TOPIC:

There are two items like this one being advertised on Bob. They are described as saddle markers.

I have not seen anything like this before.


Picture courtesy of BoB

Hi,saw post of saddle markers,I also has something similar,can someone please confirm whether it is saddle marker indeed or belt buckle?

I have been trying to identify the use of these for some time, but have so far drawn a blank.

The example shown below was found on Bell's Kopje, Ladysmith, in 1981. Looking at the ends I would say it was made to fit a 1-inch leather or buff strap. It is too narrow for a rifle/carbine sling.

Somewhere I read a piece that suggested they could have been seals of some form. Others think they were harness markers, though I would have expected identification plaques on field equipment to include regimental abbreviations.




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Just found another one, hidden in a drawer under some badges.

The more I think about these, the more I lean towards the idea that they were seals. The letters and numbers look like batch numbers to me. My thought is that markers on issued military equipment would have some form of regimental ID, which these clearly lack.

Perhaps some stores were despatched in cases with steel bands/straps, with these pieces used to seal them closed.



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Neville,

That would make good sense. The forerunners of barcodes.

I do not know anything about working with leather and was wondering how a maker marks their work using a stamp. Is the stamp placed below the item if it and pressing in or is a reverse stamp used from the top?