A ring created in memory of Sir Richard Rainsford, a judge who presided over some of the last witch trials held in England, failed to find a buyer at a recent jewelry auction held by Noonans Mayfair in London. (Image courtesy of Noonans)
London—Noonans Mayfair had several jewels with storied histories up for sale at its “Jewellery, Watches, and Objects of Vertu” auction, held Wednesday in London.
Each was discovered by a man with a metal detector hunting for treasure in different locations across England, but not all found buyers at auction.
One highlight of Wednesday’s sale was a 300-year-old ring with ties to a witch trial judge, discovered by Steve Pulley in January 2020.
The piece turned out to be one of several memorial rings commissioned following the death of Sir Richard Rainsford, a judge who presided over some of the last witch trials held in England.
This memorial ring for Sir Richard Rainsford, seen here from several angles, is inscribed with his initials and date of death. (Image courtesy of Noonans)
The gold band has a skull and crossbones on the exterior. Rainsford’s initials and the date of his death are inscribed on the inside of the ring.
The inscription reads: “Richard Rainsford, Mile Nuper Cap Just De Banco Regis Obitus 17 Feb 80 Æt 76,” which translates to “Richard Rainsford, Knight, lately Chief Justice of the Court of the King’s Bench, Died 17th February 1680 aged 76.”
The ring was expected to sell for £6,000 to £8,000 ($7,600 to $10,100), but nobody bought it.
However, two medieval jewels up for sale did find buyers, including a bishop’s sapphire ring.
This ring, believed to have belonged to a medieval bishop, is set with a hexagonal cabochon sapphire surrounded by four smaller cabochon emeralds and garnets. (Image courtesy of Noonans)
Metal detectorist Mark Sell came across the ring in November 2019. It is believed to date back to the late 12th to early 13th century.
“This form of medieval ring, with a principal cabochon stone, usually a sapphire, surrounded by smaller collet-set satellite stones (garnets or rubies, and emeralds), can be securely dated to the late 12th or early 13th century, and is associated with the bishopric,” said Laura Smith, jewelry expert at Noonans.
The ring features a hexagon-shaped cabochon sapphire as its center stone in a closed-back collet setting, surrounded by four smaller cabochon emeralds and garnets, with a flat, narrow band.
It sold for £19,000 ($24,500), slightly above its pre-sale estimate of £15,000 to £18,000 ($19,400 to $23,300).
Also up for sale at the Noonans auction was a gold posy ring dating from the 13th to 14th century and discovered by metal detectorist Richard Girling in March 2024.
This posy ring, seen here from several angles, reads “I love you by faith” or “I love you faithfully” when translated from medieval French. (Image courtesy of Noonans)
“This is one of my best artifact finds. I have found coins in the past, and it is nice to have something in your hand that hasn’t been touched for hundreds of years and imagine what were the people like, why were they there,” Girling said.
Smith, Noonans’ jewelry expert, shared the history of the posy ring.
“Romance and jewelry have always been closely entwined, and during the medieval period it became popular to inscribe a short love message or ‘posy’ on a gold ring to be given to your beloved,” she said.
“The intimacy is enhanced by the fact the message is worn right next to the skin and is really just for the wearer to behold.”
On the exterior of this ring in a mix of Roman and Lombardic letters, is an inscription that reads, “+IO.VVS.AIM.PAR.FEI,” which translates from medieval French as ‘“I love you by faith” or “I love you faithfully.”
The ring sold for £11,000 ($14,200), above its pre-sale estimate of £6,000 to £8,000 ($7,700 to $10,300).
