Token 29 – South Africa – Kaffraria 1858–1908 – 50th Anniversary of the German Settlers

Token 29 – South Africa – Kaffraria 1858–1908 – 50th Anniversary of the German Settlers

Original 1908 commemorative bronze medal celebrating 50 years since the arrival of German settlers in South Africa.

Although often encountered alongside colonial tokens and exonumia, this piece is more precisely a commemorative medal, issued in 1908 to mark the 50th anniversary of the German settlement in Kaffraria, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

The obverse carries the striking inscription:

“KAFFARIA 1858–1908”
“ARBEIT UEBERWINDET ALLES”
(Work conquers all)

The reverse bears the German inscription commemorating the 50th anniversary of the landing of German settlers in South Africa.

The medal is bronze, approximately 30.3 mm in diameter, with a plain edge. Specialist references identify it as AM2 106 / Laidlaw 0004.

Kaffraria, in the Eastern Cape, became an important centre of German settlement during the 19th century. German settlers arrived in the region from 1857–1858 onwards, with later groups also contributing to the German-speaking communities whose presence can still be seen in historic place names such as Berlin, Potsdam, Frankfurt and Stutterheim.

For collectors of German South African history, South African colonial medals, German settlement history and African exonumia, this is an especially interesting historical companion to Token 28 – the Hotel Kronprinz Windhuk 50 Pfennig Werth-Marke. While Token 28 represents the commercial life of German colonial Windhuk, this 1908 medal commemorates the earlier German settlement in South Africa itself, providing an attractive connection between different chapters of German history in southern Africa.

A fascinating original piece for collectors interested in the German presence in Southern Africa, combining commemorative history, German inscriptions and the 50th-anniversary celebration of the settlers of Kaffraria.