The United States men’s hockey team, coached by Herb Brooks, entered the Olympic Games as the youngest team in the field. They started play on February 12th, skating to a 2-2 tie with Sweden. Incredibly, that would be the only game the U.S. would not win. Team USA rattled off four straight victories to set up a matchup with the mighty Soviet Union. The Soviet national team was such a strong squad that they beat a team of NHL All-Stars, 6-0, in 1979. Yet, in this battle, the young Americans hung tough. Then, with 10 minutes left in the third period, team captain Mike Eruzione scored to give the USA a 4-3 lead. That would be the final score. The U.S. had done the impossible! Team USA would go on to beat Finland, 4-2, to win the gold medal.

     Presented here is a 1980 USA Men’s Olympic Hockey Gold Medal salesman sample ring. The face features five CZs set in the image of the Olympic rings, against a backdrop of a blue stone. “U.S.A. OLYMPIC HOCKEY GOLD MEDALIST” appears in raised lettering around the bezel. Goaltender Jim Craig’s last name and uniform number (30) are displayed on the left shank, along with a 1980 Winter Games logo. The other side of the band bears images of a hockey player and the Olympic rings, with the scores “U.S.A. 4 USSR 3” and “U.S.A. 4 FIN. 2” underneath. The year 1980 appears at the bottom. This ring, weighing approximately 29.3 grams, is an approximate size 10 ½.

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