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July 28, 2014

Rochester or Bust! 2014 License Plate Convention
For four days in July, the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association meets for its international convention…held this year in Rochester, NY, the event drew over 350 collectors and their plates!…Great American Plates was there with its 5,000 plates, hoping to sell more than it bought…NOT!!…it was a very educational and enjoyable get-together, as always…the Plate […] read more
July 7, 2014

The Plate Prince Strikes Again!
…as reported in an earlier post, Charles DeFanti has developed the much-appreciated gesture of awarding antique license plates to his close friends, colleagues, and in this case, a former student!…Adele Kenny, born in NJ in 1948 (sorry Adele, your secret is now out!), she was his student and is now a renowned poet as well […] read more
June 27, 2014

How Much Is That (License) Plate In The Window?!
While on vacation in Key West, one of Gap’s Plate Conchs came across a small junk shop with a Cuban license plate in the window.  The store was off the beaten path of Duval Street and open on during limited hours, so our man sprang into action.  Utilizing his iPhone, he snapped a photo of […] read more
June 15, 2014

A Sign From The Plate Gods
My wife, the GAP Plate Princess, and I were walking to our car in the Tampa Airport parking lot after returning from a huge license plate auction in NH and she spotted this plate on a beautiful red Corvette…I, of course, told her it was a sign from the gods that we had done the right […] read more
June 9, 2014

A Token of Affection
One of our good friends, noted author, and semi-serious license plate collector, Charles DeFanti, often presents his associates and colleagues with antique license plates to express his affection for them…birth years, anniversaries, or other event dates are reflected by the State and year of the tag….one such recent recipient of the DeFanti License Plate Award […] read more
June 5, 2014

A man, his plates, and his dog!
…while admiring the spoils of the Hamel Estate Auction in Epsom, NH, and being guarded by our faithful Plate Puppy, Josephine, kudos are extended to George Foster and his professional auction team for an extremely well-run event…3,700 plates in 250 lots sold in just over two hours!!…my wife kept his card for future reference…hmmm?! read more
October 23, 2013

A Passion for Plates
Recently Charles DeFanti, Professor Emeritus at Kean University who lives in Manhattan, purchased his first plate from us….we soon learned that he and his wife, Leni, share a passion for plates…well, maybe not a 50/50 emotion!….his office is tastefully? decorated with all types of plates and signs, including oval country markers from defunct countries like […] read more
August 30, 2013

Antique Fire Trucks
John Eiffert’s dad was a career fireman in St Louis, and John has always had a penchant for related memorabilia…hats, badges, and now….his own Fire Truck!!…John and his wife have a lake home in Grand Beach, Michigan and John regularly drives his truck in all of the local parades, along with lots of kids as […] read more
August 5, 2013

1931 Model A Ford Deluxe Roadster
Recently William Ryboldt of Cheboygan, MI was anxioulsy looking for a license plate for his 1931 Model A Ford Deluxe Roadster…he spotted one on our website and within a few days another GAP treasure had a new ride…what a gorgeous classic automobile, William!! read more
August 1, 2013

Great Wall of Texas
Debra Blackmon’s creativity as a sculptural artist brought a tear to our eye as she assembled the ‘Great Wall of Texas’ with a little help from GAP! Against a backdrop of all-Texas plates, which represents her family’s home base, Debra has mounted a family tree of plates representing each of its members…and upon its completion, Debra installed the […] read more
July 29, 2013

Glitch Leads to Interesting Discovery
Following up on a GAP website order entry glitch, Drinda Bell of Portland, Oregon contacted us by telephone to straighten out his order for a 1948 Oregon license plate… within a few moments, Drinda had gushed forth with a mother’s pride of her son, Avery, and his incredible work on “vehicle taxidermy”… seems Avery has […] read more
July 26, 2013

Japanese Plate Sale Leads to a Funny Sign Translation
During our recent trip to Reno, Nevada GAP met David B. Cole, a Russian/Bulgarian plate collector from Portland, Oregon.  We were able to sell David a Japanese plate and sign, which we had purchased from Chris Hutchings, a woman who is also from Portland who found these plates (owned by her former husband) while moving.  […] read more