BKJG's Northwest Illinois Masonic Pennies

Set Description
The excerpt from Masonic Chapter Pennies of the United States and Canada best explains the origin and what Masonic Chapter Pennies represent. The Pennies displayed in this collection are exclusively from the corner of Northwest Illinois.

“The Masons have existed since at least the 16th century. They built many fine churches, abbeys, and other public buildings in Europe and the United Kingdom. During this early period in our history, few could read, and for work to be identified, each member had to select a mark for himself. He could normally make this with a chisel and mallet using straight lines and angles. This mark would be placed on each piece of work he performed; i.e., a stone shaped for use in the building would have a mark on it so that it could be identified should the need arise. Later, the "mark penny" was used to identify the members.

Mason's, or "mark pennies," were introduced around 1880 but did not come into general use until about 1900. They are given to a new member so that he might record his mark thereon. Ensuring fair compensation was a prominent aspect of the community of Royal Arch Masons. Upon attaining the esteemed status of a Royal Arch Mason, individuals were bestowed with a symbolic penny that represented a day's wages. The practice developed further during the 19th century when US or foreign coins would be shaved and transformed into these special pennies.

Dr. B.F. Wright, the esteemed fifth President of ANA, was an early pioneer in cataloging pennies through articles published in The Numismatist from 1901 to 1904. His notable work on this subject later became available as three comprehensive booklets. Wright expressed his regret that Masonic Chapters often withheld their pennies from fellow Masons, subsequently creating an opportunity for Masons to delve into collecting these valuable coins.

The Albert M. Hanauer Collection was assembled in the 1920s and cataloged by E. A. King under Masonic Chapter Pennies.

In 2015, William Waken and Richard Watley began cataloging significant collections like the King Collection (to the best of their abilities), Maurice Storck Collection, WW Gator, Waken, and a few others. However, they faced limitations with the available technology at that time. Their publication from 2015 serves as a valuable resource for gauging Chapter rarity within these collections.

Masonic pennies comprise several metals, brass, and bronze being the most common. The most common design is a round penny, with the obverse divided into three spaces by two concentric circles. The center circle will have "ONE PENNY" or may be blank. Almost every piece shows the name of the Chapter and the date that the chapter was chartered. It is a standard error for the date to be mistaken as the date the piece was manufactured. Other pennies depict famous people, buildings, or events, as shown on the front cover. Almost all have a Keystone with a Chisel and Mallet on the reverse.
Collecting Masonic Pennies can be difficult because they were made to give to new members, with 100 or fewer produced for the smaller Chapters.”

Reference: Masonic Chapter Pennies of the United States and Canada Waken, William & Watley, Richard (2015)

Set Goals
Continue to collect an extensive collection of Masonic Chapter Pennies from around the Northwest Corner of Illinois.
Be able to be awarded an NGC Best Overall Custom Set award.