FOIAWEAR — THE "DEAD" DROP SPIKE / Concealment Device Tee

FOIAWEAR / ARCHIVE SERIES 031 — THE "DEAD" DROP SPIKE

Every meeting between an agent and a handler is a risk. A “dead” drop removes the meeting entirely: one person leaves the material at a prearranged location, and the other collects it later. No contact, no handshake, no two people in the same place at the same time.

This particular device was designed to be pushed into the ground and to look like nothing more than a cemetery spike — the kind of small, unremarkable object that keeps a drop from drawing any unwanted attention. It is hollow, and it could hold messages, documents or film.

It measures 20.6 centimetres long and just 3.7 centimetres across.

The artwork is a stylised multi-colour tribute to the device — the spike, its separated cap, the rolled paper and the strip of film inside. It is not a photograph or an engineering drawing.

Offered in twelve garment colours: the artwork carries light typography on dark garments (Black, Navy, Graphite, Pepper, Espresso, Sapphire) and dark typography on light garments (Moss, Chambray, Mustard, Butter, Light Green, White).

The QR code on the front opens the CIA Museum's artifact page for the "Dead" Drop Spike, the source for everything above: https://www.cia.gov/legacy/museum/artifact/dead-drop-spike/

Garment: Comfort Colors 1717 garment-dyed t-shirt. Heavyweight 6.1 oz/yd² (206.8 g/m²), 100% ring-spun US cotton, pre-shrunk, relaxed fit, double-needle stitched with no side seams and a sewn-in label. Sizes S–4XL. Printed on the front at 300 DPI; plain back. The main artwork prints at 10 × 10 in and the QR at 1.8 × 1.8 in.

Care: machine wash cold, inside out, with like colours. Tumble dry low. Do not iron directly on the printed area.

FOIAWEAR is an independent brand and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Central Intelligence Agency, the United States government, or any other government or agency.