Found a bunch more info on this Masonic "penny", although this is actually a shekel reproduction.
Starting at 12 o'clock the letters on the back stand for...
(H)iram (T)he (W)idows (S)on (S)ent (T)o (K)ing (S)olomon
Hiram was one of the head masons that built the royal arch for king Solomon.
He was murdered because he would not give up secrets to enable three lowly workers to upgrade their status so they could make more money.
The square looking object outside the circle with these letters represents the arch.
The small circle in the middle of the letters would usually be stamped with a members mark unique to that person and was given to members when they achieved a certain status or maybe became a full member.
The token/coin represented something you could trade to other members for lent money or services, kind of the original credit card, and would be returned when all was repaid in full.
This was considered more symbolic than put into actual use I would think.
I also read about a ceremony where a member would stand before the lodge in a pair of pants with no pockets.
You were asked to pay to achieve full membership or the next level but with no pockets you had no coins to pay to get to this next level. At that point another member would step up and give you one of these shekels coins or the more common one penny tokens so you could move up.
This represented that as a member of the Freemason society you would always have another member to help you out in times of need.
These coins have been made in brass, copper and other metals throughout the years including sterling like mine.
The dates on these tokens were not the year they were made but the year the lodge was formed.
I have seen many similar to mine with a lot of wear due to age and probably due to the fact that these were carried daily and for years by the members that owned them.
Mine seems to be in more than excellent shape so it was probably lost not long after it was handed out.
As far as age I believe this type is not very common now but was more popular and used by lodges from the late 1800's to the 1930's.
The local lodge this was affiliated with was formed in 1914, the park I found it in was dedicated in the 1920's so it all seems to fit.
Considering this thing was at the 7-8" depth level I assume this thing was lost between the 20's to the 40's because I have found other targets in this date range buried in the soil in this park.
Most targets buried here were found in the typical red dirt clay filled southern soil but this was close to a fire station built after the park was dedicated so I assume the much better black fill dirt was brought in when it was constructed.
It is a pleasure to dig and hunt in this dirt, like old times back in Kansas, and I wish there was more of it around here.
It feels great when you hold it and weighs a hefty 8.2 grams.
No info from the local chapter yet but one member here collects Masonic items and has offered to buy it from me but it is so unusual and rare and looks so good in my display I will have to do some hard thinking about that.
good score !!
