My M-I-L gave me this token today - it was at the bottom of a bag of coupons and other items she sent over to us, so I don't have any background on it. I suspect it is a masonic penny based on some googling I did. I couldn't find an exact match though. Any help and possible value would be appreciated... (Sorry for the bad pictures, it's all i have at the moment...)
Yes, it's a Masonic penny Rassi. Sometimes they were counterstamped with a members name. Most aren't worth a great deal, but issues of certain lodges might be a bit more valuable. Just a guess, but I'm thinking less than $10. Bruce
These are Royal Arch Masons (R.A.M.) tokens. They were given to members of lodges. Royal Arch Masons are a specialized branch of Freemasonry, like Shriners or Scottish Rite. Many Royal Arch lodges have closed in recent years. I have a few of these items, mostly from lodges located near where I live.
Since the reverse does not have a wreath, and the color of the token IMO suggests that the metal is brass, I would say that the I.D. number in E. A. King's "Masonic Chapter Pennies" for your token is 5801d. The obverse is the most common style where the face is divided into 3 spaces by 2 circles. The reverse, the side with the keystone, hammer and chisel was made with die # 47. If you are not familiar with the meaning of the letters H.T.W.S.S.T.K.S. in a circle on the reverse, they stand for Hiram (the) Tyrian Widow's Son Sendeth To King Solomon. There is background for that, but too lengthy to post here. Those letters represent the "mark" of the Ancient Grand Master. I consider your token to be a bit more valuable than the average Masonic token, if my thoughts are correct on it being made of brass. The least valuable are the "generics" that do not mention a specific chapter, and typically were made in greater quantities. Tokens displaying a specific Chapter are better, and copper ones would be close to BRandM's estimate of about $10, give or take a couple of dollars. If made of brass, I think the value would be pushed up to the $15 to $20 range. Most of the ones with even higher values depict seldom seen designs on the reverse, such as the Arc of the Covenant, Noah's Arc, Solomon's Temple, a camel, etc.
@cwtokenman - thank you very much for your detailed information. Very much appreicated. Can you tell me, what would a token like this be used for? It says "one penny" but I can't imagine chapter members were exchanging hundreds of these to purchase items...
