Featured 5-decade rosary with medals

I bought this 5-decade rosary and have some questions; thanks for looking and hopefully your insight!

The crucifix is marked AFCO sterling; the centerpiece/scapular is also marked sterling...does this apply to the chain links as well?

What are the beads made of???

Each bead has little jump rings at each end...is this the type of chain that is referred to as 'unbreakable'?

There are lots of medals; 9 are marked sterling (including crucifix and center). 1 is marked 800; is this still sterling (but not 925)?

Should I research each one? I have identified 2 as Miraculous Medals and 2 are "Joannes...Pont Max" medals. Are the very small ones (like the dove/holy spirit) also considered "medals"?

I will be listing this piece. Sold prices for rosaries are all over the place. Don't know whether to start at $9.99 or $99.99. Any insight here?

It's a nice substantial feeling piece (dare I say it has some spirit; no joke, I can feel 'something' although I am not religious). It is inscribed with date and name. Would this have been received when Sister Agnes Bernard took her vows? If so, who would have been the usual giver (family/convent/order)?

Laid out straight the rosary measures 24". The decades loop is 33" around and the dangling part with crucifix is 7".

Lots of questions I know! Thanks again for any help!

 

I wonder if Agnes Bernard is a common name for nuns... I found this: might be your girl, maybe/probably not. She went by "Agnes Bernard", not using her original surname. She would have been 30-ish in 1958. Anyway, was a fun Google!
http://patch.com/new-jersey/caldwells/caldwell-obituary-sister-agnes-bernard-duggan-0
Sorry... no knowledge about your specific questions. Good luck.

 

Thanks Gila! Looks like she '...professed vows on September 2, 1944'. The date inscribed on the crucifix is 8-15-1958 (I'm assuming this is when this sister made her vows). So maybe not the same person. If only she was wearing a rosary in that photo though!

 

I was actually looking for a rosary as I scanned stuff!
Of course, 1958 could be the date she made some certain rank, or took some office, but...
Hey, it really stands on its own, in any event. Beautiful.

 

Others will have better info, but I can only add that 800 silver is not sterling. Sterling is at least 92.5% parts silver, or greater than. 800 silver is .80%. So, it is silver, just not sterling silver.

 

Thanks for confirming that Tyledom! I just wanted to make sure that 800 silver could not be referenced as 'sterling'.

 

The chain links are sterling as well, at least in my memory of old rosaries. And the beads should be wood. You can research each medal, but just stating a list of them and whether they are sterling or not should be sufficient.

Just because the rosary is inscribed in 1958, doesn't necessarily mean that's when this person took her vows. Rosaries were given as gifts to nuns by many people for many reasons. I mean, what else do you give them as gifts (underwear?). When I was a kid, hand lotion was popular for gifting. I would say that this rosary is of very good quality so maybe came from family or friend, perhaps even her convent.

Nuns usually had a rosary that they kept all their lives and generally one of this sort which is somewhat reserved in design. Rosaries that my mom and her cousins had were crystal and fancy which was not considered appropriate for a nun.

A rosary of this sort would have been purchased in a religious shop since it is well made and expected to last a lifetime. It was common practice to add medals as you went along to mark some occasion or entry into some religious society.

I can't believe that her family let this rosary be sold. It would be an important keepsake in a religious family. Perhaps no one left is still religious.

Where did you acquire it? Do you live in NJ or nearby?

I think it's very highly likely that the rosary belonged to the sister that Gila googled. The name is just so unique. When nuns took vows back then, they always picked a new name which usually included the name of their favorite saint (Agnes was a saint). Then her 2nd name seems to be her father's first name which was also a saint's name.

Maybe 1958 marked some educational achievement, like college or grad school? Her obit. doesn't say anything about what she did between 1944 and the 1960s so schooling seems likely. Also, some nuns were privileged enough to visit Rome and many acquired rosaries there.

 

Bernard is unlikely to be her last name. When Catholic nuns took their vows they chose a saints name (Bernard) and often chose Mary to go before the saints name to honor the mother of Jesus, so became Sister Mary Bernard, giving up their worldly name was a symbol of leaving their world behind and dedicating their lives to God. Sometime in the seventies or eighties the Vatican decided it was okay to resume using their given names. In this case this woman chose Agnes as her first saints name
If it is a rosery of a religious person from another faith, I got nothing. A little frightening how much I remember. A cult?

 

I had no idea rosaries had a resale value.

 

maybe a teacher tons of priests and nuns taught.

 

Thanks ola42 and Jillion! I bought this rosary at a thrift store (New England). I just thought it was kind of unique because of all the medal and the inscription on the back of the crucifix. Then I looked you-know-where for sold prices of vintage rosaries. They definitely have resale value (!!). I'm thinking the woman that GaleriaGila found may be the one. I actually used to live in NJ as a kid (about 35 miles from Caldwell). Makes me wonder; she could have been one of my Catechism teachers! Thanks all for your thoughts and observations!

 

I wonder if her remaining family donated all of her "stuff" to charity? We recently had a discussion on this board about how thrifts have morphed into Big Business and aren't very charitable at all.

Yes, rosaries have extremely good resale value, and not just for the sterling and crystals. I think people have memories of their mothers, grandmothers, and aunts (like me) who all had one and they have become sentimental. The really nice ones were very expensive then and usually you got it as a mother's day, b-day or Christmas gift. I still have my mother's rosary and it was made with sterling silver and European fine crystals, just gorgeous. Many people buy them and wear them as necklaces (shiver!!).

I sold some years ago on eBay but haven't found any lately. There used to be a lady who sold tons of rosaries for big bucks on eBay but i just now looked and can't find her. Her story was that she got the rosaries and then sent them to some poor Catholic ladies in South America somewhere, who fixed them and cleaned them for a price and then sent them back and she sold them.

When at auctions and sales, look (in box lots) for small coin purses or plastic / cardboard boxes etc. My mother and aunts used to stuff theirs in whatever small storage thing was handy. Auctioneers helpers don't always open everything or even know what a rosary is.

 

Yes, I'm surprised this one got through at all; so many pieces are marked sterling! Maybe they looked at it and just thought...eh, rosary...$5.99. The other funny thing is the cashier mentioned that if I was over 55, a 30% discount could be had. Bingo; first time I have ever taken advantage of that!

 

Thanks. I hope I didn't sound too bossy.

 

Growing up Catholic, everyone in my family had Rosaries, medals, scapulas, etc. etc. My mother, the youngest of five, inherited her siblings stuff and I ended up with it all. The local Catholic church has a thrift so I donated a lot to them and I sold some. I find it unlikely that a nun used this Rosary as it is. Those who take orders use very plain Rosaries as this would have been prior to the addition of the medals. The other possibility is that she went on pilgrimages to churches or places represented by the medals. I still find it hard to believe she would have been allowed to keep something like this. There were nuns and priests in my mother's generation and their Rosaries were plain black wood with plain Crucifixes.

 

Thanks for this insight Bev; someone I was talking to IRL said that the medals may have been collected on sabbatical/pilgrimage/event. Maybe this rosary wasn't the one she would have used in her day-day life as a nun, but one she had for keepsake or sentimental reasons?