Pricey Stuff

Could I get enough to make a ring?

Radium was discovered in 1898 by Pierre and Marie Curie, and in 1905 it was still very valuable. Incredibly valuable.

On June 24, 1905, the *St. Tammany Farmer* of Covington, Louisiana reported that

The latest London quotation of radium was $890,000 an ounce.

Unfortunately, this price was not sufficiently high to prevent people from using dangerous amounts of radium in cosmetics, watch dials, and other products.