Chocolate bar that's 125 years old to go on sale

A 125-year-old chocolate bar that was part of a batch given to soldiers by Queen Victoria is to be sold at auction in June – and could fetch up to £400.

The chocolate, which is in its original tin and still has some of its foil wrapper, would have been sent to British troops fighting in the Boer War in South Africa in 1900 to boost morale, an auction house in Bristol said.

The bar has "a bit of a whiff to it", according to Andy Stowe from Auctioneum.

Lucy McCourt, militaria expert from the auction house, said: "This would have been a rare treat back in 1900 and the willpower required to not eat it would have been quite substantial."

The Queen commissioned manufacturers J S Fry & Sons, Cadbury Brothers Limited, and Rowntree and Company Limited to produce the special tins in 1899, Auctioneum said.

The tins bear the words "I wish you a happy new year".

By the end of 1900, more than 120,000 tins had been distributed to soldiers.

Mr Stowe told BBC Radio Bristol: "It's got a bit of a whiff to it but otherwise it kind of looks OK.

"I wouldn't eat it but it looks OK considering how old it is."

Mr Stowe said while most of the chocolate bars were eaten straight away, some were sent home to loved ones or to hospitals for wounded soldiers.

"It is incredibly rare," Mr Stowe said. "If you think over 125 years what that tin has been through - there's been several world wars, it's probably travelled back and forth over the Atlantic a couple of times."

He said the chocolate bar, which is valued between £250 and £400, appealed to bidders who "might want an important piece of social history" or just a "talking point at a dinner party".

"It also appeals to militaria collectors, so it actually has quite a broad appeal," he added.

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