Treasures from Our West: amethyst ring

Originally published in Points West magazine in Winter 2008

William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody’s amethyst ring

This simple but lovely amethyst ring belonged to William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody for many years. The amethyst is February’s birthstone, and since Buffalo Bill was born on the 26th of that month in 1846, the amethyst held special meaning for him. At some point, he decided to give this ring to his very good friend Dan Winget, a fellow scout of the plains, whom he had known since they were both young boys in Kansas. It is not known when Buffalo Bill gave it to Winget, but Winget treasured it a great deal.

Sometime prior to his death in 1933, Winget, in turn, gave the ring to a very good friend, Albert Willoughby Kleinschmidt, PhD. Through the generosity of Kleinschmidt’s family, we now have this ring, which was donated in 2006. In addition to the ring, the family donated the letter that Winget wrote to Kleinschmidt detailing the ring’s provenance.

William F. Cody’s amethyst ring. Gift of and in memory of Albert Willoughby Kleinschmidt, PhD. 1.69.6128

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