TOPIC:

While the forum has seen a number of medallions over the years, the amazing collection created by Henk Loots which appears in auction 73 and closes on 4 November 2022, reminds of the sheet range of this area of Boer War collecting.

As Rob Mitchell says in his introduction to the collection, medallions are both 'appealing numismatic specimens' and 'works of art', conceived, designed and executed by the leading artists of the day.

I will feature some of the items from this amazing collection here.

For the full list, please download the catalogue from the City Coins site: www.citycoins.com/wp-content/uploads/202...or-Upload-Medium.pdf

The medallions are listed in lots 232 to 601.

References are included. These are to:

AM Anna H. Smith – Africana Museum Commemorative Medals of the Z.A.R. Johannesburg, South Africa, 1958.

AM2 Anna H. Smith – Commemorative Medals of South African Interest in the Africana Museum. Johannesburg, South Africa, 1979.

Hern Brian Hern – Handbook on the Medallions of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek and the Anglo Boer War. Ferndale, South Africa, 2008.

ME Matthy Esterhuysen – Commemorative Medals in Honour of President S.J.P. Kruger. National Cultural History and Open-Air Museum, Pretoria, South Africa, 1973.

Laidlaw Professor Michael Laidlaw – South African Commemorative Medals. www.southafricanmedals.com

Carl Leslie J. Carlisle – Australian Commemorative Medals and Medaletes from 1788. B & C Press Pty Limited, Sidney, Australia, 1983.

Mor Leon G. Morel – Medallic Commemorative Medals of New Zealand 1865-1940. New Century Press, New Zealand, 1976, 1996 & 2000.

Picture courtesy of City Coins

Terracotta Commemorative
“Verkoopspenning” Medal 1902
Ref: Similar to Hern 422. ME Portugal 3; Laidlaw 0829c.
Red Terracotta. 64 x 67 mm, 25.00 grams.

A series of four Terracotta (fired clay) medallions and plaques were made in Portugal by Avelino Antonio Soares Bello.

He was an enterprising young ceramic, porcelain and terra cotta artist (born 1872) and resident in Caldas da Rainha. He made these medallions to support the Boers cause and in order to raise funds for the many Boer internees in Portugal.

It will be recalled that after crossing into Moҫambique to escape the British authorities, many Boers were shipped to Portugal where they were interned in camps at Caldas da Raina, Peniche, Alcobaҫa, Fort se s Gutias de Barra and Tomar.

Picture courtesy of City Coins

Opening of Rand Gold Mines – 4 May 1901 EF+ 40.000 – 70.000
Presented to Lord Kitchener to mark the reopening of the Rand Gold Mines on 4 May 1901.
Ref: Laidlaw: 0580
Gold (18 ct.)
DIAMETER: 38.29 mm
WEIGHT: 30.94 grams
OBVERSE: A depiction of the headgear and wheel of the Meyer and Charlton gold mine with circular legend: “Meyer & Charlton Gold Mining Co. Ltd.”
REVERSE: "Souvenir / Re-Opening / Gold Mining / Industry / Transvaal / May 4th. 1901”.
EDGE: Smooth with serrated rim.
Fitted in a custom-made, black, rectangular, leather presentation case, lined on the inside with white silk. The medallion is fitted into a recess on a removable internal tray, covered in light-green velvet. The medal has a very small rim bruise on the obverse rim and a small nick on the reverse rim. The black presentation case is very slightly scuffed.

On the outside of the presentation box lid in gold letters:
“PRESENTED BY / THE / MEYER & CHARLTON / GOLD MINING CO. LTD.”

On the silk lining inside the presentation box lid in gold letters:
“MEYER & CHARLTON GOLD MINING CO. LTD.
In commemoration of the / RE-OPENING / OF THE / GOLD MINING INDUSTRY IN THE TRANSVAAL, / after the enforced idleness during the war, by the restarting of the battery of the / MEYER & CHARLTON GOLD MINING CO. LTD. / on the 4th MAY, 1901, in the presence of LORD KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., COMMANDER–IN–CHIEF OF HIS
MAJESTY’S FORCES IN SOUTH AFRICA, / AND HIS STAFF. / THIS MEDAL IS MADE OF SOME OF THE FIRST GOLD WON BY / THE COY. AFTER THE RESUMPTION OF OPERATIONS.”

On the removable internal tray below the medal in gold letters:
“LORD KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM / G.C.B., G.C.M.G.”

This actual medal is comprehensively described by Laidlaw in his well-known online catalogue of South African Commemorative Medals.

The provenance of this rare gold Boer War medallion is that it was obtained from a granddaughter of Leopold Albu who was one of the Randlords at the time of the Boer War. At the start of hostilities there was a mass exodus of “uitlanders” from Johannesburg and the Rand gold mines were obliged to close down. Only a few people stayed behind to protect the mine owner’s and their shareholder’s interests. The essential tasks were to man the pumps to prevent the shafts from flooding and to guard the properties against potential Boer sabotage. The later threat proved to be less than the mine owners feared because the ZAR Republic was placed under great pressure from European Governments (mainly German) to leave the mines alone. This pressure came from wealthy citizens who had invested heavily unto the companies that operated the mines.

The mines, therefore, survived the initial stages of the war more or less intact. Once the British occupied the Transvaal, the hazards of the subsequent guerrilla war frustrated the reopening of the mines. Many miners did return but were recruited into units that were set up to undertake guard duties. It wasn’t until January 1901 that improved conditions allowed operations to gradually recommence.

A special celebratory occasion was organised to mark the reopening of the mines on 4th May 1901. The venue was the Meyer and Charlton Gold mine on the outskirts of Johannesburg. This mine was the original source of wealth of the Albu brothers, George and Leopold. They were German Jews and Kitchener’s selection of their mine for the event was not received kindly by the other Randlords, many of whom had contributed significantly, both in money and resources, to the British side. The Albu brothers, on the other hand, were well-known for their pro-Boer stance. In the event, George Albu shifted his ground and gave a suitably sycophantic speech to which Lord Kitchener graciously replied. There is a photograph which shows George Albu giving the speech; Leopold is standing on the far right; and Kitchener is seated in the middle of the front row. Gold medals were presented as souvenirs of the occasion and claim to have been made from the first new gold extracted.

The above synopsis has been drawn from the book, Through Fortress and Rock, by J.D.F. Jones as well as Laidlaw’s online catalogue. The book was commissioned by Gencor Ltd in 1995 to mark their centenary, Gencor having been formed from an amalgamation of companies founded by the Albu brothers. In more recent years the holdings of Gencor have been taken over by Gold Fields Ltd.

Two other examples of this medal are known. It has been suggested that perhaps 20 medals were made, however Baldwin's of St. James's, Auction 8, 20 September 2017, lot 288 which offered an example from the famous W.V.R. Baldwin collection noted that "This specimen belonged to Mr W. Wyburgh Commissioner of Mines. Only six appeared to have been given .... one to Kitchener".

Picture courtesy of City Coins

A Multi Sectional and Ornate Gold Presentation Jewel gold (14 ct.)

This unique Presentation Jewel measures approximately 160 mm x 65 mm and weighs 97,63 grams. The surrounding wreath on the lower portion is stamped “C.G. Braxmarco 14K” the marking of Charles George Braxmar of New York who is well known today as “The Badgeman”.

Obverse Description: hanging from an ornate gold top suspender broach which boldly sets out his name as “Col F.E. Fillis” the central jewel comprised an inverted horseshoe with his initials elaborately intertwined in the centre the ornate circular lower disc depicting the fine image of a rodeo horseman surrounded by a wreath, the reverse of this “medallion” being engraved as follows:

PRESENTED TO
COL. FRANK E. FILLIS
BY MEMBERS OF THE BOER WAR SPECTACLE AT BRIGHTON BEACH
NEW YORK U.S.A.
AS A
token of regard and esteem
JULY 13. 1905



Francis Edward Fillis was born in Lambeth, London on 13 July 1857. After the death of his first wife he married Eliza Mayol in 1880 and she later became known as Madame Fillis. Having moved to Southern Africa he first established a circus in 1879 and soon became South Africa's greatest and best-known circus proprietor of the late 19th and early 20th century, presenting spectacular shows in late Victorian and Edwardian Cape Town, Johannesburg and Kimberley. His circus was generally known as Frank Fillis's Circus, or simply Fillis' Circus. Always promoting dramatic real-life shows, he opened a "magnificent new building" in Johannesburg in 1889 which was capable of holding 2,500 patrons for which he spared neither "pains nor money". The two Boswell brothers, who later opened their own circus company, were among his top acts. Frank himself became a highly talented horseman and animal trainer and a choreographer of epic spectacles.

In addition to entertaining crowds throughout Southern Africa, his 100-member strong company also toured the colonies and settler societies of Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and India, however his greatest shows of all, for which he is especially remembered today as the ultimate showman, were the epic spectacles he produced in London in 1899 and at the St Louis World’s Fair in 1904. His “historical” and military reconstruction show in London titled “Savage South Africa” were re-enactments of the Matabele Wars of 1893 and 1896 for which several hundred native African people were imported. He followed this in St Louis in 1904 where his Anglo Boer War Spectacle employed veteran soldiers and officers from both sides to recreate some of the major battles of 1899-1902. Years before he had staged an episode from the Zulu War in Australia in 1893 but there were no greater shows than those which he presented in America in 1904 and 1905. His shows were, understandably, not without considerable political controversy.

Frank died while on tour the Far East on 18 November, 1921 and is buried in the Jewish cemetery in Bangkok, Thailand.

In 1998 Floris Van der Merwe published a 95 page booklet titled “Die Boere-Sirkus van St Louis (1904)” (The Boer-Circus of St Louis) in which he recorded the full story of Edward Fillis and the various shows of which he was the “Managing Director”.

The story and the events which led in the presentation of this unique ornate gold presentation jewel may be briefly summarised as follows: -

The World’s Fair, held in Forest Park in St Louis in 1904 commemorated the centenary of the Louisiana Territorial purchase from Napoleon which almost doubled the land area of the young American Republic. The Exposition was received by the public with much acclaim and was judged as being the greatest of all shows. It was in this event that a certain Captain Arthur Smith decided to include and stage a special Boer War exhibition and he persuaded Frank Fillis to manage the undertaking. To achieve this an independent South African Boer War Exhibition Company was formed. Edward Fillis assembled the necessary equipment, collecting batteries of artillery, numerous guns and ox-waggons etc and engaged a company of about 50 Basutos. Some 300 Boer veterans, many of whom later received the Anglo Boere Oorlog medalje, signed on as the “actors’, their number including several officers most notably Veg-Generaal Ben Viljoen and General Piet Cronjé. Similarly, a theatrical contingent of 250 British, colonial, Australian and Canadian veterans of the recent war in South Africa were also drawn in. The show arena for the “Anglo Boer War Historical Libretto” covered 10 acres. Three distinct scenes were played out - firstly the Battle of Colenso, secondly the Battle of Paardeberg and the surrender of General Cronjé and thirdly General De Wet’s escape. In choreographing the extravaganza, Edward even trained many of hundreds of horses engaged in the show to fall down during the staged fighting and to remain still until the end of the scene!

Vast numbers of spectators watched the show, the popularity of St Louis at that time being enhanced due to the concurrent holding of the Olympic Games in that city. Eric Rosenthal in an article published in the well-known South African Afrikaans magazine recorded that some two million people watched the show!

Following the displays at St Louis the “Show” now dubbed “The War” moved to Chicago for a period of six weeks whereafter it moved to New York at the end of January 1905 where it was held at Coney Island situated in the South Brooklyn Borough of New York City. Brighton Beach as noted in the engraving on this presentation jewel was an amusement resort in the middle of Coney Island. The enactment stage crafted by Edward Fillis is still considered to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest staged spectacle ever at Coney Island having been performed on a patch of swampland between Manhattan Beach and Brighton Beach. To express their appreciation to him the Members of the Boer War Spectacle presented him with this massive 14kt gold jewel memento in July 1905.

From the photographs included in a simple booklet titled “Photographic Views of the Boer War Spectacle” (copy included in this Lot) published in St Louis at that time it is clear that the image of the horseman depicted on the obverse of this gold jewel is of Edward Fillis himself, riding his horse named Povero.



The archive which accompanies this lot includes a copy of Van der Merwe’s booklet, various contemporary St Louis advertising programmes and published photographs, Eric Rosenthal’s Huisgenoot article, various other maps and photographs and a “One dollar, Ladies Ticket” for the “Grand Military Masquerade” “Reception and Ball” held at the Coliseum in Chicago on Saturday 19 November 1904.

Picture courtesy of City Coins

Success to the Boers pin brooch badge.
The reverse card insert reads:
“Mass Meeting Grand Central Palace, Jan. 29, 1900”, Miller & Co. New York.
Painted tin.
DIAMETER: 21.85 mm
WEIGHT: 1.67 grams

Picture courtesy of City Coins

Concentration Camps, 1901
Ref: AM 91; Hern 208; Laidlaw 0053.
Silver.
DIAMETER: 33.59 mm
WEIGHT: 14.85 grams
Silver examples of this medallion usually have a dull matt finish – this piece unusually has a brighter surface finish. This is the actual piece which is illustrated in Hern’s Handbook.

Issued by W. Voet & Zonen, Anegang 15, Haarlem at the instigation of P.N. van Doorminck, Mayor of Bennebroek. The proceeds were intended for the relief of the women and children in the concentration camps. The reverse of the medal was based on a medal issued by the Dutch in 1575 to encourage resistance to the Spaniards in the Eighty Years War. The issue price in silver was f3 and the bronze f1.50.

The Dutch firm W. Voet & Zonen in Haarlem was first established in 1800. Elias Voet Jr (1868 – 1940) was the Principal of the firm at the time of the Anglo Boer War and is recorded as being a woodcarver, engraver, medallist silversmith and draftsman.

He is well remembered today for being the first in the Netherlands to research the history and hallmarks of gold and silversmiths from the past.