(c.1860) Token Sage's Historical No. 1 Copper Old Masonic Hall

Coin Details

Auction Record

$144 MS64BN 08-31-2022 Stack's Bowers

Description

This copper Sage's Historical token number 1 depicts Old Masonic Hall, a landmark building in New York City that served as a meeting place for Masonic lodges during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Freemasonry played a significant role in early American civic life, with many of the nation's founders including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere holding membership. The Old Masonic Hall represented the institutional presence of the fraternal order in New York's social and architectural landscape. Charles Sage's selection of this building for his historical token series reflects the antiquarian fascination with fraternal organizations and their physical meeting places that characterized mid-nineteenth-century collectors. The copper composition places this among the standard strikings of the series.

Rarity Notes

Copper striking. Masonic-themed tokens appeal to both numismatic and fraternal collectors.

Cross References

PCGS #803568; Sage's Historical Token No. 1, Cu, Old Masonic Hall