Art & Inspiration What's it worth thread...license plates.

I hate asking this question, because I know this obvious answer of "whatever someone is willing to pay ", but how about a starting point. I recently picked up some old license plates at an auction and am unsure if they can be used or whether they are wall hangers or etc. In particular I've got California plates from 1945, 51, 52, 56, 56 with a 60 attachment. Several others from Colorado and Arizona of same era. Any value?

 

I know nothing of value but there is a process of establishing whether the number on the plate is registered to a newer plate in use. If it is being used you cannot register it and value would be lesser.

You may have to also go by state to run the checks.

This of course is a lot of legwork and has costs. It may also be a regional thing as you cannot run Cali plates here in Canada but that's okay as we can sell internationally and those aren't hugely big or heavy.

I just talked to a fellow that said running old plates on your vintage ride ballparks in around 500 bucks.

My novelty/glamour plates run me 250.

But...people are willing to pay...

 

Other factors, condition if restoration is required that affects value. Is there only one? Some places require two.

You could look at plate sites as they buy and also have prices plates ready for use.

 

CA single plates are not worth more than a few bucks. Pairs can be around $300± depending on condition..

 

I get all of my YOM tags off eBay. Usually the prices are much cheaper then going through a tag dealer.

Gary

 

I have year of make plates on all my cars. 1932 plates I have were never put on a car, I bought those for $100 (it was a deal) I bought my ole man a set of matching 1950s for this last x mas and I had to give $200.

 

yes they have value. Look on ebay, see what similar ones have sold for.

Condition and whether or not it's a pair, make a big difference in price.

 

what do you want for them? im interested in singles.

 

Gave $150.....for a good Florida '27...

 

California only issued one plate in 1945, so a single is sellable.

 

Easiest way to figure it out is completed eBay listings.

I picked up a rare NY plate but so far it's not worth crap. I picked up a rough '57 pair and '50 single (single year) and those with a little cleaning sold pretty easily at a swap.

 

I paid $100 for 1936 Oregon plate. Totally restored and not registered so I could register with DMV.

 

There are several factors when figuring value for plates. The first consideration is who is your market. the Year of Manufacture folks are one market. Plate collectors are another.

Laws differ for each state having YOM laws. Do they require a pair or just one? Condition in these cases is often personal preference. I'm sure as long as the plate is legible it should be legal. A nice car deserves an equally nice plate. So,restoration is in order.This isn't all that much money.the guys who do it can fix up plates very nicely ...much the same as folks who fix cars that others might think too far gone.

Plate collectors are another breed.Generally speaking originality and condition are very important.Just like on Antiques Roadshow...you get this sick feeling when the appraiser tells the hopeful owner that they lost several thousand dollars had they left the piece alone....even though it was in much poorer condition.RARELY will you increase the value of a plate by restoring.A mint plate will bring more money than a plate of lesser condition from the same year.
Plates with fewer numbers bring more money.
States who issue their plates by county have some valuation differences too.Collectors looking for plates from a counties with lower vehicle registrations will pay more for plates from those counties. Especially if they are collecting plates from every county.Arizona is such a state.
Are the stickers or attachments that would make a plate complete? Early California porcelain plates had 3 different attachments. A bell,poppy,and a bear all to be used on the same plate in different years.A plate sold with none of these is far less valuable than a plate having one,two,or all three along with it.Don't forget those metal date tabs.Again a bare plate would bring less money than a plate with one on it. Early Wisconsin plates had their numbers riveted on as well as the date. I have seen orphans with some of the "stuff" missing for sale...and gladly waited until the right plate came up for sale.
Obviously a pair of plates will bring slightly more money than a single plate...but not much more than 2X the price of a single.

 

Factors for price: condition, year and if the numbers are not on file for another car. Contrary to popular belief, older is not necessarily better. The universal law of supply and demand sets prices. While collectors may want original condition, most old plates sold (in California at least) are to be registered to a car. Generally speaking the owner tends to want the plates to match the condition of the car, so a restored car wants restored plates, and a patina'd car wants original plates. Except for 1945 & 1946 California demands a matched pair, a single plate is like a single shoe, not much use to most people.

 

I'd love to have a Nunavut polar bear plate, but I don't want to pay $180 for a wall hanging. Population/# of plates made has a lot to do with it. Ebay is the best source to see what similar items sold for.

 

Watch out for the little things. I have a friend running a California YOM trailer plate on his restored 1937 Mullins trailer he pulls behind his '32 Ford (also with YOM plates). I was afraid to ask what he paid for the plate but did note he was walking with a limp. I have a '31 RDPU and would like a pair of California plates similar to the single plate I have shown in the photo. They have the small letters "PC" (stands for "Pneumatic Commercial) as shown on the plate I have (see photo).

Charlie Stephens

 

Actually pre-war trailer plates don't sell for that much. Supply and demand - almost no demand. I have almost every year trailer plate and rarely sell one.

 

PC, BE can be used in California as commercial plates. I’m lucky enough to have the last 3 vehicles I bought have blue plates.......can’t buy them new or use them for the YOM program. Sadly to me the blue plates are the last good plates to have. It used to be the black plates if you found a car with them still on, but now you can buy them for your new car.

***edit***
I forgot the yom program goes to 1980 now.....the only tell tale sign that a vehicle continued to carry the plates are the stickers or the number configuration of the black plates.

Sad

 

I know that PC stands for "Pneumatic Commercial" (as contrasted with SC, Solid Commercial). What does BE stand for?

Charlie Stephens

 

I believe it’s “Board of Equalization”. I had them on my ‘54 Ford panel truck.

 

Also I’m not sure if it still holds true, but ‘47 and ‘51 California plates are top dollar......commercial being slightly less.

 

It seems some 1932 tags are insane when it comes to price, I started collecting them but learned quickly I wasn't a player, the Arizona copper tag & South Carolina The Iodine State tags are pricey.

Although Alaska & Hawaii were not state at that time they did have plates and they are expensive. HRP

 

I have hundreds of old license plates, mostly Ohio. It is legal in Ohio to run YOM plates. I used to sell a bunch of them at swap meets for pretty good money but since eBay took over and there are so many listed a lot of them go for $9.99. Sometimes you get the gold mine, sometimes you get the shaft!

 

A 1921 Alaska will cost you more than $25K.

 

No value other than to me but my brother found a 1957 plate while walking in the woods that was so rusted it was in peices but all still laying together where it had layed for years, He thought I might still want it so he brought it to me. I surprised myself by being able to do something with it, I JB welded all the pieces to an old useless flat plate I had laying around then sprayed it with some rustoleum that was a close match to the blue it came with then went back and carefully painted the letters white, Its a crude lookin piece but I think its a cool lookin garage wall hanger with a little story behind it

 

A low number Delaware plate sells for $410,000


https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/n...ls-410-000-rehoboth-beach-auction/1041800002/

 

“We buy them as an investment”. That sounds passionate. Thanks for screwing up the market for the rest of us that actually want to use them for what they were designed for.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

All Colorado plates, I paid $50 for a mint set of 59' plates, $40 for a very nice pair of 53' plates. If you have any decent 50' Colorado plates, I would be interested in purchasing them.

 

I bought this plate years ago because nothing really more than i thought it was really interesting and haven’t thought much about it till I saw this thread. What kind of value would a one digit from Pennsylvania be?

 

That plate might be worth a trip to a license plate collectors web site.

Charlie Stephens