west coast guys ?

My brother inlaw never throws anything out. He has a collection of Cal. license plates from the teens to late 50s that he found in a garage when he lived out there.I keep telling him to sell them but he dosen't know what to ask.So yesterday I look up old cal. plates and find sites selling them for $200 - $500 a pair.Is this for real ? What are they worth,not what someone wants ? He tells me they are in good shape with little or no rust. And i know some years are worth more than others.

 

asking 200 to 500 hundred, not getting 200 to 500. Maybe 200 hundred for restored dmv clear matching sets

 

LOL ! I wouldnt bay 10 bucks for a old licence plate let alone $200. What a joke

 

to get full value they must be "DMV clear" which means the numbers are not in use in newer plates. you can get this infornmation at the Ca DMV site, but it is not easy to get through.

as for pricing, check completed auctions on ebay.

 

got to ask, what is the thought process that makes a person put "west coast guys" in your ***le rather than "California YOM license plates".

 

Yes, they must be DMV clear, a matched set and some are worth more then others (by years and condition). The 1951 car/commercial and the 1947 car/commercial being worth the most and anything past the black/yellow plates are wall hangers.

Some people myself included hate white reflective plates bad enough to use the YOM program. I've paid $125 for clear useable plates before.

 

I used west coast guys as in fellows that hit swap meets out there and would have the information.

 

I paid 350 for my 51 plates and they were pretty clean, and they were a radio call sign plate, which i thought was cool..if they are not clear they are just wall hangers...

 

Like the man said, if not DMV clear you can hang them on the wall or use them to shingle your roof.

 

a pair of dmv clear plates go for around $200, just make sure if possible to try to get a letter configuration that was issued during your year.. i.e. California, don't get a plate that begins with the letter X or Y if it's going on a '56 vehicle, or an A or B if it's for your '62 Chev..

 

I see restored Oregon plate sets from $150-$200. Your brother might consider locating guys who do this in Cali and sell them as a package deal. He will lose 50% of the retail value but save the time and effort trying to sell them himself.

 

I recently bought some Clear 37 Calif plates for 140.00 for the pair. They are now on a car. About 6 months ago we bought some clear 34 plates for 200.00, they turned out to not be clear so the guy exchanged them for a set that were clear but not as nice and gave us $50.00 back.
The Black and Yellow ones for my 63 Falcon I paid $25.00 for, but the ones on the 32 Coupe - $350.00
So it really depends on year, condition and the fluctuation of the market at the time

 

"PAIR" being a key word and, of course, DMV "NOT ON FILE". I have 3 or 4 1950 singles hanging around the shop. By themselves, $10-15, Paired up and in good shape: $175-250.

 

Probably the same thought process (i.e. "none") that doesn't make him think of putting them on ebay a pair at a time (and maybe with a statement that the set is clear or at least how the bidder can check if they are clear), or just offering the whole shooting match to a plate dealer who can offer what they are worth wholesale.

 

It all depends how bad somebody wants them, but your best bet is to place them on ebay and hope for the best.......not all west coast guys will pay that kind of price.

 

I usually pay $60-$80 for a nice to mint original but unrestored pair of DMV clear 1933-1936 plates and have several pairs purchased within the past three years. I paid $160 for a really nice unrestored pair of 1940 plates - most I have ever paid, because they have my lucky number in them twice and 1940 plates always seem to command more money. I do not buy restored plates because they are always painted shiny instead of the satin finish of the originals and therefore look overrestored. My 1940 plates are going on my 1940 Willys coupe so I ponied up a few more yankee pesos than I would normally. $200+ is dealer daydreaming as I see it....

 

How did you ever get the approval to use those plates? Since they are HAM plates the requirement is you have to show proof of a a valid Amateur license to for those call letters. The DMV should never have approved them. Hope a cop never asks to see your HAM license.

R

 

yes but he wants to word things for you. he also clicked on did'ent he.