Stumbled upon a possible Anglo Boer War site, South Africa

VonnPastTense · Oct 9, 2013

Hello everyone

I'm new here, so I'll tell you a little about my finds. I've recently started metal detecing and decided to take my new detector to a place where I usually take my dogs to run and have fun.

I started finding bullets. Mauser bullets...loads of them. Continuing, I started finding relics. A spoon, a few English/British buttons and loads more.

I will load a few pics here, but it's too many. I've looked over the rules of this forum but couldnt find one preventing me to direct you to some vids I've uploaded to youtube. I'll refrain from doing that until you guys can confirm that it's allowed.

Here are a few pics:

I managed to ID the majority of the buttons. Manufactured by Smith & Wright, Birmingham

LRS23S · Oct 9, 2013

HighFlyer · Oct 9, 2013

People put up links to videos all the time.. have at it!

The Wolf · Oct 9, 2013

Really interesting finds. Not too many folks around your area on the forum. Nice to see some unique relics. Welcome to the forum. Could you enlighten us on those buttons? From what era are your finds. I'm intrigued.

allank · Oct 9, 2013

Sweet ! load those videos up and there is no such thing as too many pics on a subject like the Boer war, I wait excitedly lol

VonnPastTense · Oct 9, 2013

The Wolf said:
Really interesting finds. Not too many folks around your area on the forum. Nice to see some unique relics. Welcome to the forum. Could you enlighten us on those buttons? From what era are your finds. I'm intrigued.

Hi there

I've identified a few of those buttons. General Service buttons made by Smith & Wright, Birmingham between 1881 and 1886. You have a Horse Gunnery button, Illiskilling buttons, Royal Engineers button and a few that I still have to identify.

They all date to the period of the first Anglo Boer War between South Africa and the British Empire. The rest of the relics I've found dates to the second war (1899 to 1902).

I've loaded a few vids onto youtube. Please pardon the accent and amatuer vid-editing skills. It's only for info and adding some South African finds to youtube.

Thank you for the kind comments. Please let me know if you want more detailled info on any of the relics or buttons and I'll email some decent pics with info that I've managed to gather. Some items...well, I am still researching.

VonnPastTense · Oct 9, 2013

Thanks for the kind responses!

I managed to ID the majority of the buttons. Manufactured by Smith & Writh, Birmingham between 1881 and 1886.

VonnPastTense · Oct 9, 2013

allank said:
Sweet ! load those videos up and there is no such thing as too many pics on a subject like the Boer war, I wait excitedly lol

Thanks for the kind responses!

I managed to ID the majority of the buttons. Manufactured by Smith & Writh, Birmingham between 1881 and 1886.

7centsworth · Oct 9, 2013

Nice assortment.

milco · Oct 9, 2013

Amazing finds! Congrats!

stewart73 · Oct 9, 2013

Wow, an excellent assortment of interesting finds!

The Wolf · Oct 9, 2013

Wow! The construction of the bullets and buttons look to be identical to those from the American Civil War that we find here. I think there was even an Engineer's button with the three tiered castle on it just like yours. I guess they are roughly the same era, so the same production technology and manufacturing processes would've existed in every country. Thanks again for the post. Great stuff.

tonznz · Oct 10, 2013

Hi has anyone mentioned yet that the brass thing that has slots in it is the reed plate from the inside of a harmonica. You probably know that already. For I while I found those plates without knowing what they were.

see link to the description of parts of a harmonica.

http://www.kurtjacob.com.au/HarmParts.html

slider · Oct 10, 2013

Boy oh boy very nice finds. I would say best of luck to you, but it looks like you dont need it. Now go back out there and give it hell. slider..... Panama Central America.

skukuza · Oct 10, 2013

Howzit Boet.
Ja I would say 1880 ish, from Vreiheid Oorlog 1.
The bullets are most probably Martini Henry and the Afrikaaner men Folk would not have been wearing uniforms unless stolen (for which if caught wearing would be shot) also the ammount of rounds you have found look like an English encampment as I doubt the Boers would have been so careless to loose so many in a time of shortage.

dixiedigger57 · Oct 10, 2013

love those wild buttons!

cannon, castles-- man that is neat history! do be carefull of BIG targets. we have an old training grounds artillery range area from WW1 and WW2 in our area of the U.S. every year ( the land which was returned to the owners) someone finds live nasty stuff like mortor rounds and phosphorus shells from WW1. they are particularly unstable. the army corps of engineers just did another sweep. its like a needle in a haystack on 35,000 acres of now homesites, timberland and residential. and every sweep they find the nasties. and will never ever clear it all out. machine gun shells by the thousands, and lead bullets. the artifacts found are neat

just be carefull of a BIG target.

great recoveries of a little known history changing war keep up the great recoveries! carefully!

Stumbled upon a possible Anglo Boer War site, South Africa

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