to pin down an ancestor to a particular cemetery and then be unable to find them because someone stole their head stone.

I'm glad there's someone trying to make headstones that have no value to thieves (though they are still of tremendous value to us!).

Thanks for posting.

Stealing metal from a tombstone is just wrong to me, on a fundamental level. I wonder how many people do it out of meanness, how many do it just to enrich themselves, and how many do it because it means they get to eat a meal they could not have afforded otherwise. Considering there are cemeteries of all sizes in all kinds of environments, rural and urban, I wonder how many graves have been desecrated in this fashion that relatives will not discover for years. Most of my immediate family have plain old granite or other rock stones. Most of them are also a long way and I cannot afford to even travel to see if damages has been done.

in the county I live in. I have quit a few totally photographed. Once that's done, the stone will never deteriorate any more.
If you have a digital camera, you can take over 200 pics at one visit, then post them on find-a-grave.

It would be a good community service project for a Girl or Boy Scout Troop.

It's an enormous undertaking! What a valuable tool for researchers in your area.