Geo.Washington Mourning Ring,1800. 2 Collectible Start Price USD 150,000.00 Current Price USD 150,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, August 06, 2008 End Time Saturday, August 16, 2008 Location Sunny Calif. See more about 'Geo.Washington Mourning Ring,1800. 2 Collectible' Description George Washington, Mourning Ring, Gold with engraving of Washington by Charles Balthazer. Julien Fevert De. Saint Memin. At the Death of George Washington and the reading of his Last Will and Testament we find under item number 22 the following.   To my Sisters in Law Hannah Washington & Mildred Washington, to my friends Eleanor Stuart, Hanna Washington of Fairfield and Elizabeth Washington of Hayfield, I give each a mourning Ring of the value of One Hundred Dollars, These bequests are not made for there intrinsic value of them but as mementos of my esteem and regard. Through our two year of  research we have been able to find the following information. None of these Mourning Rings can be directly traced to any of the people listed in Washington’s Last Will and Testament. Although there are 7 Rings listed of this type, We find that there are only 5, possibly 6 that indeed are rings, the list is as follows. 1.     Yale University Art Gallery. (Not a Ring, but a pendent) 2.     Private Collection, sold in 1977 by C.G. Sloan & Co. 1977, we now believe donated and now residing at Mount Vernon. 3.     Frank S. Schwarz and Son of Philadelphia, now residing in private collection. 4.     Metropolitan Museum of fine Art, New York. 5.     Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. Division of Political History, Museum of American History. 6.     Dr. Joseph E. Fields, now in private collection. 7.     Unlocated: Pearls encircle the setting of the engraving, Illustrated in Eisen, Portraits of Washington, Vol. 2, plate 101. We have our doubts that this is indeed a Ring, it looks more to be a pendent. This information can be found in the following. Saint Memin and the Neoclassical Profile Portrait in America, by Ellen G. Mills, 1994, page 423. Other sources sited are, W.S. Baker, Engraved Portraits of Washington, (1880) John Hill Morgan and Mantle Fielding, Life Portraits of Washington and there Replicas(1931) Windy C. Wick, George Washington An American Icon. As stated the accepted list is 7, but it would seem that none of the above references took the time to take Photos or have Photos sent to them. We will supply Photos of each and every Ring Listed as well as there provenance and there whereabouts. We will also supply an article from the Jan. 2004 Numismatist concerning Saint-Memin and with an illustration of the Ring in the Smithsonian Institution, for those of you that are coin lovers. We offer the Dr. E. Fields Ring  and once owned by Anna S. King with provenance going back to 1882 and mentioned in Elizabeth Johnson’s 1882 book, Portraits of Washington, page 135. Ring is inscribed in gold lettering on enameled band: Geo. Washington. OB:14. Dec. 1799.AE. 68, of all the Mourning Ring ours is by far and away the most elaborate and we believe the finest know of the two that are collectable, with only two collectable and the others impounded in museums we feel the opportunity to purchase one of the two is a once in a lifetime opportunity. A True Rarity with out question and the ultimate Mourning item for our first President. Sold at Auction in 2005 at $160,000 PLEASE NOTE, that SHIPPING or PICK UP will be the RESPONSIBILITY of the BUYER. Place a Bid!