Anybody use old license plates for garage or shop decor?

You could try antique stores but I bet they'd be expensive that way. I know one that had a bunch of black and yellow CA car plates in the basement, don't remember if I saw a price

for a wall , instead of hanging each individual plate(by the original holes) you could use twine, or string (even zip ties) and tie them together, through the original holes, 1 or 2 tacks or nails at the top to hold a "string" of 10-15 plates. (doing this makes it much easier if you ever have to move) Though I do really like the "Plate Map", that thing is just bad ass !
Ashtrays are also commonly made from license plates, I've seen bird houses (lic plate roof) aswell.

I've unintentionally started a collection, I only have a couple plates. When my wife needed to get plates we kept her Saskatchewan plates, then when we sold her car we had her vanity front plate left over and now the front plate for the Xterra. Patience has finally paid off, took me a couple months but I finally sold the bastard and got what I asked for it.


Sent from the mouse house.

Ebay. A buck a piece or less usually. Some are more valuable but if you're just using it for decoration get the cheapest ones you can find.

Originally Posted by starwolf

for a wall , instead of hanging each individual plate(by the original holes) you could use twine, or string (even zip ties) and tie them together, through the original holes, 1 or 2 tacks or nails at the top to hold a "string" of 10-15 plates. (doing this makes it much easier if you ever have to move) Though I do really like the "Plate Map", that thing is just bad ass !
Ashtrays are also commonly made from license plates, I've seen bird houses (lic plate roof) aswell.

my son has car plates mounted in his room like that with the zip ties works great

Originally Posted by Carman34L

Flea Markets, and Garage sales are always a good source. I have a bunch.

never thought about flea markets, guess i need to find out where they are close to me, thanks for the heads up

Here's a portion of the plates. The top row is one long band. Rusty ones have been in the family probably since they were issued. Mainly 20's/30's. Oldest is 1916.

Since we're on the topic of lic plates, I am looking for a specific plate :
1969 OKLAHOMA MC plate in fair to good condition.

That Montana license plate is for a truck from Beaverhead County. Sweet. I've had mainly 4s and 56s.

Didn't even notice the 13 below it from Ravalli County.