Beautiful Gold Masonic Cross Check This Out

[T Hunter]

The story is under what is it in the form Thanks Mark

 

[Cable]

oh wow, I thought it was meant as being gold in color. Then it obviously has a greater value. Then I would ay that it probably belonged to a Grand Officer of the Royal Arch. Does it have anything on the backside of either one of them. Does the Keystone look as though it would be attached to the cross. It may also have been used in some of the ceremonials that are performed. Gold, yes you bet. I will try to do some digging around to see what I can come up with. I do belong to these organizations and am interested in these items. Good find----Cable

 

[Cable]

A little headway---google in--royal arch masonic watch fob--you will see the scene under the arch is the same as on one of the fobs--not much, but a start It appears that keystonw fits over the front or back of the cross--is this so ? What is the dark circle where the keystone may fit over?

 

[Messick81]

yes the key stone fits over the oval. the oval is glass it seals in a few locks of hair from what i understand im still learning also . so far we have dated it back to the early 1700,s

 

[Chicago Ron]

That is one sweet find!!!!! Congrats.

 

[72cheyenne]

Still lovin it.

 

[Bavaria Mike]

Awesome find, congrats! HH, Mike

 

[JimBeHuntin']

That is a very nice piece and definitely has a lot of character ... great job!

 

[Messick81]

i have found out that the property i found the cross belonged to a john haslet that faught with george wasington he was one of his right hand men . he died at the battle of prinston jan 6,1777. i am trying to find out if he had belonged to any mason orginizations. that would be neat to connect him to the cross. i have also found inaugeral medallion dated april 30 1789 the day of wasingtons speach on the brooklyn bridge? also civil war bullets , half reales half dimes 3 cent pieces large cents flying eagles and lots of other old coind and tokens and buttons

 

[ivan salis]

that item is linked to the royal arch degree of the york rite branch of the masonic order --the "keystone" cover plate was originally attached and served as a cover -- a locket of hair --or later on a photo of a loved one was often placed in them --

-there are two main sub orders within the masons --scottish rite and york rite -- most everyday type masons go scottish rite --some of the more serious ones tend to go york rite -- even fewer do both -- my father did both.--he went thru the chairs and was master of the hilliard , florida lodge -- (it has since joined with the callahan , florida lodge) pop died awhile back.

 

[John (Ma)]

Very nice!

 

[Messick81]

thank cable for the info i will start digging deeper tomorrow thanks again

 

[dirthunter]

Very nice.....Congrats.

 

[Messick81]

can,t thank everyone enough for all the help in finding info on this cross. so far we have found out that george washington was a mason. so it,s looking good that john haslet may have been also yhat would be unreal history.

 

[Messick81]

since last week i had jewler he was inpressed he said he had never seen a croo like that,and that all the work was done by hand. he also magnified 30 times and verified there is hair under the glass. still trying to get documentation on owner. still looks like john haslet

 

[Deno]

That is a amazing find and story. Banner for sure. I love this hobby.

 

[Sir Digs-A-Lot]

AWESOME find. BANNER BANNER

Interesting tidbit from the masonicinfo.com site:

Washington, George - As General of the Armies of the colonies, he led the revolution which created American independence. As the first President of the United States, his leadership was crucial to establishing the 'tone' for the United States. His love of Freemasonry is documented by his close reliance upon other Masons in the execution of his duties. Following his death, his widow sent locks of his hair (a common practice of the time) to Masons throughout the country and such revered treasures were the object of great appreciation. To this day, a lock of his hair sent to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is carried in a golden urn preceding the entry of the Grand Master at the Annual Meeting of the Grand Lodge.

 

[tseekerMike]

That's an incredible find! Maybe once in a lifetime.

 

[Messick81]

is there somone out there that can tell me if john haslet was a mason or not?

 

[ivan salis]

your local area masonic lodge might be able to assist you.

 

[mamabear]

AWESOME find. BANNER BANNER

Interesting tidbit from the masonicinfo.com site:

Washington, George - As General of the Armies of the colonies, he led the revolution which created American independence. As the first President of the United States, his leadership was crucial to establishing the 'tone' for the United States. His love of Freemasonry is documented by his close reliance upon other Masons in the execution of his duties. Following his death, his widow sent locks of his hair (a common practice of the time) to Masons throughout the country and such revered treasures were the object of great appreciation. To this day, a lock of his hair sent to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is carried in a golden urn preceding the entry of the Grand Master at the Annual Meeting of the Grand Lodge.

what an incredible find! & the history just keeps getting better. I love this site!