This book is intended as a historical reference but it will no doubt appeal to license plate collectors.  This chapter presents a list of frequently asked questions about license plate collecting and their values.

Your objective is to collect...what?

There are many reasons and ways to collect license plates.  The most common objective is to complete a run in their jurisdiction of choice.  Others like to do their birthyear, that is they save every plate with that date on it.  Others like a common theme such as motorcycle, amateur radio, political, and so on.  The ways of collecting are about as numerous as there are collectors.  If you decide to collect it is better to focus on a couple of your favorite themes rather than just anything from under the sun.  This will make it a lot easier to keep track, organize and display.

Where do I find them?

Finding old expired license plates isn't as difficult as one first might think. Old license plates used to be nailed up in old barns and garages, and generally were free for the asking. As with anything old, many have begun to recognize their value, so these days are long gone. Today they typcially will show up at flea markets and antique shops. Advertising in the local paper sometimes brings a phone call from someone who happened to have a bunch saved away. Other collectors have gone as far as going door to door asking for old license plates! Newer plates can be found in junkyards at at the department of motor vehicles. Since all provinces have plates validated by stickers nowadays, it has become more difficult to get them from these sources.

Today many of the rare pieces have made their way into established collections but new treasures are still being discovered. This gives hope to those just starting out. However be forewarned that the places where you would expect early plates to be rare (PEI, Nfld, Yukon and the NWT) have been scoured thoroughly by crafty collectors years ago. Your chances of finding anything good from there today are slim. It is usually necessary to obtain the rare pieces from these established collectors.

Value is in the eye of the beholder...

For any collectible nowadays there seems to be the demand for a price guide.  The first question many ask about an old license plate is "What is it worth?".  The problem is, there is no established market for license plates.  It is not as mainstream as coins and stamps for example, which have their own well-known catalogues.  For the more esoteric collectibles, there are far fewer transactions to go by, and most of which, particularly those for the rarer items, are usually confidential between the buyer and seller. 

While we feel there is not enough actual data to write a reliable price guide, one reputable collector¹ has made this effort.  They have tried to record market data and have published a price guide on North American (US and Canada) license plates.  If you are interested in finding out the market value of any given item, you may consult this reference, but it should be emphasized that it is just a guide. 

Another approach would be to use a popular on-line auction such as eBay.com.  There you can search for the items of interest, and see how people are bidding (and therefore prepared to pay) for an item.  As with any hobby, you should collect for fun and enjoyment, not to make a quick buck or speculate.

Rarity: The numbers issued speak for themselves.

Instead of publishing a price guide we prefer to let the registration figures speak for themselves.  You may think of them as a "mintage" (a term popular with coin collectors indicating how many of a particular issue was made).  We list the registration figures for the two most popular classes with collectors and automotive historians: passenger car and motorcycle.  On a province by province basis, this gives a good first-hand account on the relative rarity of issues.  In the accompanying notes on availability, we note when license plates were issued as pairs, or as singles.

Go for quality, not rust!

Condition affect the collectibility of a particular license plate.  This is important to consider, as few will want to display a "rust bucket" in their collection unless it is a very rare item.  So we present here a guide for grading license plates, be they porcelain, tin, or the newer graphics.  Many provinces have what we call "tough paint years".  These refer to the case when the plates manufactured were of inferior quality, making nice examples hard to find today.  This can also be attributed to the climate.  These issues are addressed on a province by province basis in the availability guide.

Of those issued, how many survived to this day?

The other aspect affecting collectibility is the survival rate.  This basically means how many specimens have survived in collectible condition to this day.  Obviously you would expect it to be lower for the earlier issues than the more recent ones because there were fewer collectors saving them back then.  Coupled with the obvious lower registration figures, this presents a "double whammy" to the collector trying to find the first few years to complete his provincial run.  Occasionally a box of early plates, all of the same year will turn up, making them more available than you would otherwise think.

The survival rate is affected by:

• The material the plates were made of.  Porcelain holds up better over time than any tin, but finding pristine examples free of unsightly chips is next to impossible.  The flat tin plates of the teens are probably the worst as they had a tnedency to rust away to nothing legible.  Fiberboard for obvious reasons, did not hold up well over time.
• The climate.  Salty air, or a humid climate takes its toll a lot faster on most plates, than a relatively dry climate.  Strong sunlight can also cause the paint to fade and crack.

Sure it's rare, but does anybody want it?

A third and final aspect affecting collectibility is popularity.  Most collectors prefer the passenger plates over anything else.  Truck and trailer plates are generally less popular.  Motorcycle plates are very popular because of the number of motorcycle enthusiasts today and also because of their obvious rarity.  Other popular themes are political, samples, amateur radio and others covered in this book.

Pairs vs. singles

Is a pair of license plates more desirable than the two single plates separately?  This is a hard question to answer.  To many car buffs who restore antique cars, having a pair to display on their fond possession is much more valuable than a single but to a collector generally a pair only means having a extra one to trade.  Whether you want to keep a pair together or trade one off to get an another plate of comparable value for your collection is a matter of personal taste. Of course pairs do not exist for certain years, especially those years after the war when metal was scarce. Consult the availability guide to learn which years were issued as singles by each province.

Cherished numbers

Does a special serial number on the plate make it more desirable?  That is a good question.  In many cases the lowest numbers for any particular year are issued to government officials so that enhances their value.  Generally any number under 1000 is a good one, or for the more populous provinces such as Ontario and Quebec, any 4-digit number is good.  Lower numbers in the earlier years before the size standardization in 1957 often result in shorter plates ("shorties") and these desirable.  Also keep in mind that some jurisdictions started their numbering at 1001 or even 10-001, making "low" numbers impossible.  Repeating digits such as "333-333" or round numbers like "50-000" are usually more desirable when there aren't any prefix or suffix letters, for example "111-11A" or "E-4000".

To restore or not to restore? That is the question.