Owner Comments:
MASONIC ISSUE APPEARANCE/CONDITION:
Choice Uncirculated+ — Masonic “Shekel”
*A beautiful, completely untoned specimen that has been exceptionally well-preserved for it age. Additionally, high grades are scarcely seen due to these being issued to Masons that held them for their entire lives. — Simply having a problem-free example makes this piece even rarer.*
MASONIC ISSUE BACKGROUND:
Issued in recognition of the Masonic Chapter from Las Animas, Colorado Chapter #49. Struck in aluminum and dated 1918. — Las Animas issues appear to be extremely rare. TokenCatalog has this aluminum shekel listed, as well as one Masonic Penny struck in copper. I have 2 of this same “exact” variety in my collection. Both are exceptionally well-preserved. I will have the secondary graded to add additional historical value/perspective to this collection. The details are as follows:
- 1918 Las Animas, Colorado Chapter Number 49, Aluminum, 28mm Shekel (NGC MS-64)
- 1918 Las Animas, Colorado Chapter Number 49, Aluminum, 28mm Shekel (Pending NGC Grading)
—————
COLORADO CHAPTERS:
Utilizing various resources such a King, as well as my own sought out research, I have attempted to document “all” Masonic Chapters within Colorado. If 63 chapters, only 2 are missing. The list is as follows:
- Chapter 1: Central City, CO
- Chapter 2: Denver, CO
- Chapter 3: Pueblo, CO
- Chapter 4: Georgetown, CO
- Chapter 5: Golden, CO
- Chapter 6: Colorado Springs, CO
- Chapter 7: Boulder, CO
- Chapter 8: Longmont, CO
- Chapter 9: Lake City, CO
- Chapter 10: Leadville, CO
- Chapter 11: Fort Collins; Cache La Poudre Chapter, CO
- Chapter 12: Pueblo; South Pueblo Chapter, CO
- Chapter 13: Greeley, CO
- Chapter 14: Canon City, CO
- Chapter 15: Durango; San Juan Chapter, CO
- Chapter 16: Gunnison, CO
- Chapter 17: Salida, CO
- Chapter 18: Alamosa; San Luis Valley Chapter, CO
- Chapter 19: Aspen; Keystone Chapter, CO
- Chapter 20: La Junta, CO
- Chapter 21: Ouray; Kilwinning Chapter, CO
- Chapter 22: Glenwood Springs; Glenwood Chapter, CO
- Chapter 23: Trinidad, CO
- Chapter 24: Grand Junction, CO
- Chapter 25: Montrose, CO
- Chapter 26: Akron, CO
- Chapter 27: Walsenburger, CO
- Chapter 28: Telluride, CO
- Chapter 29: Denver; Colorado Chapter, CO
- Chapter 30: Idaho Springs, CO
- Chapter 31: Fort Morgan, CO
- Chapter 32: Lamar; Orient, CO
- Chapter 33: Cripple Creek, CO
- Chapter 34: Steamboat Springs; Steamboat Chapter, CO
- Chapter 35: Florence, CO
- Chapter 36: Rocky Ford, CO
- Chapter 37: Meeker, CO
- Chapter 38: Delta, CO
- Chapter 39: Denver; Highlands Chapter, CO
- Chapter 40: Windsor, CO
- Chapter 41: Silverton, CO
- Chapter 42: South Denver, CO
- Chapter 43: Del Norte, CO
- Chapter 44: Loveland, CO
- Chapter 45: Colorado City; Euclid Chapter, CO
- Chapter 46: Paonia; Zion Chapter, CO
- Chapter 47: Sterling, CO
- Chapter 48: Rifle, CO
- Chapter 49: Las Animas, CO
- Chapter 50: Denver; Montview Chapter, CO
- Chapter 51: Brighton, CO
- Chapter 52: Limon, CO
- Chapter 53: Craig, CO
- Chapter 54: Silverton; Rhodonite Chapter, CO
- Chapter 55: Granby; Mountain Parks Chapter, CO
- Chapter 56: ?????
- Chapter 57: Littleton, CO
- Chapter 58: Englewood, CO
- Chapter 59: Cortez; Montelores Chapter, CO
- Chapter 60: ?????
- Chapter 61: Aurora, CO
- Chapter 62: Breckenridge, CO
- Chapter 63: Lakewood, CO
RARITY: Unknown; Likely scarce - I have seen 2 examples; both are in this collection.
MASONIC ISSUE DESCRIPTION:
(Aluminum, 28mm, Round, Plain Edge)
OBVERSE: Las Animas / Chartered / No. 49, / (Masonic Keystone) / R.A.M. / JAN. 4th 1918 / Las Animas, Colorado
REVERSE: (Masonic Symbols - Shekel)
MASONIC ISSUE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
(Brief History of Masonic Shekels):
“The first Masonic Shekel was made in 1895. This is not the first.
The Following is from Wright 3.
It is the custom of Chapters using this type of Mark to consider them as "half" shekels but the Hebrew legend on the reverse reads SHEKEL ISREAL. The Hebrew for half shekel is CHATZI HA-SHEKEL. The history of this type is as follows: In the year 1895 Comp. A. G. Pitts Sect'y. of King Cyrus No.133 Mich. chanced to see a shekel of the 2d year of the coinage of Simon Maccabeus and thinking its design very appropriate had a firm of manufacturing jewelers in Detroit copy the reverse. A keystone and necessary legend for the obverse and the design was complete for an attractive looking Mark. Pitts being highly elated with his design published a description of it in the Feb. (1896) number of the "American Tyler." It does not need words of praise, for the simple fact that over thirty Chapters have copied, or plagiarized this design is sufficient proof of its value.
——-
When a man does so well that even his slightest errors are thus faithfully copied mere words are inadequate to express the value of his work. Few are sufficiently familiar with Hebrew to detect the mistake. Pitts considered it as a "half" shekel and the present writer in the second list of the "Mark Penny" made the same error, hence in order that a whole shekel
may no longer be accepted as its half.
—————
(Large Masonic Collections):
William Waken and Richard Watley undertook the massive project of inventorying the major collections. They included the King Collection (as best they could), Maurice Storck Collection, WW Gator, Waken and a few others. Their effort was also limited by current technology. They published their book in 2015 and it is an excellent source of relative Chapter rarity.
——-
In 2014, volunteers started the major effort of adding Masonic Pennies to tokencatalog.com. The 14,000 + pennies in the WW Gator Collection were scanned and about 20 volunteers added them. Tokencatalog.com now has 18,500 listings and we expect there will be 20-22,00 different pennies and shekels.” — Credited Source: Tom/Chattchoo