Wheat Sheaf 9ct Gold Antique English ring, hallmarked in Birmingham in the year 1918. In England of the 19th.Century and early 20th.Century much jewellery was made that conveyed a message: the snake symbolized eternal love; ivy, fidelity; a buckle, the bond of love and friendship; and the wheat sheaf, abundance and productivity.
The above Wheat Sheaf 9ct Gold ring, completely handmade and solid, is a good example of this type of ring of the late Victorian era; it is in good condition, it has a decent weight at 4.4 grams, the wheat sheaf work across the top is well-crafted and solid at approx 2.8mm thickness, and the hallmark stamps are cleanly defined, with the “E.H” of the maker, a “9” and a “375” signifying 9ct Gold, the “anchor” of Birmingham and the letter “t” showing that it went through the Birmingham assay offices in the year 1918.
If the ring needed to be re-sized, a section of this stamping, on the inside of the band, would probably need to be eliminated, in which case better the “E.H”, and perhaps the “9” also if necessary, leaving the “375” 9ct Gold stamp, the Birmingham anchor, and the date letter. And it would need a good, experienced bench jeweller