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V25 2022 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE M. C. LILLEY & COMPANYCarol Bastable writes: "I found a seller on eBay that has a glut of Masonic penny dies as well as all sorts of dies and stamps for various fraternal organizations, military, medals, advertising, and jewelry making items. There were so many items that I never got to the end after scrolling through them for 45 minutes to an hour. This could be a real find for some of the readers." Thanks. Here's one sample lot Carol pointed out. -Editor 
From the archives of MC Lilley, this listing is for an antique stamping die used to make a Masonic Penny for the following Royal Arch Mason Chapter:
Chapter: Rosedale Chapter No. 95
To read the complete lot description, see:
To view the seller's other items, see:
Here's some more information about M. C. Lilley & Company. Is anyone aware of the location of their archives? Clearly the old dies and stock have been sold off, but do company records survive in some University or historical society holdings? -Editor 
From modest beginnings in 1864, the M. C. Lilley & Company eventually became world renowned as manufacturers of regalia. The company was founded by four leading citizens of Columbus, Ohio all veterans of the Civil War. They were Mitchell Campbell Lilley, John Siebert and brothers, Charles and Henry Lindenberg. All four men were members of the Odd Fellows and published the
Items produced by the Company can be roughly dated by the changes in the Company's name. From 1865 to 1881 the name was the I was unfamiliar with this company, but it was quite the business in its day. The postcard describes the company as "The World's Famous Regalia House" and supplier of "Military & Secret Society Goods". I found no mentions of M. C. Lilley & Co. in our E-Sylum archives and only a handful of mentions on the Newman Numismatic Portal, including an October 2015 Numismatist article by Dave Schenkman. Can anyone point us to more information? One possible source could be the below dissertation, which indicates there were multiple regalia manufacturers serving the secret societies. -Editor Dave Schenkman adds: "I've seen quite a few dies such as these on eBay over the years. Some types are more collected than others. In the 1960s thousands of old trade token dies from a Philadelphia die sinker (Quint) came on the market. I purchased the Virginia token dies."
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
To read the complete article, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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