Collect old number plates? Updated 08/07/20

[grizz]

Hi guys,

I play on a few forums including some American ones like Garage Journal.

I have always had a fascination with car/truck/bike number plates as they often tell a story.

I collect old number plates to mount on the rafters.

Does anyone on here collect plates?
I used to have over 500 plates, but reduced that to 200 but it seems I am collecting again ;D ;D ;D

So I am looking for old stuff laying about in the back of your garage or under a work bench.

Some of the Americans have also asked me to look out for some motorbike number plates for their collections.

I am down in Rochester , Kent but currently (at least for the next two weeks while I still have a job) travel between Oxford, Basingstoke and Southmpton as well as into Hammersmith Hospital in London.

PM please etc if you have anything interesting.

Below some of the South African plates I have for trade, some have gone already.





Here are a couple of bad pics of some of the plates in my collection.

[danburger28]

My word, thats a lot of number plates!I don't have so many, but someone once gave me a book on number plates of the world. He was the author, and sold him and his wife two cars.Very nice of them.

[grizz]

Aug 27, 2012 19:28:56 GMT danburger28 said:

My word, thats a lot of number plates!I don't have so many, but someone once gave me a book on number plates of the world. He was the author, and sold him and his wife two cars.Very nice of them.

Another one of those things that started small and just grew.....

[crazymonkey]

know the feeling, when I was a kid I always used to find hubcaps near my house which I ended up collecting, got too many and my room needed serious tidying so had to get rid eventually. was amazing how many different hubcaps there are haha.

as for number plates I don't have a collection like that, thats amazing. only got a couple (which I'm keeping) from old cars, got one from our old citroen zx and one from our old sunny. I keep them more as memoirs than a collection.

[fogey]

I only have a few . . .

[grizz]

Aug 27, 2012 21:34:46 GMT fogey said:

I only have a few . . .

Only a few...... But you have a PARKING METER !!!!!!

I would LOVE to have a parking meter in my garage.

[JohnK]

I only have a few too and they are just off cars I have owned in recent years. Mainly they are the original plates I have taken off when I have been putting private plates on and then have replaced with brand new plates when I have come to sell the car.

[fogey]

Aug 28, 2012 15:41:48 GMT grizz said:

Aug 27, 2012 21:34:46 GMT fogey said:

I only have a few . . .

Only a few...... But you have a PARKING METER !!!!!!

I would LOVE to have a parking meter in my garage.

The parking meters are ex Southampton Council but manufactued in the States. The Council sold them off for a fiver a piece some years back - there was quite a queue at the council offices that morning. Each meter came with a certificate of authenticity signed by the mayor of Southampton !!

[ChasR]

Quite a story there!

I only have around 5 number plates. I started when I broke my daily Mondeo for spares. It had 400k miles on the clock when I broke it, but the spares of it have made their way into subsequent cars (mainly Mondeos, but the bolts etc have all been in one of the cars I have owned after it) after I broke it so I guess the 'spirit' of the car is still very much present.

[jonnynitro]

looks like you need a few irish number plates to add to your collection

[grizz]

Aug 31, 2012 1:22:48 GMT jonnynitro said:

looks like you need a few irish number plates to add to your collection

Would be nice.

I guess both "old" and "New" style would look good.

[grizz]

Well, I was 30 miles down the road on the M25 on my way to a job interview this morning when the agency called to cancell..... grrrrr!!

came home but thought I would use the time productively so popped in at a car dealership to see if I could scrounge some old plates......

WOOOHOOOO !!!!

I got two plates that I did not have and have wanted before.

The first one is a Jersey Hire Car plate.
They have a huge red block to the one side and an H inside it, presumably to warn the locals and to make one stand out.
We have been to Jersey a few times and I always mentioned to Nicola that I would love one, but they are clearly unavailable...... whoops.
The other one was a pair of Guernsey island plates, because there are so few cars there, they just have numbers, whereas Jersey has a J prefix.

The other UK plates will be for trade internationally.



This week I also managed to trade a really nice 1974 Ohio plate for one of my less common South African plates.

The top one in the Pic.

The one below is a 1957 Tennisee plate.




Finally, I picked up this cool piece of automobilia at the bootfair this weekend, it is already up on my garage wall......

Hope you can see the detail.



Cheers for now.

[Si]

That Jersey plate is quite recent too - we've only had 6 numbers for a couple of years now (as there's that many cars crammed on a small rock!)
The "H" is indeed for horror cars (hire cars) - many years ago the H was mounted on a seperate plate, but they're all included now..
I've a couple of my old (non-H) J plates if you'd like em for your collection too...

Edit: I'll see if I can find you an Alderney plate too if you want - they're an "AY" prefix then numbers, although there's not many of them!

[Stigian]

That's a hell of large collection you have there Rian!!

I can't call my two plates a collection, but here they are anyway..

[grizz]

Sept 3, 2012 8:46:45 GMT Stigian said:

That's a hell of large collection you have there Rian!!

I can't call my two plates a collection, but here they are anyway..

Hi Ian

The first one is great.

The second one being from the Johannesburg area is easily recognisable.

If you want a few more SA plates let me know. I am always happy to share my madness.

[rob0r]

I'll have to have a dig around and maybe relieve some of the old cars laying around of their plates .

[chairchild]

Give me a shout if you're ever up Manchester-direction. I've got a pair of the old pressed steelplates with rivitted on letters, from my old Mini CLubman. P+P is no doubt going to be more than what they're actually worth to yourself! Lol

[grizz]

Got a PM from Arizona a couple of weeks ago..... from THE Cliffmeister.

"Would you like a motorbike number plate for your collection?"

Of course my answer was Yes Please!!

So I offered a trade which was never meant to be a trade.

Cliff loves coins, especially foreign coins, so I sent him coins from three different countries where I travel to regularly.

Anyway, got back from Southampton today to find in the post a small envelope with custom stamps on.

Contents




And of course, being known in the internet world as GRIZZ..... this has to be my favourite.




So there you go, a perfect little update on here with a great gift from a big hearted guy.

Thanks Cliff.

[trekkerglenn]

these will adorn my 71 trekker when restored, believed to be the original plates she wore?

[grizz]

Sept 3, 2012 23:07:20 GMT trekkerglenn said:

these will adorn my 71 trekker when restored, believed to be the original plates she wore?

WOW Glen !!!

Those are pretty awesome.

Never been able to lay my hands on an oval plate.

Would look great on your car.