Antique Gold Ring

My grandfather acquired this ring between 1950 and 1960 in Portland, Maine. It has been in the family ever since, and has always been a bit of a joke between my mother and her brother. She thought the ring must be of great value, and he believes it to be a scrap metal junk piece.

When my grandfather died recently, the ring resurfaced and I took to the internet for information.

From what I can learn, the ring is 9k gold, assayed in Birmingham, England, in the early to mid 1800's, by the maker "J.A" .

The first hallmark "J.A" I believe represents James Allen, but that is a guess from a very similar hallmark on a silver item which was also made in Birmingham, England.

The second hallmark reads "9 . 375" indicating that it was hallmarked prior to 1975 and that it is 9k gold.

The third hallmark is an anchor on it's side, which represents the Birmingham assay office.

The fourth hallmark is much harder to discern, but it appears to be the letter "M" in Olde English font, which represents the year 1835.

The ring appeared to crack and split and was "fixed" with another metal at some point in it's existence.

I would love to know more about it! I want to learn about James Allen or know something more about the history of this ring! The decorative markings seem to be just that, but my mother thinks there might be some other meaning; the sun, a compass, or some sort of symbolism.