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Lockdales Auctioneers and Valuers
The Cadbury bar dating from 1900 is expected to fetch more than £200 at auction
A 126-year-old Cadbury chocolate bar issued during the Second Boer War in 1900 is expected to fetch hundreds of pounds at auction.
Cadbury, along with other chocolatiers, was commissioned by Queen Victoria to produce thousands of tins of chocolate for British soldiers fighting in South Africa.
The bar, which has come from a private collector, is being auctioned on Tuesday, 19 May by Lockdales Auctioneers & Valuers, based at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk.
Chris Elmy, cataloguer at Lockdales, said it was a "very rare, if unappetising" bar.
Lockdales Auctioneers and Valuers
The bars were issued inside tins and sent to the soldiers
"The public may be familiar with the Princess Mary Christmas tins of World War One, but this Boer War issue was the precursor," he said.
"To have the contents intact is very rare, if unappetising."
The bar and its accompanying tin is expected to sell for £200-£240.
The war was fought between 1899 and 1902 between the British Empire and the two independent Boer states who were vying for control of South Africa.
Queen Victoria commissioned the big chocolate manufacturers Cadbury, JS Fry and Rowntree to specially produce tins for the troops.
The metal containers carried the inscription "South Africa 1900" and, in a copy of the Queen's handwriting, "I wish you a happy new year".
By the end of 1900, more than 120,000 tins had been produced and distributed.
Lockdales Auctioneers and Valuers
The word Cadbury can still be seen on the bar today
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