NORTHUMBERLAND HUSSARS Antique KING'S CROWN YEOMANRY BADGE DIE British Military

Description

Northumberland Hussars Badge Die
This is a rather unusual militaria find that arrived recently and caught our attention.
It is a metal die for military insignia, but it wasn't until we wiped down the die and created a mirror image that we could make an identification.
The die was used by the Northumberland Hussars, a British Military volunteer force that was created for homeland defense.
However, circumstances during the Second Boer War led to volunteers serving in South Africa in the 1900 to 1902 time period.
A similar situation during World War I led to volunteers again serving overseas in defense of their country.
This die is for the King's Crown Officers Yeomanry variant, which is the only badge with the odd circle and line pattern below the front corner of the building at center. Other badges employ a simple cross, or have a slightly more complicated floral feature at that location.
The die has markings on the side, including large "RUN" labels and smaller text that is partially obscured, hinting at a possible earlier die design/use (we see MORGAN, MARY ST, and ST PAUL'S).
It is quite heavy, weighing 6 pounds 12 ounces (3.1 Kg).  A magnet is strongly attracted to the metal.
Green felt covers the underside, allowing the die to be used as a paperweight.
The die measures:
Height: 88.0mm (3.46 inches)
Width (at base): 81.6mm (3.21 inches)
Depth (at base): 90.9mm (3.58 inches)
The badge design on the top die surface measures:
Height: 45.2mm (1.78 inches)
Width (at center circle): 27.6mm (1.09 inches)
The metal surface has a dark patina from age with a complex surface, with areas suggestive of earlier designs and possible text.
Condition: Very good to excellent. The die design cut into the top surface is crisp with good detail. The felt on the underside is somewhat loose and may conceal more detail, but we didn't want to pull it all the way off. There is a remnant of a paper label stuck on the back side which we left as found. All pictures show the actual die you will receive.
Bottom line: A one-of-a-kind piece to add to any British Militaria collection. We think it is quite unique.
Love and thank you from
Laurence and Sally Martin
! Look for them on episodes of
Baggage Battles
on the Travel Channel, and
Storage Wars
on the A&E Network.