UBB.threads Forums Uniform & Accessories The Honor Ring Forum TK rings were cast or die struck?

Not my area of expertise but I'll take a shot at an answer. I do have a little experience making silver jewelry using lost wax casting, die stamping, and fabrication from sheet/wire

1 - If you look at the distance between symbols on each ring regardless of size, they are quite close. The only difference is in the distance from the skull to the nearest symbol and is fairly equal on both sides of the skull. In my opinion, one master was used, the ends of the ring shank were trimmed for the needed ring size, the shank was formed and soldered together, and the skull was soldered over the seam.

2- To cast the ring in one piece, you would need a master for each size and it would not have a seam. Otherwise you would have a sizing cut and seam in the leaf design. Or you could cut through next to the skull, but would end up with the skull not being centered in the design.

3 - We are quite confident today knowing that Sterling Silver is 92.5 parts silver to 7.5 parts copper. This produces an alloy with a fine finish and good wear characteristics. Go back even 20 years and this is not always the case. As long as the 92.5 parts silver are present, the Alloy is Sterling Silver. But the 7.5 parts could be tin, zinc, bismuth, antimony, or other compatible metal. All would show different hardness and wear patterns. If the alloy is Coin Silver (90 to 10) or Mine Silver (80 to 20), the difference is even greater. Today, some Sterling Silver is alloyed with nickle which produces a very hard alloy, and some Sterling coming from Asia does not use either copper or nickle and is fairly soft and easy to crave.