Labeling Metal Seed Plates Without Revealing Words

When a custodian keeps stamped seed plates in a fire box, they often resist writing anything on the metal itself. Our workaround: a companion card stored in the same envelope—not on the plate—that carries the location code and a silhouette sketch of the plate’s edge pattern.

During intake we photograph the plate inside a light tent with words covered by a custodian-held card. The catalog entry references plate ID PGH-M-042 linked to site code HD-Study-Safe-2. Heirs retrieve by card, not by reading the stamp.

For plates stored separately from cards—a common mistake—we flag orphan risk in the index and recommend reuniting card and plate in one sleeve before the visit ends.