A student experiment is described for studying persistent currents in a commercially obtained ring of the ‘‘123’’ superconducting material at liquid‐nitrogen temperature. The currents are easily detected with a standard analog Hall probe. From observations extended over a 3‐week period, an upper limit on the possible resistance of one such ring was set at about 2×10−16Ω. For the rings studied, the induced current saturated at about 2 A as the applied flux change was increased. An ac technique for checking the continuity of the superconducting path around the ring is also described. These experiments provide an interesting supplement for topics in first‐year electricity and magnetism. The effects are striking and easily discussed at an introductory level. For example, the current induced by turning the ring over in the Earth’s field is readily seen.