It is always heart stopping to find a Louisiana Pelican but to find this one was "strokesville" !!
I dug this Saturday in south Louisiana on a club hunt and realized almost immediately from the design and lack of a rope border it was a Louisiana Local. I could see a faint back-mark but could not read it. I thought at first it was probably a Casimere Rouyer which is pretty rare but when I got home and did a preliminary cleaning it turned out to be a Charles Bellenot made button. I still have a bit of cleaning to do but Bellenot is quite clear. Charles Bellenot was a die maker with a shop at the corner of Exchange Place and Bienville St. in New Orleans. He was in business from 1851 to 1862 and made Louisiana buttons and bugle and pelican hatpins. This button is very rare and I could not believe I had dug one! Some days are better than others!!.
Now to find a hatpin!!