I purchased this pin because i love cactus imagery (which is hard to come by in Native jewelry). After researching it, I believe Rick Manuel is the artist. He is only one of two practicing Tohono O’odham (Papago) Silversmiths.
As far as I can tell, Rick is still making jewelry, but he is now using this hallmark:
Is anyone here familiar with Rick’s work? I would like to know when he stopped using the old “R-“ hallmark to help me date the piece!