That and a Buck-Fifty

If you had a chance to see my original blog  (www.endoftheswap.blogspot.com) then you know that my grandmother always told me I was a “princess”, a direct descendant of one of Maria Theresa’s many offspring, on my grandfather’s side of the family, and needed to act like a lady, which generally meant to stop whatever fun thing I was involved in at the moment. I, of course, fell for this nonsense hook, line, and sinker, although I realize now that my friends figured out it was a load of the finest long before I did.

Not too long before she went into a nursing home, my mother gave me a ring which she said had been in the family for generations.  According to her,  one of our ancestors had a pair of earrings, but no daughters, so she had the earrings made into tie pins for each of her two sons. The sons, in turn, had the tie pins converted into rings for their wives.  I had taken the ring to a jeweler to have it appraised, simply because I figured it was probably something that had been picked up in Target and passed off as The Real McCoy. The jeweler said it was a “very fine item” and offered to buy it from me on the spot.

Since there had originally been two rings, I contacted my cousin – my grandfather’s brother’s grandson – and asked him if he knew anything about the second ring. He did not know its whereabouts but did know the story, and forwarded me a picture of the Kaiserin herself, wearing a pair of earrings that looked mighty familiar.  He says  the other ring stayed in Europe, with the descendants of the second brother. The dates and names he gave me all add up, so there may be something to it after all.

So, this and a dollar and a half will get me a cup of coffee.