TOPIC:

Rob,

I agree that from the photographs, the two badges you have posted images of do look a bit odd. The "Relic of the Past" examples, on the other hand, clearly have considerable age to them, as is evident from the back of the frame (see below). They are definitely not recent restrikes and are in “mint condition” because they have been behind glass for 120-odd years.

I believe the point of the "Relic of the Past" title lies in the perception that the British had consigned the two Boer republics to history. As far as the Brits were concerned that became true as soon as Pretoria and Bloemfontein fell.





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Rob, back in 2018 I published a book about the Gouvernement’s Noten of the ZAR. This was based on a decade of research in which I monitored supply and pricing of these Noten from every conceivable outlet online, live auctions and dealer sites a.o. On the basis of that research, I came to the conclusion that certain issues of these noten, notably the high denomination Pietersburg issues, were extremely rare and suggested that based on comparisons with other collectible bank notes, these items should command structurally higher prices. Over the following years two things happened. The first was expected, prices for rare issues climbed, sometimes by a factor of 5 or 10. The second effect though was surprising. The offer of rare issues suddenly increased significantly. This increase did not involve forgeries but consisted of genuine items, noten that were presumed lost but turned out to have sat dormant in collections or Boer War scrap albums for years or decades

The effect that supply increases as a result of structurally higher prices may be at work in the ZAR/OVS badges as well. The OVS badge like you showed for sale at the Dutch dealer could be had for around 25 Pound back in 2010. Now same will cost at least 4 times as much, perhaps enough incentive for a collector to, at least, sell off his doubles.

Forgery only becomes an issue when money can be made with it. This would be through the sexing up of existing items (e.g. adding engraving), reproduction of very rare items that command substantial prices (some rare Nazi badges, bugles used in battle, Confederate war flags etc.) or from mass production where the tooling and upfront cost can be amortised over many items. The pricing of the more common ZAR/OVS badges does not economically justify small scale forgery whilst the market does not reflect numbers that suggest large scale production. So while there may be some dodgy badges around possibly resulting from collectors spending a lot of money to fill an irritating collection gap, there is absolutely no ground for scaremongering or questioning the authenticity of badges like the ones contained in Neville’s Relics of the Past box.

EFV, I do hope you are right. However, CAD/CAM technology has arrived. High resolution surface scanning of the front and back of any original badge enables, at very low cost, exact replication of absoluely perfect front and back dies of any die-stamped sheet-metal badge. Those badges I showed sell in Holland at Euros 250 - 300 each. Even one such badge would pay for a set of dies.
And a wise manufacturer will only allow onto the market a trickle of his dodgy product, so as not to arouse suspicions. I have the sense that something has changed and my suspicions are aroused; time will tell.

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A little more on the large ZAR coat-of-arms badges.

According to Johan Wolfhaardt of the War Museum of the Boer Republics, these were worn by the Krugersdorp and Carolina Vrijwillige Corps (the latter including the Waterval-Boven Peloton/Platoon).

The existence of a white metal example attributed to Alex Boshoff (previously posted by Everhard here), suggests that members of the Pretoria Vrywilliger Cavalry Corps might also have worn these. Boshoff had been a Corporal in the PVCC before the war.

Elements of the Pretoria Vrijwillige Corps wore a similar badge on their shakos (in white metal), but this lacked the scroll.

In the case of the Carolina Vrijwillige Corps, the insignia were worn on all shakos, and additionally on officers' slouch hats and sabretaches. The Krugersdorp Vrijwillige Corps, on the other hand, appear to have had them on officers’ slouch hats only (based on a single rather indistinct photograph).











The somewhat battered and over-polished example below, in fitted case by Spink & Son, came from the estate of Joseph B. Hay, son of Major-General Arthur Kenneth Hay, and was presumably brought home from South Africa by an as yet unidentified member of the Hay family. It differs from others that I have examined in that it is made of a heavier gauge of brass, weighing 11.38 opposed to 9.43 grams, and has stouter fixing wires. The latter suggest attachment to leather rather than cloth, so this particular badge may well be from a Carolina Volunteer Corps officer’s sabretache. Note that the difference in weight is an underestimate, as some of the Hay example’s brass has been lost due to years of polishing.





Potential Carolina Vrijwillige Corps sabretache badge. In fitted case, blocked in gilt "Spink & Son Ltd. 17 & 18 Piccadilly, W." Note the three stout fixing wires and the sharp detail to the reverse. The examples stamped from thinner sheet-brass lack this level of crispness. The Spink fitted case makes allowances for the damage to the scroll and flag finials, indicating that the badge was already in this state when it was brought home from South Africa.



In terms of official military use, these were seemingly worn by a very small number of Volunteers. Yet, although a scarce badge, they do turn up, and frequently enough to suggest that they are not all of Krugersdorp/Carolina Volunteer Corps origin. I have four in all, three of which are of the flimsier type, including the “Relic of the Past” example discussed above, and one sewn onto a Vijfkleur sash.

An example can also be seen amongst the collection of badges put together by Master H.E. Packham in August 1900, all of which appear to have come from Pretoria Barracks. And a photograph exists of a “former Prussian officer, currently in the service of the Transvaal” wearing one on his slouch hat. So, it seems these badges were not made exclusively for the Volunteer Corps.

Interestingly, despite the over-polished state of the “sabretache” badge and the thick layer of gilt on the “Relic of the Past” example, it can be demonstrated that all of the insignia examined were struck from the same die.

















Details of four examples, showing that they were all struck from the same die. Top left, generic gilt example; top right, vijfkleur sash badge; bottom left, over-polished "sabretache" badge; bottom right, heavily-gilt “Relic of the Past” badge. Small imperfections in the cutting of the die, such as hatching lines that converge or extend too far, are also evident on all four badges.












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A few additional photographs to supplement the last post (with thanks to MC Heunis). The first four courtesy of the National Archives Repository, Pretoria.































Veldkornet Alex Boshoff, while serving with General Smuts. The badge he is wearing on the front of his slouch hat looks like it could well be one of the large ZAR coats-of-arms.


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Neville, this is a badge that was worn by Alex Boshoff. Can't make out whether it is the one he wears in the picture.