Abstract: An owner identification method and article for collecting, identifying, addressing, and mailing lost personal accessories to their proper owner, whereby a coded card carrying on its face only such uncoded alphanumeric information as will facilitate delivery, so that the card and lost item will arrive at a central lost item processing location at which coded information from the card can be converted into the true owner's uncoded mailing label to be applied to the packaging in which the lost item is to be mailed to its rightful owner. The card includes means for attachment to personal accessories and it may be adapted for use with a variety of memory and coding technologies including optical character recognition, magnetics, infra-red (magic middle), embossed character recognition, and semiconductor memory.