This is quite off-topic but I think it's still rather relevant in showing how the ghosts of the past still haunt Europe ;)

Quote:

A ring believed to have belonged to Joan of Arc has been snapped up for an astonishing £240,000 at a London auction house. The French government is thought to have bought the item of jewellery. It was put up for sale by Robert Hasson, whose father James was Charles de Gaulle’s doctor in the Second World War. Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake as a heretic by the English in 1431, after claiming she acted under divine guidance when leading the French army to victory at Orleans. A spokesman for Timeline Auctions, which conducted the sale on Friday, said: ‘The ring is returning to France.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-34676...nment.html

Quote:

'Come and get it': French refuse to hand Joan of Arc's ring back to Britain French dismiss as "inconceivable" British demands they return Joan of Arc's ring days after buying the relic for £300,000 on the grounds they failed to obtain an export licence

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/eur...itain.html

Quote:

"We will get it" says Edward Talbot 12th Earl of Shrewbury. Elizabeth II of England has reinstated her claims on the vacant French throne and authorized one of England's greatest magnates to raise an army and fight across the Channel.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/eur...mouth.html

This, friends. is why many of our ancestors moved to North America...

Hey,

Thank you for posting that. It's a great read.

The ring had in not been from Joan of arc or an antique with provounace would be something I would purchase at my company for maybe $40 US. $240,000 pounds plus Buyers premium is a victory in itself and shows how we as a world still venerate the past
That makes me happy.

It'll be interesting to see if any verdict it reached in regards to the ring being sent back.

Anyone wanting a healthy dose of cynicism about this whole sad farrago can PM me.

Why would anyone go into combat over something that has about the same provenance as the Easter Bunny?

Hey Mark,

Do you doubt the article or the ring itself?

Seems to me like there's a dispute between France and the U.K. over Joan of Arc's ring.