1921 Alabama With Masons Counterstamp

Nice counter stamp.

Edit: I thought that I had a close match to the OPs counter stamp on a LWC. I've got hundreds of them but the closest I could come up with is this one...It has the same style, no real detail, just an outline of the symbol but mine has the almost ever present G (Stands for Geometry) in the center...

Very nice!

My father is and grandfather was a Freemason. They always told me that the G was for the Great Architect (God).

However, after some Google-fu I do see where Geometry is mentioned numerous times. I was today years old when I learned that.

I suddenly had an idea about this piece!

While researching the Alabama half dollar some time ago, I came across a few newspaper articles about the coin's launch in Birmingham, AL in October 1921. President Warren G. Harding was in town to give a speech and be part of the launch ceremony. I recalled reading that he had a few other agenda items on his trip itinerary and remembered something about a cornerstone laying.

I went back and had a look at the articles and lo and behold, Harding took part in the cornerstone laying of the local Masonic Temple - The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons (F & AM) of Alabama. Construction on the building was completed in 1924 and it was the long-term home of the masons and a centerpiece of the local community for decades; the Masons occupied the grand building until 2010. One other note, Harding was a Freemason.

It's not hard for me to imagine that a mason purchased one of the new half dollars at the time of its launch and either counterstamped it himself or had it done by a brother at the lodge. To my eyes, the counterstamp appears to have been on the coin from its early days and I can imagine it was carried by a proud mason as a pocket piece for many years.

Fascinating details!