Today's specimens: Pennies stamped with the Masons' square-and-compass symbol.
Since so many of the folks in the @silvergoldstackers community have been posting coins that aren't necessarily silver or gold, I thought I'd share something that seems unique to me, despite not being made of silver or gold. If Wikipedia is to be believed, these are, in fact, bronze, despite looking quite coppery. (I s'pose real copper would be green by now, though.)
The Backstory
Both my father, and his father before him, were masons. My grandfather reached the 32nd degree, which I know because I have his 32nd degree ring. I'm not sure how far my father advanced, but I know it wasn't as far as his dad.
I'm not actually sure which of them originally obtained these pennies; it could've been either, as my dad was born in 1924, but my money's on my dad. I imagine my grandpa had been in the masons for at least a couple decades by the time these were minted. I also read, while researching for this article, that pennies like this were given when a man was first initiated into a masonic lodge, so that also points to this being around the time my dad would've been the right age. Why he'd have two, though, I have no clue!
I found them interesting because of the lumped-up deformedness where the stamping was done. It's kinda obvious in the photo of the obverse side, above, but I think it's much more obvious on the reverse, because of the way it pushes the pennies up off of the box I was using for a background, and completely obliterates the original mint-print. Most of the "counterstruck" pennies on eBay were flat, or at least much flatter than than these. Only a small handful had this sort of domed bulge.
I'd apologize for the lousy photography but let's be real; if I had to drag out my lightbox and snap phancy photos for every coin I shared, I would never get around to sharing. 😆
It appears one is a 1948S, and the other is a 1950D, though I admit my old eyes can't make out that much detail without the assistance of the camera (or a really good magnifying glass) anymore.
I tried looking on eBay, to see if they were "worth something," But signs pointed to no. The highest price I saw one going for was a little under $15, but most were in the $1-$3 range.
I do find it interesting that the two marks are quite different from one another, despite the cents themselves being issued only a couple years apart. Obviously that doesn't necessarily mean they were stamped only two years apart, but it does seem likely.
Do you have anything Masonic or Masonic-adjacent among your family treasures?
Image credit: Art by Inky
Have a great day, y'all!
All photos are mine unless otherwise stated.
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