The License Plate Collector

32 Responses to “Vintage License Plate Price Guide”

1. By kevin states on Dec 18, 2008 | Reply

   I have a very nice 1913 north dakota plate. I am wondering what the value of it might be.

2. By Jake on Dec 18, 2008 | Reply

   Hi Kevin, thanks for the question about your 1913 ND License Plate.

   A very popular question is “how much is my license plate worth?” I get quite a few emails asking this very question. I have seen that year plate from ND sell for over $250.00. BUT of course it all depends on the shape and condition and demand for that particular plate!

   Good luck! Thanks for stopping by!

3. By kevin states on Dec 19, 2008 | Reply

   thanks, it is really good shape, hardly any rust, nice for as old as it is.

4. By Dan on Dec 23, 2008 | Reply

   I have in my possession 2 1915 California plates unfortunately they aren’t matching. One is in perfect condition whereas the other has a couple of patches of rust about 1/2″ in diameter. Any guesses on value? I was gonna throw them on Ebay and I wanted to see what they were worth first so I didn’t just get like 25 bucks each or something.

5. By Jake on Dec 23, 2008 | Reply

   Thanks for the comment Dan… are the 1915 California Plates metal or Porcelain? There is a 1915 Carolina Porcelain Plate selling right now for $499.99

   As far as the value of your plates.. so many factors can come into play… it’s hard to tell without seeing them and also, depends on who might be wanting that plate at the time. The price guides can give you a good idea as you can physically see your plates and get a fair idea of what they may be worth. If you decide to sell on Ebay, you can always set a reserve or “buy it now” price to make sure you get what you want for the plates!

   Thanks again for the post and for visiting TheLicensePlateCollector.com

6. By dan on Dec 28, 2008 | Reply

   How can you tell if it’s porcelain? i mean they feel like metal. I dunno

7. By Jake on Dec 29, 2008 | Reply

   Metal license plates are stamped.. this should be the easiest way for you to tell. Porcelain plates should have a coating with the numbers/letters under the coating. Porcelain plates are also very fragile and easy to chip.

8. By ken on Dec 30, 2008 | Reply

   1911 Michigan license plate.
   how much?

9. By Jake on Jan 1, 2009 | Reply

   Hello Ken! That’s the question of the day haha, how much is my plate worth! As i’ve told others, I really can’t give a good estimate on plates without having them “in hand”. If you are a collector or investor, i would suggest one of the newest Price Guides.. you can find those at this link http://thelicenseplatecollector.com/License-Plates/price-guides
   I will also say that at the moment there is a 1911 Michigan Porcelain Plate on Ebay right now and the price is at $50.75 with 3 days left!
   Hope this info helps! Thanks for stopping by!

10. By glenn on Jan 14, 2009 | Reply

    Have 2 1907 porcelin license plates mint condition looking 4 app.value

11. By Jake on Jan 15, 2009 | Reply

    Hello Glenn, what states are the plates?

    I try not to give plate values here on the blog.. There’s just too much room for error if I don’t have the plates in hand. I will however try and see if any are available or have been sold recently and let you know.

    Thanks for stopping by!

12. By Marissa on Jan 17, 2009 | Reply

    Hi Jake,

    My plates are both NY plates. One of them says New York Word’s Fair on the bottom and the year is 1940. The second one says “COM” in vertical letters on the side and says NY 44 on the top. Anything?

13. By Jake on Jan 18, 2009 | Reply

    Hi Marissa!

    To get an idea about the first plate in question, the 1940 New York World’s Fair, check out this link for current auctions and you can get an idea of what they are selling for!

    http://tinyurl.com/1940NYWorldsFairPlate

    On the NY 44 plate with COM on it, I can’t find anything on that plate. I did however find a plate that sold that had the NY 44 across the top. Here is the link for it.. Maybe someone else will chime in on the vertical COM.

    http://tinyurl.com/NY44Plate

14. By Bruce on Jan 25, 2009 | Reply

    I have an original US Department of Agriculture CCC license plate.
    Is there any value to this or simply a unique lincense plate?

    Thanks

    Bruce

15. By Jake on Jan 25, 2009 | Reply

    Hello Bruce! The CCC or Civilian Conservation Corps is one of the many US Government Licensed Plates.

    Keep one thing in mind though about selling those type plates on Ebay.

    You cannot list any plate that says “government”, “official”, “police” or any other form of law enforcement or government agency, regardless of the age. This includes Federal, state, county or city, any level.

    Is there any value? In my opinion, there’s always value on any plate that a collector or investor might be interested in!

    Thanks!

16. By Bruce on Jan 26, 2009 | Reply

    Thank you Jake. Since I do not collect plates but only have this one I find your information quite informative.

    Bruce

17. By Aiden Corbett on Jan 30, 2009 | Reply

    I have an English licence plate in perfect condition. The number is TTL 705. Any idea how much its worth?

18. By Lyvett on Mar 11, 2009 | Reply

    Hello,
    I came across some old NYC license plates:
    years:
    1912 (i think) pair
    1914
    1915 pair
    1916 pair
    1917 pair
    1919 pair
    1924
    1925
    1930
    1941 pair
    AND
    1967 florida
    i think 1970′s pair New York

    is ebay my best place to sell them…
    I just think if these are collectibles they should go to someone who will care for them.. not some kid who wants to hang in his locker….
    please help
    lv

19. By Jake on Mar 15, 2009 | Reply

    Lyvett, I apologize for the delay in getting your comment posted. For some reason it got caught by our spam filter.

    In regards to your question..

    In my opinion, Ebay is a great place to sell License Plates. You can search for the plates you have to see if they have sold on Ebay and for what amount. You could also purchase a price guide to get an idea of what the plates are worth!

    Other than Ebay, swap meets and those type events are great places as well.

20. By Yolandie on Sep 17, 2009 | Reply

    I have 8-9 pairs of CA Worlds Fair License Plates Most of them in excellent condition, some with PC and BE/PT before the plate #. Any idea of how much they might fetch?

    Also have 1932 pair
    1935 pair
    1936 pair
    1938 pair(s)

21. By Rex Halbert on Sep 25, 2009 | Reply

    The plate I have isn’t old as it is one of a kind. I won it in a contest as a kid. The year they came out with the Idaho centennnial plate, I won the first one ever printed (00000C), in a frame to match the plate and everything. Is this worth anything?

22. By Jake on Sep 28, 2009 | Reply

    @ Yolandie and Rex – Here at the license plate collector, we will never try and put a value on someones antique or vintage plate without having it in hand. As we’ve said before, it leaves too much room for error.

    In our opinion, ALL collectible plates have value. We always suggest purchasing one of the price guides that are available.

    You can also try and find your plate on Ebay and see if it has been sold in the past by viewing “completed auctions”. This may give you an idea of what your plate may have sold for.

    Another suggestion would be to find a reputable dealer in your local area where you can take your collection for a hands-on evaluation.

    Hope this helps and if any of you would like to share your plates here on the blog, use the contact form above and we can work out the details and post your collection here at The License Plate Collector.

23. By Bob on Nov 19, 2009 | Reply

    Hi -I bought a box of old
    license plates a couple of years at a local auction gallery. There’s some 1922 Ohio, early
    50 Calif, some of the old larger AAA Chrome
    Plate frames and in the bottom of the box I
    found a 1962 DMV Plate Envelope showing its age
    but containing brand new gold on black ’63 plate with documentation. Does your firm take consignments? These are one of a kind, I’m sure. Please let me know if you’re interested in selling these.

    Yours truly,

    Bob Grossman
    650-494-8282

24. By Jake on Nov 20, 2009 | Reply

    Hello Bob! Currently we aren’t purchasing any license plates or doing consignments. BUT, if you are interested, I can do for you what I’ve done for some others and do a featured blog post on your plates to see if they generate any interest. I can post pictures of your plates as well.

    If you want to go that route, you can use the “contact us” tab at the top to contact me and we can go from there.

    THANKS!

25. By nathan leaver on Jan 19, 2010 | Reply

    hello i have a mk2 consul plate 1960 just wondering if its worth anything

26. By Jake on Jan 19, 2010 | Reply

    Hello Nathan and thanks for the question.

    In our opinion, all license plates have value. The value depends on many factors such as the condition of the plate or the demand for a particular plate. Many other factors can determine a plates value.

    A collector may be willing to pay more for a plate to finish out his collection etc etc.

    Having said that, it’s hard for us to put a value on a plate without having it in hand. There’s just too much room for error.

    You can always pick up one of the price guides available above and get a good idea of your plates value.

    Thanks for stopping by!

27. By Robert Coriell on Jan 31, 2010 | Reply

    Hi Jake, I have 4 Illinois composition plates, 1944,1946,1947& 1948. I have heard they where made of soybeans. They are in good shape. Any thoughts to there worth

28. By Jake on Feb 10, 2010 | Reply

    Hello Robert.. During World War II, soybean-based fiberboard was used for license plates because of the need to devote all available metal to the war effort.

    As far as value, of course they are of value but that value can depend on many things. It’s a common question here at our website to try and place value on a plate but we just can’t do it without it in hand. Too much room for error. But I’m sure your plates have value!

29. By nick on Mar 11, 2010 | Reply

    hello I just ccleaned out my grandpas barn out an found a bunch of license plates. All michigan
    from 1945 through 1999. I also found a couple of mississippi plates a 1919,1913,and 1911 or 12 is has chipsin it are any of these worth anything

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31. By jay on Apr 25, 2010 | Reply

    Are 1911 Minnesota plates in high demand. My father found one in great shape in his fathers old stuff.
    Thanks for your help. He also found a 1912…but I am thinking that is not as valuable. Thanks for any help.

32. By Jake on Apr 26, 2010 | Reply

    @ Nick – Of course they are all worth something! Many factors may determine what you could get for them such as the demand for those plates and of course the condition!

    @ Jay – I’ve seen a 1911 Minnesota porcelain plate go for just over 200 bucks recently. Whether or not to say it’s in “high demand” is tricky. If you catch a buyer looking for that particular plate, then it’s in high demand!