...my history lesson from Gene, Bill Christy parted ways with Bud Jones and went in with Paul Endy to form Paul-Son. Bill retained the rights to the hat&cane. I think he took the molds with him, and that what we describe as Paul-Son LCV is exactly the same mold as C&J. A different process with the clay means the hats aren't shiny.

Over time, Paul-Son has built several more hat&cane molds. Whether Paul-Son ever made a single order using different molds, I don't know. I have chips where the only difference I can detect is the mold. But I also have chips where the only difference I can detect is one chip has been on the tables for a dozen years, and then a large quantity of identical brand new chips are put in play. Were new chips in the vault for years, or can Paul-Son remake an old chip exactly?

One thing I do know is I have no LCV chips in my collection that are of a known modern design. I believe the LCV mold has been retired for many years, and we won't see any more of these made. In my mind, that fact alone makes these chips worth documenting and remembering.