TOPIC:

I recently saw this Mafikeng Siege souvenir, and wondered whether it could possibly be form the time period. The presence of the name Mmabatho makes me doubt that the placard dates from the Boer war, as I believe that the town Mmabatho was only founded in the 70's. The question is then: Where would the casings for these souvenirs have been found in this condition, and when was the placard made? Based on the condition of the placard, I think these souvenirs might have been made for the 100 year commemorations of the war.

Thank you;

J.I.W



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I could not find out anything about these souvenirs online, but I did find a photo of the same kind of souvenir, but with a .303 casing.



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Regarding the first photo, the card holds a fired example of what is commonly called the .45" MH Solid Drawn cartridge; most likely a Mark II. The headstamp of the case should yield info about its maker. That pattern of round was officially introduced into the British service in July of 1885 and would have been used by both sides.
As far as the second card is concerned, the headstamp and certain other characteristics of the .303" cartridge case should tell us more.
I can't comment about the origin of the cards - however the apparent condition of the cartridge cases is pretty good and they do not appear to have been pickups from a long-ago battlefield.
Regards
IL.