Here is one of my favorite CW button finds:
This is how it looked freshly dug.
Now any confederate state button is a great find these days, and a Louisiana button ranks up there on the high end of the scale. But the fun was just beginning as it was cleaned up.
Here it is after cleaning:
The front turned out about as good as you could hope one to be, with gold in all the right places and a high relief on the pelican and nest. Now this is where things get real interesting......
When you find a good button what you hope for is a rare mfg. backmark, so I was somewhat confused when I saw a star outline on the back with the shank soldered into the middle. A quick check in the Tice button book helped point the way to solve the mystery.
This button was made in New Orleans by C. Bellenot, who also at the time was making buttons for the state of Texas as well. It seems that the mold that stamped the button backs had broken, and some enterprising rebel engineer figured out that they could continue with production by using the fronts of Texas buttons for the backs of the Louisiana's until the mold was repaired. I have not been able to find out how long this took place or how many were made like this as confederate production records are scarce, and often non-existent. So this button is actually two confederate buttons (Alberts #LA8 and TX30) in one, making this a very rare puppy! I really like this one because to me it shows the Rebel ingenuity and determination to perservere against any odds.
D.