A customer found it with a metal detector at the beach.
Cary, NC, jeweler Steve Prutsman made a family happy when he returned a class ring that had been missing since 1974, the Raleigh News & Observer reports. The article says a Treasure Isle Jewelers customer used a metal detector to find the North Carolina State University ring on the beach, and after Prutsman cleaned it, he could read the original owner’s engraved name. Prutsman researched the man online and, based on an obituary, tracked down his next of kin. The man’s daughter cried when Prutsman called her about the ring, which she believes was lost on a 1974 vacation to Hatteras. Treasure Isle Jewelers returned the ring to the family for free. It could have fetched $800 to $1,000 at retail.
Read more at The News & Observer