Sterling Silver Royal Arch 

Chapter Pennies

This Royal Arch Chapter Penny belonged to Companion Alexander Daniels who was made a Mark Mason in Mount Vernon Royal Arch Chapter in Needham, Mass.  The face of the penny bears his Mark... A (thistle) D inside the center of the Keystone. 

In ancient times your Chapter penny was your most valued possession.  It was given as a token of credit when services or money was borrowed and not returned until the debt was fully repaid.  It was the "mark" of a mans integrity to keep his word.  Very similar to having a credit card in today's world.  In its Masonic use, the penny is simply a symbol of the reward of faithful labor.  In the parable read in the Mark Degree a penny is the amount given to each of the laborers in the vineyard for his day's labors.  This was also the chief silver coin of the Romans from the beginning of the coinage of the city to the earliest part of the third century.  Indeed, the name continued to be employed in the coinage of the Continental States, which imitated that of the Byzantine Empire, and was adopted by the Anglo-Saxons.  The penny is also found in ancient mythology where it was placed in the mouth of the deceased so that he would have the money to pay his fare to the ferryman when crossing the river Styx on his journey through the underworld.

 Sample of another Chapter Penny:

This Chapter Penny is from Eureka Royal Arch Chapter No. 4, Washington, D.C.   Note the difference in style but it still has the "Mark and Initials" of this Mark Mason within the Chapter Keystone.  This Chapter Penny belonged to Companion James M. Huntington.  It was donated to our museum by his grandson Roscoe W. Huntington.

Here is one that is goldtone:

Here are additional examples of Silver Chapter Pennies:

The above Chapter Pennies are from the collection of Brother Burke Gray.

Museum Home Page     Phoenixmasonry Home Page

Copyrighted © 1999 - 2019   Phoenixmasonry, Inc.      The Fine Print