College of William and Mary Secret Society Badge.Three-part hanging badge with a silver pinback hanger engraved STABILITAS ET FIDES, a gold, white and green silk ribbon and a 30 mm silver medallion with an ornate F H C monogram and the founding date NOV. / XI / MDCCL on the obverse and a hand engraved crest and the legend STABILITAS ET FIDES on the reverse. The edge of the medallion is engraved 1102 ROBERT M. HENDERSON. The metal parts are Extremely Fine, but the ribbon is quite tattered.<p>The organization is popularly known as the "Flat Hat Club", but the real name is a secret preserved by the members, although it is known that the letters F H C are an abbreviation of a Latin phrase. Membership has been very exclusive, with -- in the early years at least -- only seven active members allowed at any one time, with new members inducted as senior members finished their education. Their most prominent member probably was future president Thomas Jefferson, who was an F. H. C. member while he attended school there.
