Whether you are a member or not, you can show your support for Longstreet Lodge No. 268 by owning a Challenge Coin & Lapel Pin!
Challenge Coins are $10 (USD) and Lapel Pins are $5 (USD).
Shipping in the USA is a flat $8 (USD), which covers the cost of a small flat-rate priority shipping box from the United States Postal Service. The shipping is $8 (USD), no matter how many coins or pins you buy, so long as we can fit them in the box! We ship via this method because it provides the best assurance that your items will arrive safely and undamaged. If you want to have an order shipped outside of the USA, please contact our Secretary.
Purchasing instructions:
Ordering 1 item: Select either the Challenge Coin or Lapel Pin in the drop-down menu below and click “Add to Cart” to be sent to PayPal to complete your purchase.
Ordering both items: Select either option and click “Add to Cart”. Once you are directed to PayPal, look in the top-right corner for a “Continue Shopping” link. Click that link to come back to this page. Then select the other item and click “Add to Cart” again. You will now have both items in your PayPal cart.
Ordering multiples: Complete one of the methods above. Then, in your PayPal cart you can increase the quantity of whichever item you wish.
About the Design:
Coin Front & Pin:
Click for larger image
A lot of thought went into these items, so please permit us to explain!
First, these are not cheap low-quality mass-produced items. They were produced by Worshipful Brother John Bridegroom of The Masters Craft. We are not only very pleased with Bro. Bridegroom’s exceptional craftsmanship, but we are also grateful to be able to support another Brother’s business.
The obverse of the coin and the pin are of the same design. It features the name of our lodge and grand lodge with a pleasing blue background, emblematic of the symbolic “blue” lodge.
Inside the border is a representation of what is commonly termed the “Southern Cross” or “Battle Flag”. Not only is it a St. Andrews’ Cross, which should be familiar to all Freemasons, but it also recognizes both our state (as the Battle Flag is still a part of the Mississippi State Flag) and who our lodge is named after, Lieutenant General James Longstreet (CSA).
Atop the Battle Flag is a Square and Compasses in the fashion of a Past Master. The square is styled as an older, arguably more traditional, carpenters square, with a handle and blade, where the blade is slightly longer than the handle. This square better represents the “finding of the square” using the Pythagorean Theorem.
The compasses’ legs slope in such a way that they point toward the center of the Square and Compasses – a reminder of the use of the compasses to a Freemason.
The sun in the center has only 11 rays. The number and configuration of the rays should hold meaning to all Master Masons.
Finally, there is a point in the center.
Coin Back:
Click for larger image
The reverse of the coin is also a complex design with many meanings.
The border recognizes our founding in 1864. To honor the men that came before us we selected the phrase “Enlightening Men For Over 150 Years”.
The rows of the tiled floor are rendered to show all or part of 3, 5, and 7 tiles – numbers of importance to Freemasons.
Above the floor are the working tools, including: A Square (also in the more traditional fashion), Level & Plumb. A Trowel with a Sprig of Acacia on it consisting of 11 leaves. The number of leaves holds the same meaning as the 11 rays of the sun on the other side of the coin. A 24 Inch Gauge, hinged into 3 equal parts and forming a broken Delta. Finally, inside the gauge is a proper common gavel, with one side chiseled and the other flat.
We hope you enjoy these designs and the meanings mentioned here. Hopefully you’ll discover some additional meaning on your own! Thank you for your support in purchasing these coins and pins. While you are here, why not check out some of our FREE EDUCATION MATERIAL?