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Queen's South Africa Medal, 1899–1902, converted into a period silver watch fob with three Canadian silver coins attached as charms.
The medal: Full-size QSA, 36mm, sterling silver. Obverse with the veiled bust of Queen Victoria and the legend VICTORIA REGINA ET IMPERATRIX. Reverse with Britannia holding a laurel wreath and the Union Jack, troops marching and ships offshore, SOUTH AFRICA above, signed by the designer G.W. De Saulles.
Rim naming (impressed): 6798 PTE. J. SCOTT. 2ND RL: HIGHRS: — 2nd Battalion, Royal Highlanders (The Black Watch). The naming is partially obscured where the jump rings were soldered on during the conversion; photos of every readable segment are included. I have not personally verified the entitlement against the medal rolls. For anyone who wants to research him, the QSA roll for the Royal Highlanders is WO 100/190 at The National Archives, digitized on Ancestry.
The charms: Three Canadian sterling silver coins — 1900 five cents (Victoria), 1904 ten cents (Edward VII), and a 1919 five cents (Edward VII), meaning the fob was assembled after that date.
Condition and disclosure, stated plainly: This medal has been converted. The original straight-bar suspender has been removed and replaced with a decorative claw fitting and swivel bail. Any clasps are long gone. The jump rings for the coins are soldered directly to the rim, overlapping the impressed naming. Attractive untouched grey and iridescent toning throughout — it has not been cleaned and I would not recommend cleaning it. Sold as-is.
A Scottish soldier's campaign medal made up into a keepsake with Canadian coins is a common enough story for a man who served in South Africa and then emigrated. Whether that's this man's story is for the next owner to find out. The medal is also a candidate for professional restoration if a collector wants to return it toward original configuration.
