Langer Black Hills Silver Thimbles

1. THIMBLES by JIM LANGER
from
THE BLACK HILLS OF
SOUTH DAKOTA, U.S.A.
An assimilation of information & research from:
Rowena Olbricht – Wyoming
Jenny Scharff Bockel – South Africa
Mary E. Craft – Texas
Kit Froebel – Texas
Jean Taylor – United Kingdom
Susan McCool – Oklahoma
David Reed – U.S.A.
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2. In July 2006 a query was posted on the Cyberthimble
internet forum with questions regarding certain sterling
thimbles in a thimble collection belonging to American
collector Rowena Olbricht. She had five cast silver
thimbles, each dated for a different year beginning with
1978. (1981 was missing.)
Each thimble was slightly different in style and the year
letter was either stamped on the front or, as raised
numerals, formed part of the design.
The thimbles were stamped inside the rim with the words
“BLACK HILLS” and some of the thimbles were also
stamped “STERLING”. She posted photographs to the
album section of the forum, asking for information.
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3. 4 of the above 5 thimbles are stamped “Sterling” and all are stamped “BLACK HILLS” inside rim.
Thimbles pictured are for 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982 and 1983. Thimbles are the property of Rowena
Olbricht. USA.
Back view of the above-mentioned thimbles.
© Rowena Olbricht
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4. © Rowena Olbricht
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5. Upon reading the exchange, Jenny Bockel of South Africa
realized that she had a Langer Black Hills thimble in her own
collection. Hers was the year 1981, the missing year in
Rowena’s display. Jenny had purchased her Black Hills
Silver thimble at the 1990 TCI Convention in Kentucky. She
shared photos of her thimble and jestingly referred to the
thimble as the “South African Missing Link”.
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6. Also in response to Rowena’s request for information, Kit
Froebel of Texas replied that she had previously purchased
one with the year 1982, which had a grape pattern, for her
sub-collection of thimbles with grape designs. Kit added
that she believed that Jim Langer, a silversmith and jeweler
from Spearfish, South Dakota, had once owned a company
called the “Black Hills Silver Co.” and she gave Rowena a
telephone number.
Rowena contacted the Langers, and spoke several times by
phone with Mrs. Langer. She was able to ascertain quite a
bit of information about Mr. Langer and his business. Mrs.
Langer stated that Jim was retired and had sold the jewelry
manufacturing business in 2002.
He was indeed making thimbles at the time of the dates on
the thimbles shown in the photographs 1978–1983. Rowena
was told that the first thimble Jim made had not been dated.
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7. The question was asked whether Mr. Langer had ever used
an identifiable mark and he (in the background) said that he
did sometimes use a mark with a “leaf & acorn”.
The information gained from these telephone calls, coupled
with further research, gives us the following summary:
~~
Jim Langer’s business started out in 1974 as “Black Hills
Artcraft” and as it grew larger they incorporated to become
“Black Hills Silver, Inc.” The Black Hills Silver Company
was located in Spearfish, South Dakota and was in
existence from 1975-2002 when they sold the designs,
molds, etc. to Gregorian Incorporated, a wholesale and
manufacturing company in Lemmon, South Dakota.
Today, this company refers to Langer items as “Langer
Jewelry”.
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8. 2007 - Gregorian’s web page advertizes Langer Jewelry as being
“The Original Black Hills Silver Jewelry” as well as the following:
“Gregorian Inc. is proud to continue our tradition of quality with Langer’s, hand
crafted, sterling silver jewelry. The Langer jewelry line has over 50 years of history
in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Each piece of Langer’s jewelry is
created from solid sterling silver. Langer’s jewelry is hand crafted by artisans,
making each piece a unique work of art. All findings and chains are solid sterling
silver.”
An Internet auction site called ProxiBid
auctioned a silver ring on February 3,
2007 in a box marked
“LANGERS
The Original
Black Hills Silver
Made in U.S.A.”
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9. As stated previously, we know that Mr. Langer sometimes,
though not always, used a mark of a leaf and acorn.
As of 2006, Mr. Langer was 80 years old and Mrs. Langer 77.
Both were experiencing major health problems. They were
still living in Spearfish, South Dakota.
Since Mr. Langer’s main occupation was making jewelry,
one might assume that the number of thimbles made by him
was small. Of course, that is only supposition. There may
be many more out there just waiting for their true identity to
be discovered. Only time will tell if other thimbles will
surface.
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10. 2008 - ANOTHER THIMBLE
In March 2008, Rowena Olbricht obtained another thimble
which she also believes to be made by Jim Langer. Note the
same oak leaves and acorn pattern as on the previously-
shown 1979 thimble. This one is stamped BLACK HILLS
inside the rim (see inset) and also has what may have been
a botched STERLING mark (not shown). No date on this
one.
© Rowena Olbricht 10

11. 2009 - ONE MORE . . .
Another Langer thimble
surfaced in April 2009.
Jean Taylor of the U.K.
purchased this thimble on-
line from Ruby Lane. The
thimble does not bear Mr.
Langer’s mark, but is
marked BLACK HILLS
inside.
The band is decorated with
acorns and oak leaves,
much like the thimble in
the previous slide and the
1979 thimble.
© Jean Taylor
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12. It came in a box marked
“Black Hills
Silver
Spearfish,
So. Dak.”
Jean reports that the seller
almost didn’t send the box
for fear it wouldn’t survive
the journey! What a shame
that would have been, as
this box provides an
important clue.
© Jean Taylor
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13. 2010 – YET ANOTHER
THIMBLE SURFACES . . .
In August 2010, Susan
McCool of Oklahoma,
reported the purchase of a
thimble in a black box with
the words
“BLACK HILLS
SILVER”
stamped inside.
© Susan McCool
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14. © Susan McCool 14
Included in the box were two trifold inserts containing information
about “Gems by Jim - Black Hills Silver.” The brochures contain
information about gems and jewelry, but nothing about thimbles.

15. The thimble itself is the same as the 1980 thimble shown
and discussed earlier in this program. This one is stamped
twice inside: BLACK HILLS STERLING
© Susan McCool
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16. © David Reed
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2018 - THE LATEST LANGER
INFORMATION to surface …..
In May 2018, David Reed posted
photos on CyberThimble of a
thimble in a box marked “Gems
By Jim” and asked for
information.
Although the thimble is the same
as the 1983 thimble shown and
discussed earlier in this
program, the “box” is one not
previously seen. It states
“GEMS BY JIM
BLACK HILLS
STERLING SILVER
[???] MAIN ST.
SPEARFISH, SO. DAK.”

17. © David Reed 17

18. NOW, A BIT OF HISTORY REGARDING
The Black Hills,
Mt. Rushmore,
Spearfish Canyon,
and
Black Hills Gold (and Silver) Jewelry
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19. Spearfish Canyon is in the Black
Hills and Badlands of South
Dakota. It is an oasis of pine-clad
mountains on the great plains of
America. It is near Mt. Rushmore
and the Crazy Horse Memorials,
and the city of Spearfish, home of
Jim Langer, lies at the mouth of the
canyon. It’s a place where bison
and wild horses still roam free.
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20. The PahaSapa limestone, found at the top layer of
Spearfish Canyon gets its name from the Sioux Indian
Nation; “Paha” meaning Hills, and “Sapa” meaning
black. This is because of the Ponderosa Pine trees that
make up almost 80% of the tree coverage in the hills. The
needles of this pine are flat and the topside of the
needles are designed for absorbing light, thus the hills
look dark from a distance.
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21. Starting in 1927 and over a span of 14 years, 360 gold
miners--turned craftsmen, working under the direction of
sculptor Gutzon Borglum, carved a rough granite
monument from Mt. Rushmore.
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22. 22
The first discovery of silver ore in the Black Hills was
made in 1877 in the Bear Butte District, some ten miles
south-east of Deadwood.
The silver interests of the Black Hills started a bit later
than the gold mines. In blatant violation of the federal
treaty with the Lakota people, gold seekers panned for
flashes of color along Bear Butte Creek in 1875 and ’76.
Gold quantities were a bit disappointing. But astute
prospectors recognized lead sulfide deposits, called
galena, in the hillsides rising above the creek. That
obviously meant lead and also, quite likely, silver.

23. While other Black Hills towns sprang to life with visions
of gold mines, Galena banked on silver. Some of
Galena’s silver mines included: Sitting Bull, Richmond,
Florence, Merrit No. 1, Merrit No. 2, General Cook, Alex,
Chub, Cora, Emma, El Refugio, Moll, Double Rainbow,
Buckeye, Sitting Bull, Crestline, Cora, and Boss Tweed.
By law, anything marked Black Hills Silver must be
manufactured in the Black Hills Of South Dakota. In
1980 a United States Federal Judge (8th
Circuit Court)
ruled that if a manufacturer was to call its jewelry “Black
Hills Gold,” then it must be made in the Black Hills.
However, due to the closing of many mines, a later
ruling now allows that the material (gold, silver and
copper) may be sourced elsewhere, but must be
produced in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
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24. If you have additional information on this subject,
please contact the TCI Education Chair at
educationchair@thimblecollectors.com
so that we may compile as much information as
possible for future collectors.
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25. Sources:
• Bockel, Jenny. 2006 Program:
• “Thimbles by Jim Langer from The Black Hills Of
South Dakota, U.S.A. and the South African Missing Link”
• Craft, Mary. e-mail corr. 2006-10
• CYBERTHIMBLE. Message Archives, 2006-18
• Froebel, Kit. e-mail corr. 2006-09
• “Galena’s Ghosts.” http://www.southdakotamagazine.com/galenas-ghosts
• “Langer Products.” Gregorian, Inc. http://www.gregorianinc.com/langerproducts.htm
• McCool, Susan. e-mail corr. 2010
• Olbricht, Rowena. e-mail corr. 2006-09
• S.D. Codified Laws §1-6-16.2
• Taylor, Jean. e-mail corr. 2009
• The Black Hills Silver Mines
http://nevada-outback-gems.com/Gold_rush_history/South_Dakota/S_Dakota11.htm
Acknowledgments:
Photos used by permission of Jenny Bockel, Susan McCool, Rowena Olbricht, David
Reed and Jean Taylor.
PowerPoint Presentation by Mary Craft – 2007
Revisions 2008-9-10-18
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