h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I am currently going through my Mum's house & effects and among other small items there are several old wedding rings. My husband is rather against keeping mementos away in store, but would be happy if items were mounted & put on display.
The items are mostly in bags or boxes with explanation & I like the idea that they're there, don't need to see them all the time. I doubt that any have any significant value other than sentimental & if I hadn't found them, would never have known they existed.

Any thoughts what you would do?

That is lovely that your mum kept family wedding rings with explanations

I like to keep souvenirs of my own as well as souvenirs of my family (although I try to keep it reasonable) so I have a set of my grandfather's draftsman tools, my grandmother's knitting bag and one of my partner's dresses, amongst various other bits and pieces.

Does your husband have other relatives who are the keepers of his family's mementoes?

If the rings won't fit into your collection of your own personal mementoes, an idea might be to put them in a bag that you can hang in your wardrobe.

"I like the idea that they're there, don't need to see them all the time."

Lovely - yes, that's my philosophy, too.

I don't think hubby's family keep mementos. He has enough 'stuff' though, related to hobbies & 'things that might be useful'. I think I can be justified in having a few shoe boxes with family mementos in, even if it means our children also have the dilemma of what to do with them!

I'm reminded of a line form "I don't understand the Parisians" form "Gigi":

"A rock from some obnoxious little king is love."

Until you realize there's a story associated with an object, it's just an object. My nephew's wife went through tons of stuff that her father left when he died. It took a while to realize what had sentimental value, and what didn't.

So, when you are trying to develop a plan for saving wedding rings (or anything else), you're kind of on your own. Who knows what happened in times past when people melted down their gold jewelry to raise money when money was scarce?

How many rings rolled down the grate into the sewer?

If I live long enough to declutter my house*, much if what I will leave behind will be obvious for its practical value or its sentimental value.

*I have so much clutter, and diminishing physical strength, and the project is likely to take a while. Who know what will happen to my resolve, let along anything else as I work on it?

Another thought about rings is that the metal they are made of might worth something. Or they might have artistic value that someone else would pay for. If you decided you didn't want or need to keep them, maybe someone else would buy them from you?

If you have old photos of the married couples, the rings look nice placed in a deep frame with the pic. Nice to see them together.

That's a lovely idea, but alas some of these rings predate family portrait photography!

Or maybe a nice bit of driftwood with the rings hanging on them, as a family tree type affair?

That's a great idea!