engraving phone number on tripod/head?

Unfortunately, left my manfrotto 055cxpro3 + Markins Q10 outside a cafe after a landscape photography trip in Snowdonia, uk.

Only realised 2 weeks later.

Police did say, that even if it had been handed in, because I didn't have my name/number on it, I would be unable to positively identify it as mine, so they couldn't have let me have it anyway.

Insurance has paid out, but do any other people mark their stuff? (less excess of course)

I don't mark mine.

I don't mark mine either. I actually did the same thing (which I couldn't believe I'd do something that unbelievably stupid-no offense) when shooting in a state far from home. I got very lucky though because I discovered my missing tripod when I got to my next location and discovered it missing. I still had to drive back an hour and a half, praying the whole time that it would still be there and thankfully, some nice surveyors had moved it off to the side so they could survey their construction site. Even though it was RIGHT NEXT to the road, amazingly no one had stolen it. Phew!

Engraving hurts the resale value of things...I'd apply a label made with something like a Brother label maker

I've got the serial numbers of all my gear on my smart phone, along with photos of them. Got the idea from my insurance company which recommended I do that should they be lost/stolen in the field. This way, you can show the cops what they look like & provide them with full identification info.

All my personal gear is engraved, tripods, heads, QR plates, Superclamps etc

I figure I'm not going to sell it, so I may as well mark it as mine.

i labelled all my gears because i shoot with others (videographer) from time to time and its easy to get out stuff mixed up..

I have identifying marks I put on some of my equipment, but only my cards get name/address/phone number. the rest of it gets a certain pattern of permanent marking that only I would recognize, but is easy to describe and distinguish.

Thanks for all the replies - very helpful. I had thought of my mobile number so that if lost, whoever found it could ring me.....

If I had realised sooner, we could have gone back there the same day - don't see much point 2 weeks later

Another idea is to use electrical tape in one specific color so you can ID your gear quickly. I have about 8 colors of tape for multiple purposes.