Leather-Eyeglass Case-Celtic Loop Mini Tag

This trackable has the goal to survive more than five years and be dropped by at least 25 cachers. I maintain records on all my trackables. In the years 2010-22, I released 5,223 trackables. Of these, a total of 4,268 were released only in North America (NAO, meaning chiefly the United States) and never left the region, which includes Canada, Mexico and the islands of the Caribbean. Another 304 trackables were released outside North America (EUO, meaning chiefly Europe) and were never dropped in North America. Still another collection of 651 trackables had drops both in and outside North America. Statistics for the two former cohorts are as follows: % Missing; NAO-71.0, EUO-48.0; Maximum Drops; NAO-55.0, EUO-67.0; Average Total Drops, NAO-5.3, EUO-12.5; Average Drop Rate per Year, NAO-4.6, EUO-7.2. As of 1-Nov-25 this trackable has survived for 3.8 years and had been moved by 9 cachers, for an average drop every 152 days, or 2.4 drops per year. Please keep it moving, then drop it in a safe place!

No permission is needed to leave the U.S. While in the U.S., please drop it at an event, in a Premium Member only OR a rural cache near a busy trail or road. Do not place it in an urban, non-premium cache. Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean and dry, protects the number and prevents tangling with other items. Otherwise, take the trackable anywhere you wish.

This trackable is one of a series fashioned from leather blanks, some of which are intended as livestock ear-tags while others are for fancy-tooled earrings for ladies (men too, I suppose). I have no talent for leather tooling, but I was able to provide a little personality to the leather with some simple, imperfectly-applied stamping tools. Each trackable is named with a combination of the item made with leather shown in the gallery, for the subject of the stamp, and for the shape of the blank.

I have concerns about how well leather trackables will stand up to the conditions one sometimes finds in caches, but the blanks are a good size and comparatively inexpensive, so I am testing them. Each trackable starts in a heat-sealed bag that will eventually leak or disappear. The leather is also treated with a beeswax-propolis-oil compound to help shed water. Some discoloration is expected. If it is easy to do so, I would appreciate comments on the condition of the leather in the trackable discover- or find-logs.