License plate road find
- Thread starter fourjeepin
- Start date
4xdog
Well-known member
Found this one in my old hometown in southeastern Ohio a couple of years ago. I put it in the telephone pole crack in the chance the owner might see it. I kinda liked the look of it there, too.
Do want you want with the plate but If I lost a plate, which the daughter did at one time, I'd be happy to get it back rather than have to buy a replacement set.
OP
fourjeepin
Well-known member
How does one go about finding the owner of a found plate? 4xdog's method doesnt seem to be very effective.
JerryB
Well-known member
Call any DMV office or police department, and they will tell you what to do with it.
I know if I 'lost' a plate, I would really appreciate getting it back!
The one on the left is from an island that only has golf carts...and they all must have a plate...
The Florida plate came off a trashed 75 Maverick I found diving in the Carribean...not sure how it got there, I assume it fell off some freighter...or was lost at sea during a hurricane when a barge sank or something...
Mikeske
Well-known member
My collection of plates all expired. I just throw them up on the wall in any order that I want. Except my 1966 Ford Falcon has original plates from the place I grew up with the correct county number which is the first 2 numbers one on top of the other. My Falcon is no longer registered to drive and I trailer it car shows.
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Drop them off at the local LEO office.They will run the plate and contact the owner.
isb cornbinder
Well-known member
I bought the EXPO 86 plate at a garage sale for a dollar. The 1940 British Columbia plates came from a local collector and I paid $100 for the set. There has been a rumour circulating that our provincial vehicle licencing may allow vintage plates that match the year and province of the registered vehicle to be displayed on that vehicle.
Unfortunately, the dimensions of the plates have changed since 1940 and a modern frame will not fit.
I suppose I could make another custom size plate holder for the 1940 set. I did make the stainless plate holder/frame set for the modern plates/tags. I installed a string of 20 miniature LED light up and inside the rear tag frame.
I will not be displaying the Worlds Fair New York badge. The 1940 Ford was introduced at the NY Worlds Fair that opened in 1939 and closed in 1940. This Ford was declared, at the fair, to be the Most Beautiful car ever made.
Unfortunately, the dimensions of the plates have changed since 1940 and a modern frame will not fit.
I suppose I could make another custom size plate holder for the 1940 set. I did make the stainless plate holder/frame set for the modern plates/tags. I installed a string of 20 miniature LED light up and inside the rear tag frame.
I will not be displaying the Worlds Fair New York badge. The 1940 Ford was introduced at the NY Worlds Fair that opened in 1939 and closed in 1940. This Ford was declared, at the fair, to be the Most Beautiful car ever made.
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![EXPO_86_PLATE[1].jpg](/forum/data/attachments/602/602634-1e567b997d13b661eb3327c77d398c9a.jpg)
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OctoMan
Well-known member
I don't generally pick up the ones you find on the road. My dad used an old pair to mount soeakers on the wall. They're fairly thick aluninum. Not much use otherwise. I do have all the old ones I've had. I also have several antique ones. I have a match set from NY 1925. I aslo have one with the year and city from where I was born. This was when you had the smaller plates with the year and county on them instead of the stickers.
jwh
Well-known member
Me too. We had an Olds Cutlass Ciera for about 8 years. The front license plate holder was plastic, lost it and the plate on it once and had to buy a replacement set of plates, broke the holder at least twice more, but managed to find the plate before driving off.
John
In the good old days you got a new pair of metal plates every year.
They had the year stamped into them.
What you did with the old ones was up to you.
They were clearly out of date.
That is where the collections got their start.
Now all you get is a sticker to put on the metal plate that has no expiration date.
So a roadside plate is still a valid plate.
Turn it in.
They had the year stamped into them.
What you did with the old ones was up to you.
They were clearly out of date.
That is where the collections got their start.
Now all you get is a sticker to put on the metal plate that has no expiration date.
So a roadside plate is still a valid plate.
Turn it in.
Mikeske
Well-known member
NinnyCTSV
Well-known member
I get a lot of plates from work. As they sell and trade in old trucks and trailers they remove the plates and dispose of them. I tend to grab a few from time to time just to add to my collection.
larry4406
Well-known member
I think the good old days involved prisoners stamping plates, chain gangs, and pounding rocks into gravel. I approve.
matt_i
Well-known member
This is tangential but I would love to see how an old school prison stamping operation worked 
The only non-technical part of it that I can think of would be loading blanks into the dieset and handling the various materials in and out. Someone would have to index the numbers, keep records and counts. The press(es) would mean an entire machine & maintenance shop to keep the operation running, which would seem a rife opportunity for "metallic subterfuge".
That the letters are individually painted so was that done by hand, by spray-mask, rolled across the up-sets...don't know.
The operation seems a lot more involved than digging drainage ditches
The only non-technical part of it that I can think of would be loading blanks into the dieset and handling the various materials in and out. Someone would have to index the numbers, keep records and counts. The press(es) would mean an entire machine & maintenance shop to keep the operation running, which would seem a rife opportunity for "metallic subterfuge". That the letters are individually painted so was that done by hand, by spray-mask, rolled across the up-sets...don't know.
The operation seems a lot more involved than digging drainage ditches
OP
fourjeepin
Well-known member
I prefer the old raised letter plates, but like the cool designs many of the newer plates have. I use the plates as a border around my garage and have almost all 50 states.
rburke65
Well-known member
What states are you missing?
isb cornbinder
Well-known member
http://www.bcpl8s.ca/Passenger-1955-1963.html
A local prison used to stamp the British Columbia tags. A few decade ago the prison was closed, torn down and the property was turned into a gated community. During the prison destruction, the contractor dug up dozens of 45 gallon barrels packed with hundreds of licence plates. that were buried under a north wall. I was given a matched set of 1934 BC plates.
A local prison used to stamp the British Columbia tags. A few decade ago the prison was closed, torn down and the property was turned into a gated community. During the prison destruction, the contractor dug up dozens of 45 gallon barrels packed with hundreds of licence plates. that were buried under a north wall. I was given a matched set of 1934 BC plates.
SuperCat
Well-known member
I found a license plate in the road earlier this year. Traffic was slow, so I went back and picked it up. Took it to the local sheriff's community service office and dropped it off. I did not want somebody to use it when they were doing something they shouldn't be doing. 
Two Speed
Well-known member
I've dropped off plates to the police station that I have found. Then I find out when you lose a plate, they just cancel it in the system (lost/stolen) and issue you a new set for $10 they won't even wait any number of days for a reissue becuase it is illegal to not have a front plate here, so you get to buy a new set wether you want it or not. I highly suspect any turned in plates get cancelled and go to the scrap bin anyway.
Alex.
Alex.
6768rogues
Banned
This is tangential but I would love to see how an old school prison stamping operation worked
That the letters are individually painted so was that done by hand, by spray-mask, rolled across the up-sets...don't know.
The operation seems a lot more involved than digging drainage ditches
My father was a Correction Officer at Auburn NY Correctional Facility from the 1950s to the 1970s. NY plates are made there and he worked from time to time in the plate shop. Raw material came in rolls and the plate shop cut it to size. They changed the numbers by hand, loaded the blank plates two at a time by hand, and stamped a pair at a time. I have some old ones and they fit one on top of the other one way but not with the other on top. They were dipped in background paint, hung to dry, and then two rubber rollers with paint went over the raised letters twice.
Interestingly, Ohio had a fire in their plate shop in the 1960s so NY made Ohio plates for a while. That is why some Ohio plates from that era have the NY style font.
In the early 1960s the state decided to have a couple of single plate years to save money. The prison had produced plates in advance so they would be ready for the new year. They had to scrap all the duplicates. Some great money saving effort.
They probably have an entirely new process today.
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58Yeoman
Well-known member
It happened to me one time a few years ago with my antique auto plates. In IL, antique plates are renewed every five years. One year, they sent my new plates, then a couple months later, they said they made some kind of mistake, and sent everyone another set. Gotta be saving money in IL.
TractorJeff
Well-known member
PA issues yearly plates as I have seen 1953, 54, 55, 56 and 57 plates in a pile in an old shed in PA.