Jock--when I went to Don I told him 2 things.....I wanted a star for Texas and I wanted my initials. It's amazing how similar the pattern is to yours. Of course each leather man has his own patter/style but they are certainly similar. I believe my tops are taller than yours judging by the picture but I can't really tell for certain. Obviously yours is a little more antiqued which I like a little better than the lighter natural of mine. Either way I think we both hit home runs!
Kaleb--you can get some dang good boots made for far cheaper than the number you are talking. Without the hand tooling I can have a pair of ostrich made by two different guys that have made boots for me in the past for around $1000. Add the hand tooling and more customizing and the price will go up obviously. I don't remember what my final price was for the pictured pair but I want to say it was around $1800. I wouldn't spend $3500 for a single pair of boots, though collectively I've spent more than that on custom boots over the years. I've had several ostrich done without the fancy tops and had several calf hide. Nothing beats a pair of custom boots. They are more comfortable than tennis shoes.