In August 1861, Johannes Komes discovered an antique ring in the garden of his house along the main street of Altrier. Buried with the ring were some thirty ancient coins, most of them silver, and agglomerated as a result of oxidation. Shortly after the ring had been discovered, the entire hoard was acquired by the Archaeological Society, whose curator Antoine Namur quickly drew up a list roughly identifying seventeen of the coins. Eleven of these can still be found in the museum’s collections, together with this splendid solid silver ring.

It has chiselled openwork ornamentation, typical for the work of 3rd-century silversmiths. The intaglio, which is elliptical and mounted on an octagonal setting, is remarkably high. It is made of red carnelian, a variety of solid-colour chalcedony frequently used in jewellery-making. The finely engraved scene shows a chasing lion leaping on a deer. The speed of movement is perfectly rendered by the engraver of this piece of quartz, which is barely 2.5 cm in diameter.

Because of the coins found with the ring, we know that the hoard could not have been buried earlier than 268. They also hint at the reasons: this was a period of strong devaluation that suffered under Frankish incursions. Insecurity as well as the desire to safeguard these high-quality silver coins must have induced the owner of this signet ring to bury the hoard.