Hi folks, I was going through a half roll of pennies I won at auction, hoping that it would contain a few nice coins (and it did!), BUT some knob had stamped a tiny Freemason symbol on poor ol' Abe's chest... on ALL of them... Are these coins a complete write off now, or does anyone collect this sort of thing? I seem to remember seeing a website a few months ago discussing this, but I can't remember it for the life of me... anyone know what I'm talking about? Oh, and it wasn't a complete waste... in the same auction lot I found 2 Canadian 5 cent pieces, 1899 and 1907, both about the size of a dime and somewhere between VG - F I'd say.
Abe was never a mason, but there is a mason here in Indiana that routinely stamps cents with the square and compass. I have one.
I think these came from the Detroit area, simply based on the Detroit Transit System token and trade token for a store in Michigan that were also in the lot. Leadfoot, that's a picture of Frank the Bunny from Donnie Darko... I'll probably be changing it soon...
If you want to buy some Masonic pennies, they are jsut 10 cents a piece: http://templates.earthstores.com/9072/proddetail.asp?id=686972616D68756E746572&prod=172898
Yes, after doing some more research I've discovered that these stamped pennies are normally given to new members. The stamp on mine are in the 6 o'clock position instead of the 3 like in edix's link. It's unfortunate, but not heartbreaking since neither of the pennies are particularly rare or valuable. For fun, I'll post a pic of the lot when I do my next round of picture taking.
I'm sorry but Masonic Pennies are something totally different from a Lincoln Cent stamped with a Square & Compass. Each lodge has their own design and they are much larger, usually the size of a Large Cent.
I have one of those as well, those are, or were commonly stamped or minted by York Right chapters. One of the Masonic affiliated bodies. The persons initials would sometimes be stamped in the center. The big york rite coins are Pennys. But the stamped coins are called CENTS
Well, I stand corrected... I just assumed (wrongly) when the mentioned a stamped penny, they meant one like I have. But of course I should know better... those are pennyies and what I have are 1 cent pieces. See, I'm learning... By the way, here's a quick pic I took of four of them for those who asked. http://www.krookedhouse.com/coins/Freemason4.jpg
