Home / Bumper Bytes / Bumper Bytes

Bumper Bytes

February 19, 2024

Tin Treasure – 2,500 Passenger, Motorcycle, and Specialty Plates
OK, so not every plate procurement opportunity involves just two or three plates…much to the dismay of the Plate Princess, a recent buy makes that point!…we were contacted by a young man who had inherited his father’s incredible collection of 2,500 passenger, motorcycle, and specialty plates…as the collection was in the basement (where else!) of his […] read more
December 18, 2023

1944 VW type 82 or kubelwagen
Take a look at Joey Christenson’s amazing classic!…it is a fiberglass replica of a 1944 VW type 82 or kubelwagen….it was built by Intermeccanica out of Canada in 2000…they are also well known for their Porsche speedster replicas…Joey advises it has only 2200 kilometers on it and uses a 67 Beetle chassis and drivetrain….he wanted an […] read more
December 14, 2023

A License Plate Sleigh Ride
On a recent New England license plate shopping sleigh ride, we found some very nice plates in Waldoboro, Maine and Stratton, Vermont…it was 14 degrees during our Maine hunt, warming up to 35 degrees in Vermont…so we stopped on Sunday morning to make a contribution into the church’s collection ‘plate’!…Santa’s ‘making a list’!! read more
October 23, 2023

Wilbur Awarded Best in Show – Trucks
At the Lake Mirror Classic Concours & Car Show held today in Lakeland, FL, ‘Wilbur’ was awarded Best in Show – Trucks!!…as many of you know, he is the show vehicle of Great American Plates, with many of the attendees commenting on his 1931 Florida for Health front license plate!…in place of the Plate Princess’s […] read more
October 16, 2023

License Plate Collection with Real ‘Local Color’
Over the years we’ve been fortunate to have had a number of very nice collections of license plates offered to us…and recently a collection with real ‘local color’ was made available to GAP…the Johnston brothers, Philip and Henry, now living in Thomaston, GA contacted us to review about 50 plates that had hung in a […] read more
July 11, 2023

Hawaii License Plate Wins 2023 ALPCA Plate of the Year!
This is the first time for Hawaii to win this award. The Plate was originally proposed in 2020 to be limited to Electric Vehicles since members of the PVS were also concerned about the environment, but that limitation was quickly dropped as the demand for the plate was great among all motorists, which also generated […] read more
July 6, 2023

2023 Automobile License Plate Collectors’ International Convention (ALPCA)
After an 1,850 mile drive across our beautiful country just before the Fourth of July Weekend, the Plate Princess and I arrived in Denver, Colorado for the 2023 Automobile License Plate Collectors’ International Convention…another 450 or so collectors joined us for an enjoyable four day meet…lots of plates to buy, sell, or trade, and plenty of […] read more

Pink Passion – 1958 T-Bird and License Plate
…late last year Roger Furman found a 1958 Illinois plate on the Great American Plates website and bought it to mount on his wife’s gorgeous 1958 T-Bird…instead, for the past six months or so, she had hung on display in their house!…she finally had Roger lovingly install it on her chariot!…you ‘da man, Roger!… read more
July 3, 2023

ALPCA Treasure! 1915 Ingram-Richardson Manufacturing Company Porcelain Plate
At the 2023 ALPCA license plate convention in Denver this year, our friend, Chris Fretta, found a real treasure…in the early 1900s,  license plates were made with steel bases covered with porcelain to assure their long life…one of the most well-known manufacturers was the Ingram-Richardson Manufacturing Company…as seen on the 1915 California plate’s backside, their company […] read more

EUREKA!…GOLD FROM ALASKA!
Patience is a virtue, but sometimes good luck plays a role as well…at the 2023 ALPCA convention in Denver this week, we were happy to meet up with Eric Tanner, the current Editor of PLATES magazine (yes, we have our own license plate collectors’ magazine!)…in previous issues, Eric had done a few articles mentioning the DC license […] read more
January 10, 2023

Cheers to Jack, The Village Pub & 150 Wisconsin License Plates
With a beautiful morning sunrise as my guide, east-bound to Vero Beach was a pleasant journey, for sure…particularly as a complete collection of 150 Wisconsin license plates awaited my arrival at the home of Jack Lucas, former owner and barkeep of the Village Pump in Solon Springs, Wisconsin…while we can’t attest to the cuisine at […] read more
July 19, 2022

ALPCA License Plate Collectors Convention – Hampton, VA
…we made it!!…what’s another 750 mile joy ride with the Plate Princess to wheel and deal more license plates?!…the annual ALPCA license plate collectors convention this year is in Hampton, VA…so we loaded up about 10,000 license plates in Lakeland Sunday morning and made it here in time for dinner last night!…I keep reminding her […] read more