Perforated left hand side where torn. Top left corner missing \'NUARY, 1900.\' Creased and solied. Hole in centre where embossed stamped. Several folds and creases.
The Siege of Mafeking was the most famous British action in the Second Boer War. It took place at the town of Mafeking (now Mafikeng) in South Africa over a period of 217 days, from October 1899 to May 1900, and turned Robert Baden-Powell, who went on to found the Scouting Movement, into a national hero. The Relief of Mafeking (the lifting of the siege) was a decisive victory for the British and a crushing defeat for the Boers.
Baden-Powell decided that the best way to tie down Boer troops would be through defence rather than attack and he chose to hold the town of Mafeking due to its location. President Kruger of the independent Boer South African Republic declared war on 12 October 1899. 212 people were killed in the defence of the town and three Victoria Crosses were awarded as a result of acts of heroism.
As normal commerce was interrupted and rationing ordered, Powell issued coupons and notes printed in an underground shelter on ordinary writing paper. As the notes were released into circulation, the Army Paymaster collateralized the notes by depositing checks of an equivalent amount into the Mafeking branch of the Standard Bank of South Africa.
Over £5,228 in notes and coupons were issued, however, little more than £638 were ever redeemed and redemption of the notes ceased in September 1908 (Hern 232; Ineson, Paper Currency of the Anglo-Boer War 1899-1902, 140).
- Overall Condition: Fair
- Sold By: South African Fine Art
- Contact Person: South African Fine Art
- Country: United Kingdom
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