Himmler himself awarded it for personal achievement, devotion to duty, and loyalty to Adolf Hitler during the years 1933 to 1945.

The ring was engraved on the inside of the band with the letters “S.lb (for “seinem Lieben”, or “to dear”) followed by the recipients’ last name, date of presentation, and a facsimile of Himmlers’ signature. It was designed by Karl Maria Wiligut (alias Weisthor).

The rings were cast in silver and then finished by hand by specially commissioned jewelers at the Munich firm Gahr. The company made about 14,000 rings.

The rings, like all SS symbols and rituals, were rooted in Nazi fascination with Teutonic pagan mythology. The Germanic god Thor, according to legend, wore a silver ring on which people could swear oaths. In addition to the Death's Head, the rings were decorated with various runes (Nordic symbols).

The Deaths’ Head Ring was a coveted award within the ranks of the SS, and was taken very seriously. Every presentation was entered in the Officers’ Seniority List (Dienstaltersliste), and a notation was made in the recipients personnel file.

When an SS officer fell in battle, his ring was returned to the SS and then displayed at a memorial in Wewelsburg Castle, a 17th-century fortress Himmler converted into a sort of reproduction of King Arthur's court with a round table and seats for the SS leader and 12 of his trusted lieutenants.

All manufacturing and awarding of the rings were canceled in October 1944 as German military losses mounted. In the spring of 1945, on Himmler's order, all memorial rings were blast-sealed into a mountainside near Wewelsburg. The site was kept secret and has not been found to this day. A little over 3,500 rings were in circulation outside the shrine at the end of the war.

Collecting:

These rings are highly desirable collectors items, but the collecting of them is full of mine fields. Great care should be taken when evaluating the authenticity of any particular ring.

A genuine ring can cost anywhere from $500 to $10,000, depending on such things as:

• Condition
• Recipient's name
• Accompanying documentation

Tools:

As in any other area of collecting rare items, you will need tools to organize your collection and information, and to perform verification.

1. The Honor Ring Collectors Program

A full-featured database system that has been specifically made to track the SS Himmler Honor Rings.

You can use the software for tracking these rings for insurance, organizational or historical purposes, or simply to collect knowledge!

The software incorporates a search engine, easy data entry, context sensitive help, data graphing, multiple image support and much more.

The software is extremely easy to use:

• Stand-alone database application
• Low PC requirements
• Very easy to use
• Custom data fields:
  - Dates can be entered directly or through the pop-up calendar
  - Some fields have choices, like correct dates for Dienstaltersliste
  - Owner, Awarded to, Award date, SS-Nr., Party Nr., Current Value, etc.
• 3 sections:
  1. Information, contains factual information on the ring
  2. Pictures, If available, you can insert pictures of the ring here
  3. History, used for background information on the ring
• Charting is built-in
• Network capable, and you can add up to 8 different passwords/people