Does anyone collect Masonic Pennies? I have never heard of them and am not a fan at all of the Masons but came across one dated 1866 from my hometown and it intrigues me and I'm thinking of purchasing it. How much does the average one usually go for?
I have a few Mason tokens with values on them, and I think some of them are pretty cool. I imagine the values depend on the specific type and if it came from a certain city. I'm not that familiar on values, but I've been told that most of the ones I own run in the $10-20 range. On a similar note, I have an 1845 large cent in F-VF in a Masonic symbol counterstamped right in the front of it.....a really neat piece.
There's a section on Masonic tokens in another area of the forum. The Masons are actually active in doing charity work & run some retirement villages over here. Aidan.
I collect them and have a reference book for them if you need any id numbers or anything. The dates on these tokens are not when they were struck, but when their Charter was granted. Most copper issues go in the $8 - $15 range when s/h is included. Silver issues often are in the $20-$40 range. Other metals were also used, but they show up even less often. I think collecting hometown tokens is a very interesting thing to collect. I have many from my hometown, most of which are no longer in business. A nice connection to the past, especially for the ones that I can recall - some were even on my paper route.
There are always some on ebay. I'm not sure if the pricing was fair or not, but recently I saw some foreign (semi-obscure country) Masonics (for the first time) on ebay, and the seller was starting them each off in the couple of hundred buck range. I don't know if they sold or not, but they are not commonly seen.
A couple of different things come to mind. There's coins that have been counter punched with masonic symbols, and there's the copper tokens that are about the size of a large cent...these were made to be masonic items and the lodge number and city are usually on the reverse. We get them from time to time in the shop and they usually bring about $10, though some lodges/cities may be more scarce than other issues. tradernick
Ryan,that is a nice counterstamped Canadian 1c. coin. What do you mean by getting raised? Is it being promoted from one Degree up to another Degree in the craft? Have you ever held office in your local lodge(s)? I have heard that some Masons over here do belong to more than one lodge.I don't know where they get the time to attend all their meetings. I'm not a Mason myself,as I don't meet their extremely strict qualification standards.If you fail to meet one part of their standards,they will not let you join.That is certainly the case over here. Aidan.
Well I was having internet troubles and couldn't check the listing or update my snipe program. missed the sale. Only wanted the one from Athol, Mass. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=110094732844&rd=1&rd=1
Nickelman,it is a real pity you missed out.Those are very nice Masonic Pennies from America.It seems very strange that American ones use the term 'ROYAL ARCH CHAPTER' on their tokens.I can understand perfectly if that was inscribed on Canadian ones,but on American ones,I don't. Aidan.
Yah, I really thought that one from my home town was nifty. Strange I never heard or seen these before the masonicism (if thats a word) is pretty big in the Winchester, Virginia area being the lodge Old George Washington attended and all. I use to work with the Grand Dragon of the lodge or whatever he called himself. Never even new the masons were around in Athol, growing up there!
I'm a 3rd Degree Master Mason. This means I have full rights and benefits to sit in and attend regular meetings at the lodge. Now, Masonry isn't a secret society. Here in the states, if you open your phone book, they are listed under "Fraternal organizations" like the Elks, Rotary, and Moose are. Meetings are down right boring to be quite honest. And all the ceremonies are published on the internet. So there are no real secrets anymore. Nope. I'm a newbie. And yes, plural membership is something that is allowed. But like an annual ANA membership and the PCGS membership, you have to pay for both of them. To be one, ask one. Well, at least over here in the states, that is the case. The strictest of prerequisites is that a man must believe in a supreme being. That is non negotiable. Now you are getting the Klan and the Masons confused. I know you are doing it on purpose because for whatever reason are "not a fan at all of the Masons" as indicated in your first post. Racism and the values of Relief, Truth, and Brotherly Love are not compatible. If your friend was in both organizations, that is truly a shame. The lodge in the town next to mine out here in California, last year, had a gentleman from Mexico, who was 91, serving as their “Worshipful Master.” He was the head man of that lodge. Aidan has some legit questions and a genuine curiosity about the fraternity. Don’t confuse the organizations. If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me.