…how can you tell?

There are a couple of holes in the darkest part of the leather, the metal “coin” is there to prevent that, but I'm so use to pushing the needle through with the side of my finger that I just can't seem to transfer to pushing with my finger pad. I used a solid leather thimble for a long time but the quality on them suddenly changed so drastically I couldn't use them any more. If I had to guess I'd say they went with a different, cheaper manufacturer. I guess that is the risk in sewing now that it's no longer something everyone does, bummer as a few really amazing sewing tools are no longer made.