Big, Bold and Beautiful Royal Arch Mason Pennies and the ANA

Instructor: Tom Carson

Starting around 1890, when a Mason achieved the rank of Fourth Degree, their Royal Arch Mason Chapter presented them with an earned “Mark Penny”. This Mark Penny usually detailed Chapter information and provided space for the individual to engrave their personal “Mark”. These pennies were highly cherished and often kept on the person as pocket pieces and buried with the owner. Many of these tokens started out as fairly drab affairs without much numismatic interest. Dr. B.P. Wright, the ANA’s fifth president (1902-1905), started a movement to incorporate more detailed visual imagery chapter symbology in the pennies.