Featured Dragon (bat?) ring - antique? Help with marks on bottom?

I found this dragon? (bat?) ring at an estate sale yesterday (along with a unusual horse/unicorn one) and need some help -
Is this an antique/how do I tell it's age? (with a dragon & the 2nd one a unicorn, maybe no older than the 60s or 70s?)
Can anyone read or recognize the mark and/or name on the underside of the ring? (I don't think the name/word says sterling - maybe artist's name?
Finally, what's the best way to clean it so the marks can be better read?
Thank you for any help!

 

Here are a couple of the unicorn ring - I couldn't find any marks on it.

 

I love these, they're great!!

I recommended bookmarking this expert's silver care site for any silver you find. It's extensive and he has the extremely impressive resume to back it up. He recommends the "chain mail" section for jewelry. I do dish soap in water for the first clean, then for dark tarnish I use Blitz, as he recommends. I also use Blitz buffing cloths. Never dips or foil and baking soda...he explains why with examples on his site.

I love these pieces though! They're amazing.

 

Dragon and Unicorn.
The mark looks like a Thunderbird, maybe NA made, maybe not?

 

Id absolutely wear those ! I especially love the dragon.

 

Very cool rings those!

 

Sadly, Jeff Herman passed last April - he was a lovely person, with great knowledge and skills, am grateful his family is keeping his site going...

~Cheryl

 

Super cool rings! I love them. Great finds

 

I'd wear that dragon in a heartbeat if I found one. That is if my D&D-obsessed cousins didn't get to it first!

 

I'm sorry to hear that. I appreciate him for putting his knowledge out there for everyone's benefit in an age where it's near impossible to find real information, and certainly not without being bombarded with ads. Thank you for letting me know.

 

Tell him I also found a original Dungeons & Dragons base set w/box, booklets etc and about 25 old school video games (for IBM, Tandy, PC )!

 

Do you think a soft toothbrush - just where Mark is - would help get some of the dirt out so it could be read?

 

Use it with a dab of toothpaste.

 

I've never used toothpaste. Mr. Herman cautioned against it because you can't control what other additives may be in it. I would use a toothbrush with dish soap for grime and then try glass cleaner (if lacking polish). I would also try just buffing it...if no silver cloth then just regular cloth to see if I could move some of the tarnish.

But that's just my experience. I know others use toothpaste.

 

It depends on the toothpaste, I'd think. Another old trick is baking soda and water. Make a paste and rub.

 

I like that idea with a soft toothbrush.

 

I'm not the polishing police, it's a personal choice, and don't believe the suggestions made would cause much damage to this ring - but just for the record, toothpaste (regardless of brand) and baking soda are too abrasive for silver, especially on flat surfaces, where they can leave visible scratching, and nylon-bristle toothbrushes can also be damaging, regardless of how soft. My personal brush arsenal includes a Hagerty horsehair brush, a natural-bristle toothbrush, and a boar-bristle pastry brush cut down to about 3/4" length. Before polishing, washing with a non-lemon dishwashing liquid is a good idea - while I'm sharing, I detest the sponges that come with paste polishes, cellulose sponges are much gentler and more effective for me, since my collection is primarily spoons and smalls, I use the flat sheet form cut to size (and perhaps because my hands are arthritic, Herman's polish and Blitz are a bit too gentle for me, Goddard's is my go-to polish). As a last note, if a mark still needs more cleaning up, I nibble the very tip of a wooden toothpick until it's frayed, forming a little brush, and sorry if it offends, but saliva contains enzymes that can aid in cleaning...

~Cheryl

 

I think we have found the serious silver collector! Thank you for sharing all this!

 

Hehe, yes indeed, a newly found collector...

~Cheryl

 

Truth be told with something that small I'd probably wear the ring and rub the outer surfaces with ye old thumb for a while. Skin acids eat tarnish, although removing it will redeposit the black onto your skin.