Hi Jeff,
Thanks for identifying the badge as a somewhat modified Shako plate. I guess that we shall never know how it was used and by whom, but it does go to the core of why I collect -it is a tangible link to history. Not particularly valuable to a collector in its altered state, but it excites an urge to investigate the time when the original badge was worn. Sadly British badges have been replicated for so long now that without compelling provenance it is very difficult to know what is real. I feel confident that this significant piece of an original badge is real so I'll start investigating the history of those men of the 73rd and their time in Southern Africa.
Regards
Mike
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