretty sure the RP stands for repro. Lesson learned

Thanks, Mahler. I guess that's possible in some cases but that Finnish ring is no repro.