03/06/2024
Since 1969, the Supreme Council, 33°, Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, SJ, USA, has issued medallions commemorating its business meetings, which take place every two years. This inaugural 1969 coin features on one side the square and compasses, a hand grasping a candlestick with a lit candle, and the 32° Scottish Rite Double-headed Eagle. Above these images are the words "Let There Be Light."
Grand Archivist and Grand Historian Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, Grand Cross, writes that in Freemasonry, the phrase “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) has "not only a religious, but also philosophical and symbolic significance.... Light is the primary symbol of truth, as it dispels darkness and reveals the world as it is. Light is the chief pursuit of the Fraternity, as it also represents reality, wisdom, understanding, and all that is just and good."
—From "Supreme Council Souvenir Medallions, 1969–2021" (Washington, DC: The Supreme Council, 33°, Southern Jurisdiction, 2023), 8.
On the coin's other side appears the text "169th Year October 1969 Supreme Council, 33° / A[tripod] & A[tripod] S[tripod]R[tripod], Sou[tripod] Jur[tripod], U.S.A." and the 33° Scottish Rite Double-headed Eagle.