2 Shillings

One of the more unusual emergency issues to survive from the Anglo-Boer War, this 2 Shilling voucher was produced by the Paymaster of the Border Scouts — a colonial irregular unit raised to defend the Northern Cape frontier around Upington against Boer incursions from across the Orange River. The unit had no access to standard military pay apparatus, and cloth was used as the substrate simply because paper was not available in sufficient quantity that far from the Cape's supply lines.

Linen and hessian issues from this conflict are among the most perishable of all South African emergency notes. Fabric absorbs moisture, stains, and frays at folds, meaning most examples that circulated among the scouts deteriorated quickly. Survivors in any condition are genuinely rare.