1837, Hamburg. Silver "Centennial of Freemasonry in Germany" Medal. PCGS SP-62!
Mint Year: 1837
MInt Place: Altona
Medallist: H.F. Alsing
Reference: Gaedechtnis 2065, HZC 95.
Condition: Certified and graded by PCGS as SP-62!
Denomination: Medal - Celebration of the Centennial of the introduction of Freemasonry in Germany in Hamburg, 6th December, 1837.
Diameter: 42mm
Weight: 36.4gm
Material: Silver
Obverse: View of the interior of an ellaborately decorated masonic temple. In foreground book resting on a square base which i covered with a cloth which is embroided with the main masonic symbols (square and compasses). Two pillars in background at sides, which are decorated with winged Victory figures, each of which are holding a wreath high.
Legend: PRIMUM IN GERMANIA CONDITUM LATOMORUM TEMPLUM HAMBURGI D. 6. DEC. 1737.
Reverse: A large masonic jewell with arm of Hamburg (castle with three towers) terminated by circle and compasses within double diamond-shaped square bound at 12 o'clock by a ribbon loop.
Legend: SODALITAS LATOMORUM HAMBURGENSIS PRIMA CELEBRAS SAECULARIA D.6.DEC. 1837.
Absalom (later "Absolom zu den drei Nesseln" = "Absalom of the Three Nettles") in Hamburg is the oldest Masonic lodge in Germany, which was founded on December 6, 1737 by Brother Charles Sarry and his six brothers. It quickly expanded and was called upon to take part in an event that was important for the development of Freemasonry in the first year of its existence. In the night from August 14th to 15th, 1738, the then Crown Prince of Prussia, later King Frederick the Great, was accepted into the federation by a deputation of this lodge sent to Braunschweig. In October 1740 the Lodge was registered with the Grand Lodge of London. When strict observance was introduced in Hamburg in 1765, "to the three nettles" was added. The English provincial lodge of October 30, 1740, which consisted of the Absalom lodge and the associated Hamburg lodges of St. George to the green spruce, Emanuel to the May flower, Ferdinande Caroline to the three stars and Ferdinand to the rock, declared itself on October 4 February 1811 to the independent Grand Lodge of Hamburg. Under her direction, the 100th anniversary of the introduction of Freemasonry in Germany was celebrated on December 6, 1837 with the general participation of lodges and grand lodges from the entire country.
Hamburg, officially Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg (Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg), is the second largest city in Germany and the thirteenth largest German state. Its population is over 1.8 million people, and the Hamburg Metropolitan Region (including parts of the neighbouring Federal States of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein) has more than 5 million inhabitants. The port of Hamburg, on the river Elbe, is the second largest port in Europe (after the Port of Rotterdam) and tenth largest worldwide.
The official name reflects its history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League, as a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire, a city-state, and one of the 16 states of Germany. Before the 1871 Unification of Germany, it was a fully sovereign state. Prior to the constitutional changes in 1919, the stringent civic republic was ruled by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten.
Hamburg is a major transport hub and is one of the most affluent cities in Europe. It has become a media and industrial centre, with plants and facilities belonging to Airbus, Blohm + Voss and Aurubis. The radio and television broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk and publishers such as Gruner + Jahr and Spiegel-Verlag are pillars of the important media industry in Hamburg. Hamburg has been an important financial centre for centuries, and is the seat of the world's second oldest bank, Berenberg Bank.