Ron J
Active member
Treasure Hunting, and Treasures, can mean many different things, to different people. We all have FAMILY TREASURE's, wife? Husband, boyfriend, girlfriend,
:, children, Grandchildren, Mom's,Dad's ,Aunts/Uncles etc. Very Important we never loose focus on these treasures. None of them can be replaced, well except wive's or girlfreinds anyway!: Another "TREASURE" is personal hobbies,collecting different things, etc. The REAL "TREASURE" is the HUNT itself,chasing leads,locating the the treasure,whatever it my be. Then the haggling to own,whatever it is your chasing! The best is yet to come...SHOWING OFF your TREASURE! Right or Wrong? Now we all know the TWO different TREASURES don't mix. FAMILY FIRST! After FAMILY,go for it! Of course you need a job, or a rich wife/girlfriend to pay for this madness,we have! Before MetalDetecting became part of my life,it was MuscleCars of the Sixties,primarily GTO's,But nothing like a Monte Carlo,Gran Sport,or 442 in the mix! Prior to MuscleCars,it was Auto License Plates! (i have mentioned this in the past) It started when i was 16. Visited an ol timers barn,to eyeball a Model T. On the wall was a license plate from EVERY STATE! Woww Baby! That got me started,not big time,but i was on the prowl! Over the next few yrs,events happened,marriage,(defunct after 10 yrs)two wonderful daughters,etc. Back then,early 70's started collecting with an impossible goal,of getting every year of every state! Sure! Acquired hundreds of plates,but took awhile to realize i was an idiot! So i weeded out the crap,and decided to collect the FIRST YEAR of the 50 States,and any porcelain license plates that was produced.Again it took a few years,this was about 80 percent obtainable,overtime. I knew there were a few states,i could NEVER get. Such as ALASKA for one! Even today, there is less than a handful known.I only saw a photo of one,back then.A good friend,and collector,had the photo.The plate belonged to an Alaska pipeline worker,still in Alaska.My buddy was trying to purchase it,never did. This was a 1921 Alaska.Actually called a Pre-state,cause Alaska,as we now,did not become a State till the sixties, but it was the first year,Alaska issued automobile plates,so it was needed! Anyway, i did build up a very large/very expensive license plate collection. Went as far i could go,and finally sold them. That's when the Musclecar Bug hit me.My licenseplate buddys still raz me,about when i was asked back then,(mid-eighties)"Why are you selling?" My was reply was "Cause i can't Drive Them!" In looking thru an album,i have,i had hoped to at least get a picture of Each First Year,and ALL Porcelain License Plates,from EVERY STATE! I will be posting photo's by state in the coming days. I don't have all the states,as i wished,but have enough. I won't publish what i think any values are,cause i would be taking an educated guess. Plates are like coins,Condition,Scarcity,Lowest number of digits,occasionally the highest number of digits. Southern and Western states are the toughest.New England is common in most cases.I can tell you this,if you owned all the plates i will show,and sold them,you could retire,very easily. Most came from an ex N.H.State Rep,Stan H. or Mike, from MA. or myself. Like i mentioned earlier,the HUNT was the best part of collecting.I Met many friends,i still have today.We traveled to many states,for National Meets,dedicated to license plates.There is a National Meet held every June,in a different state every year.They were usually 3 day meets! I attended meets as far back as 1974,in ENID Oklahoma! Attended meets in Michigan,at the University of Michigan,also Tennesee,Kentucky,New York and others.Had a great time at each one,and will never forget them. Some of these trips turned into adventures in themselves. Ever blow a waterpump on the Trans Canadian Highway,and your from Massachusetts? Ya it was still exciting every moment of hunt![attachment 46619 ScannedImage-122.jpg] Early part of my collection in 1980 or so. I hung them all up,for a group photo. The hair/stache were alot darker! All pictured would be between 1903 to 1918! Just want to mention,New York was the FIRST STATE to issue a number for your horseless carriage! Too many accidents in NYC. Massachsuetts,was the FIRST STATE to issue LICENSE PLATES,EVER,in 1903! They started with NUMBER 1 and continued until 1907. In 1908,Mass. started issuing plates yearly,letting owners keep the same number.In 1916,Mass issued plates hitting SIX DIGITS! I will post pictures of 2 or three states at a time,maybe more,i'll see how it goes. If it gets sickening,let me know,i'll stop! Okay? Sorry,no Canadian,never collected the provinces,but they had them,back then also.
:, children, Grandchildren, Mom's,Dad's ,Aunts/Uncles etc. Very Important we never loose focus on these treasures. None of them can be replaced, well except wive's or girlfreinds anyway!: Another "TREASURE" is personal hobbies,collecting different things, etc. The REAL "TREASURE" is the HUNT itself,chasing leads,locating the the treasure,whatever it my be. Then the haggling to own,whatever it is your chasing! The best is yet to come...SHOWING OFF your TREASURE! Right or Wrong? Now we all know the TWO different TREASURES don't mix. FAMILY FIRST! After FAMILY,go for it! Of course you need a job, or a rich wife/girlfriend to pay for this madness,we have! Before MetalDetecting became part of my life,it was MuscleCars of the Sixties,primarily GTO's,But nothing like a Monte Carlo,Gran Sport,or 442 in the mix! Prior to MuscleCars,it was Auto License Plates! (i have mentioned this in the past) It started when i was 16. Visited an ol timers barn,to eyeball a Model T. On the wall was a license plate from EVERY STATE! Woww Baby! That got me started,not big time,but i was on the prowl! Over the next few yrs,events happened,marriage,(defunct after 10 yrs)two wonderful daughters,etc. Back then,early 70's started collecting with an impossible goal,of getting every year of every state! Sure! Acquired hundreds of plates,but took awhile to realize i was an idiot! So i weeded out the crap,and decided to collect the FIRST YEAR of the 50 States,and any porcelain license plates that was produced.Again it took a few years,this was about 80 percent obtainable,overtime. I knew there were a few states,i could NEVER get. Such as ALASKA for one! Even today, there is less than a handful known.I only saw a photo of one,back then.A good friend,and collector,had the photo.The plate belonged to an Alaska pipeline worker,still in Alaska.My buddy was trying to purchase it,never did. This was a 1921 Alaska.Actually called a Pre-state,cause Alaska,as we now,did not become a State till the sixties, but it was the first year,Alaska issued automobile plates,so it was needed! Anyway, i did build up a very large/very expensive license plate collection. Went as far i could go,and finally sold them. That's when the Musclecar Bug hit me.My licenseplate buddys still raz me,about when i was asked back then,(mid-eighties)"Why are you selling?" My was reply was "Cause i can't Drive Them!" In looking thru an album,i have,i had hoped to at least get a picture of Each First Year,and ALL Porcelain License Plates,from EVERY STATE! I will be posting photo's by state in the coming days. I don't have all the states,as i wished,but have enough. I won't publish what i think any values are,cause i would be taking an educated guess. Plates are like coins,Condition,Scarcity,Lowest number of digits,occasionally the highest number of digits. Southern and Western states are the toughest.New England is common in most cases.I can tell you this,if you owned all the plates i will show,and sold them,you could retire,very easily. Most came from an ex N.H.State Rep,Stan H. or Mike, from MA. or myself. Like i mentioned earlier,the HUNT was the best part of collecting.I Met many friends,i still have today.We traveled to many states,for National Meets,dedicated to license plates.There is a National Meet held every June,in a different state every year.They were usually 3 day meets! I attended meets as far back as 1974,in ENID Oklahoma! Attended meets in Michigan,at the University of Michigan,also Tennesee,Kentucky,New York and others.Had a great time at each one,and will never forget them. Some of these trips turned into adventures in themselves. Ever blow a waterpump on the Trans Canadian Highway,and your from Massachusetts? Ya it was still exciting every moment of hunt![attachment 46619 ScannedImage-122.jpg] Early part of my collection in 1980 or so. I hung them all up,for a group photo. The hair/stache were alot darker! All pictured would be between 1903 to 1918! Just want to mention,New York was the FIRST STATE to issue a number for your horseless carriage! Too many accidents in NYC. Massachsuetts,was the FIRST STATE to issue LICENSE PLATES,EVER,in 1903! They started with NUMBER 1 and continued until 1907. In 1908,Mass. started issuing plates yearly,letting owners keep the same number.In 1916,Mass issued plates hitting SIX DIGITS! I will post pictures of 2 or three states at a time,maybe more,i'll see how it goes. If it gets sickening,let me know,i'll stop! Okay? Sorry,no Canadian,never collected the provinces,but they had them,back then also.