Some original buttons issued to the sharpshooters have been listed on Relicman.com...and are fortunately listed as "non-dug" so no digging on battlefields was involved...
http://relicman.com/ArchiveButtonFedGovSharpshooter.htmMy understanding was that these were originally black, but these have either degraded or faded to be a sort of brownish bronze, though these have a little black left on the backs and even a bit on the front.
These have either been well cared for or the original material has held up very well, as the letters are still very good (they've held up much better than the plastic repro's I got from Blockade Runner!
).
The real question is: "What happened to the coats that these were originally attached too?"