Masonic "Past Master's" Jewel

You made a good comment regarding bullion value. But I would have looked at the piece as an item and not melted material. Some of the modern pieces are serial numbered and registered pieces. When this piece was "probably made" I have not seen and held it myself, the lodges were much more active than they are now and the pieces were often as the post describes.

When you consider Maryland as an example for collectibles keep in mind that the first permanent European settlement in what is now Maryland was established on Kent Island in 1631 by William Claiborne. The lodge history is interwoven into the signers of the declaration of independence and many of the early political provenance.

Thios piece if identified correctly came from the apogee of the era of US Masonry when the lodges were at the their peak in percentage of populace membership.

http://books.google.com/books?id=Shs3fYPy7V0C&pg=PA1323&lpg=PA1323&dq=M…

Pieces from this era can be nicely crafted and unique as they were often commissioned by the lodge for the lodge with the craftsman himself being a lodge member.

But without specifically holding the piece and having it appraised for both bullion weight and historical significance, a full assesment is difficult.

Interestingly some of the early lodges from the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia have astonishing artifacts, notable members, and the towns themselves can be washed away, subsequently incorporated, or abandoned.

Havre de Grace has a long history, having lost the election to be the nation's ultimate capital to Washington, D.C., by only one vote. Was incorporated in 1785, During the Revolutionary War the small hamlet known as Harmer's Town was visited several times by General Lafayette, who commented that the area reminded him of the French seaport of Le Havre, which had originally been named Le Havre-de-Grâce. Inspired by Lafayette's comments, the town was incorporated as Havre de Grace in 1785.

Being located at the waterway access of the border of PA/MD in the pre-revolutionary history of the United States history, "Harmer's Town" has a rich Masonic history.

I think pieces such as these have more value beyond the bullion content.