With roots dating back to the great European stonemason guilds of the 14th Century, the Freemasons later evolved into a fraternal order of brotherhood and service that spans the globe today. Each member is initiated into the order and progresses through the original medieval levels of advancement that include Apprentice, Journeyman (now called Fellowcraft), and Master Mason. Dedication to each other, and a belief in a supreme being (regardless of denomination), are essential elements that bind Freemasons together.

The Masonic lodge serves as a meeting house, educational center for matters Masonic, and a setting for the rituals associated with the various functions of advancement, along with local internal Masonic business and social activities. Lodges and rituals typically display standard Masonic symbols familiar even to non-members, and those include both stone mason symbology as well as references to the Temple of Solomon.

Freemasonry notes its beginnings here in America in the very early 1700s, with one of its most notable members being our first American president, George Washington. Open to all levels of society from cab driver to Congress, the Freemasons have included such names as country western singers Roy Acuff and Eddy Arnold, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, South Pole discoverer Roald Amundsen, hotelman John Jacob Astor, western star Gene Autry, comedian Richard Pryor, actor John Wayne, magician Harry Houdini, jazz legend Count Basie, America’s literary icon Mark Twain, and boxing great Sugar Ray Robinson, to name just a few.

This tribute edition’s left side carries the famous compass and square retained from the earliest days of freemasonry, the mason’s plumb and level, the letter “G” which stands for both God and Geometry, the All-Seeing Eye of God as the symbol of divine watchfulness, and the words BROTHERLY LOVE, RELIEF & TRUTH that the order considers its foundation, along with FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY, emphasized in a Mason’s First Point Ceremony, all in raised 24K gold relief against a background of classic floral engraving. CLICK TO ZOOM

To further set off this striking tribute edition, the select American walnut stock depicts our first President in full Masonic regalia, with apron, trowel, and Warden’s column, standing on a “temple” floor in front of the Masonic staircase, in a painted tableau bordered by scrollwork in the same style as the receiver.

What better way to acknowledge the order’s long history, and reward the work and dedication you, or someone important to you, has invested in Freemasonry.