Promissory Note / Cheque ZAR £200 (1898)

Signature possibly, "Brand v. d. Venter" (Brand van de Venter / van der Venter).

The Van der Venter family was deeply established in the Transvaal and Pretoria areas during the late 19th century (including several notable figures who served in the Boer forces shortly after this note was signed).

This is a handwritten promissory note (historically referred to in Dutch/Afrikaans as a goedvoor) written in Pretoria just a year before the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War (Second Boer War).

The text is written in late 19th-century Dutch, which was the official administrative language of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR / Transvaal Republic) at the time.

The Dutch Text:

"Pretoria 3de Augustus 1898
Goed voor de som van tweehondert ponden sterling kontant als leening ontvangen.
£200.-.-"

English Translation:

"Pretoria 3rd August 1898
Good for the sum of two hundred pounds sterling cash received as a loan."

Economic Context: Sterling in the Boer Republic

To put £200 in context for 1898: it was a substantial sum of money. It represents roughly what a skilled tradesman or junior civil servant in Pretoria would earn in an entire year. It indicates a significant private or business transaction conducted right on the eve of the war that would reshape the subcontinent.

The Watermark: "SILVERBURN"

Clear vertical watermark SILVERBURN identifies the paper as having been manufactured by Tullis Russell (or associated mills) in Fife, Scotland. The Russell family owned the Silverburn estate, and "Silverburn" was used as a premium watermark name for high-quality linen and writing papers exported across the British Empire.

It highlights the global trade networks of the era: even an official loan note written in the heart of the independent Boer Republic was penned on high-grade Scottish export paper.

Unclear who signed the cheque. Given the context of Pretoria in 1898, this could belong to a local merchant, a well-to-do burgher, or a minor official in the ZAR administration.

Torn and creased.

200mm x 190mm

R800