Photos Resized

UPDATE: All photos have been resized to be a maximum width of 1280px. This preserves the photo quality while allowing for more additions later.

Temporary XC-Series Passes 100000

XC-series temporary tags have passed the 6-digit mark. Latest sighting is XC100643 in Newark, DE.

Reid Completes His 1-100 Delaware Run!

My friend Reid Williamson has been doing what I do - for almost forty years! Throughout the years, he sought to photograph every place from 1 to 100 in Delaware. I met Reid in 2008, at which point he was missing two numbers - 75 & 82. I helped him find 82 in the spring of 2009 and I helped him find 75 today.

About a week ago, I was driving around Greenville, doing my usual route, while I noticed #80 pulled over near the curb. An elderly woman was getting out of the passenger seat, heading into a building on the strip. I noticed she was having some mobility trouble so I helped her a bit. Once I got her safely inside, I rushed back to the car to talk to the driver. I confirmed he owned 80 and 75 and got his phone number so I could set an appointment for me (and Reid) to go photograph it and talk with him. Unfortunately, Reid was in Maine at the time, with no service to be had, so I had to wait a few days before I could tell him the news!

Reid and Richard, his friend since grade school, traveled to Delaware today and, after some lunch, we headed right over to 75's house in Alapocas. It turns out that Reid spoke to Mr. 75 about 35 years ago and they remembered each other. What a pleasant surprise! It was a great moment for me and surely a great one for Reid. Good material for the book...

Photo Touch-Ups

Over the next few weeks, you can expect a few touch-ups to the actual photos:

1. Cropping/Straightening
2. New photos to replace older, lesser-quality photos
3. More uniform appearance

Stay tuned!

BIG Addition Coming to TheDelaware3000.org

BREAKING NEWS!

Over the next week, I will be working hard on a page that neatly but fully depicts and explains a photographic history of Delaware license plates. This is going to be a great resource! (And hopefully it will win me a 4-digit tag from the DMV!) :P

Stay tuned!

STILL No Tags.

WHAT IS GOING ON!? I have been back in Delaware since Saturday and I haven't gotten a picture of any low-digit tags yet! I did see PC749 as I was leaving Potstickers last night but, as luck would have it, I couldn't get a picture. Of course!

This weekend should be fruitful for tags - Stay tuned for that!

No Tags?!

My last picture was taken on Sunday, June 21. I left for Mike's place in Asury Park, NJ on Monday afternoon and left from there to go to the ALPCA convention in Erie on Wednesday morning. Long story short - I haven't taken a picture for a week! It's getting depressing!

I am heading down the beach for the 4th of July weekend - will definitely come back with a TON of tags. Stay tuned!

Here's a little tease...

10 Most Expensive License Plates

10. 1913 North Carolina ($10,000) - This tag was the first issued by the state. Like the 1906 Virginia plate, also the first in its state, it is made of delicate porcelain. Very few of these plates have lasted through the years, making them extremely desirable to collectors.



9. 1906 Virginia ($12,000) - The state's undated porcelain plate was first issued in 1906; the same design was used until 1911. The state's rugged early roads were notorious for chipping these fine porcelain plates, making surviving copies rare and all the more valuable.


8. 1913 Idaho ($13,000) - The 1913 plate was the first issued by Idaho. Back then, the state's registration fees were based on a vehicle's horsepower. Collectors note that the 1913 plate's dimensions are 15 1/4" by 6 1/4"--unusually large for an American plate.



7. 1905 Vermont ($15,000) - The 1905 Vermont plate doesn't display its year, but avid collectors know it well. The plate is one of the first made of porcelain; formerly, sign-makers created plates by baking enamel over steel. Connoisseurs admire the Vermont plate's deep cobalt blue background.



6. 1909 Delaware ($20,000) - This first plate from the First State was issued in 1909, made from porcelain and enamel. Delaware's governor recently unveiled a new optional plate to honor the centennial anniversary of the 1909 plate--perhaps the world's first license plate to honor another license plate.



5. 1906 West Virginia ($25,000) - This first-issue West Virginia license plate was made of a particularly thin cut of aluminum, which made it much less durable than most other early 20th century plates. This one still retains its beautiful blue color.



4. 1922 Hawaii ($30,000) - The territory of Hawaii issued its first plates in 1922, though some of the individual islands issued their own plates as early as 1915. Like Alaska, it was extremely difficult to transport cars to Hawaii, which helped to make these plates rare from the start. The 1922 plate gets extra points from collectors for its design, considered creative for its time.



3. 1912 Mississippi ($35,000) - 1912 was the first year Mississippi issued license plates, but there are more surviving copies of this plate than its newer, rarer cousin, the 1913 Mississippi plate. Because Mississippi was the nation's poorest state back then--as it is today--there were few cars on the roads, and thus, few license plates issued.



2. 1913 Mississippi ($50,000) - For many years, collectors did not know the 1913 Mississippi plate existed. But in 1985, Dr. Roy Klotz, Jr. of Pennsylvania discovered the plate after someone responded to a classified ad he'd placed in a Jackson, Miss., newspaper asking for old plates. Only two copies of the 1913 are known to exist.



1. 1921 Alaska ($60,000) - The 1921 Alaska is the most valuable vintage plate in the U.S. There are only four known to exist. The plate is the first issued by the territory of Alaska, decades before it attained statehood. Back then, transporting an automobile to Alaska was extremely difficult; once a car arrived, there were barely any roads to drive it on. The last sale of a 1921 Alaska plate occurred in 2000 in a Wendy's parking lot in Biddeford, Maine.


courtesy of Forbes.com

Tag 7!

Oh wow! Alright so I've been down Rehoboth since yesterday hangin' with the Stellas. Today, as I was coming home form a tag hunt, I turned onto Rt. 24 W. As I crossed over Plantations Rd., I saw that there was bumper-to-bumper traffic. I also noticed a Lincoln Towncar in the driveway on the left with tag 103 on the back.

I immediately pulled over to the shoulder and put my car in reverse. I wanted to get as close to the tag as possible. Because of the traffic, I had to wait a little bit to turn around but it was worth it. In the same driveway was an old Cadillac backed in. As I was walking up to the house (I wanted to give him one of my cards) I remembered that the guy who has 103 also has...


UGH! I cannot tell you how excited I was!!! What an accomplishment!!!

There are a few other good tags from the weekend but you'll have to wait until Monday to see them ;)

Delaware Tags Explained, Part 2

Market Values

Numeric tags are the most valuable of all tags no matter where you live. In New Castle County, it goes numeric, PC, and then C. In Kent and Sussex counties, it goes numeric, C, and then PC. Having said that, here's a little table of what your tag could be worth.

	5-Digit	4-Digit	3-Digit	2-Digit	1-Digit
Numeric	$300-$2k	$2k-$15k	$15k-$125k	$125k-$500k	$500k+
PC	-	$500-$1,500	$4k-$20k	$35k-$75k	$75k+
C	-	$750-$2,500k	$5k-$12k	$40k-$65k	$65k+

This is great and good, but you may be asking yourself "Well what about all the other kinds of tags?". I have developed a 4-tiered system to answer all of your questions. Tier 1 is where most of the money is and Tier 4 are ordinary specialty license plates. Take a look...

Tier 1 - Numeric, PC, C

Tier 2 - D (Dealer), MC (Motorcycle), Moped

Tier 3 - UD (University of Delaware), DU (Ducks Unlimited)

Tier 4 - AKA (Alpha Kappa Alpha), AL (American Legion), APA (Alpha Phi Alpha), CA (Caravel Academy), CC (Southern DE Street Rod Association), CHS (Conrad High School), CP (Retired New Castle County Police), CU (Credit Union), DAR (Delaware Association of Realtors), DAV (Disabled American Veterans), DMS (DE Mobile Surf Fishermen), DSO (DE Senior Olympics), DST (Delta Sigma Theta), DSU (DE State University), DV (DE Veterans), Ex-POW, ELK (Elks Lodge), FB (Farm Bureau), FHS (Felton HS), FOP (Fraternal Order of Police), G (Groove Phi Groove), GBC (Goldey Beacom College), HHS (Harrington HS), JHU (John's Hopkins University), K (Kappa Alpha Psi), KC (Knights of Columbus), KP (King's Point), KWV (Korean War Veteran), LA (Ladies Auxiliary), LC (Lion's Club), LE (DE Correctional Officer), LM (Loyal Order of Moose), MCL (Marine Corps League), MM (Masonic Mason), ND (Notre Dame), NG (National Guard), NHS (Newark HS), NIA (Nanticoke Indian Association), NRA (National Rifle Association), NUR (Nur Shrine), OES (Order of the Eastern Star), OSU (Ohio State University), P (Perdue University), PBS (Phi Beta Sigma), PH (Purple Heart), PHA (Prince Hall Affiliated), PHS (Pearl Harbor Survivor), PS (Penn State), QUE (Omega Psi Phi), RF (Reserve Forces), RM (Retired Military), SA (Salesianum Alumni), SJ (St. Joe's University), SOA (Standard Breeder's Association), SP (Retired State Police), TP (Telephone Pioneers), TU (Temple University), UAW (United Auto Workers), UM (University of Michigan), UP (University of Pennsylvania), V (Military Medal Winner), VF (Volunteer Fireman), VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars), VT (Virginia Tech), VU (Villanova University), VV (Vietnam Veteran), W (Wesley College), WFD (Wilmington Fire Dept.), WPD (Wilmington Police Dept.), Ham Radio Call Signs (e.g. A2R9B)

(Thanks to the DE DMV for this.)

In terms of what I collect, I collect 1-1000 of any of the Tier 1 plates and the #1 of any of the Tier 2-4 plates. I know it sounds like I'm picky - that's because I am!

Having said THAT, there is another layer to all of this - what kind of tag you have. Let me give you an example. If you have PC100 and you have the original stainless tag from the 1950s, you can bet it will sell for more than if you just had the new blue & gold tag. Same thing goes with porcelain (i.e. black & white) tags.

Please email me with any and all questions - I will be happy to talk with you!

Email: jordan.irazabal@gmail.com
AIM: j0rdaniraz (that's a zero after the 'j')

I Love Networking

So yesterday (Friday 5/8) I took my car up to Paul's to get checked out and get the oil changed. He told me I needed front brakes, which I knew. HE did an oil change for me and that was that.

While I was sitting there, waiting for the oil change, Paul was talking to these two guys - a father-and-son-looking duo. Turned out to actually be father and son. Long story short, the father, Andy, had seen my website - he got it from John Atkins. We talked for a while and exchanged information. He knows the guy who has #8 and told me he would call him and arrange for me to meet him! That's pretty exciting!

His wife pulled up a few minutes later with C32 on the back so I got to get that!

PC607

Was coming home from the parents house and spotted PC607 coming over the Canal Bridge. I know it's not the greatest picture but it was through my windshield while it was raining.

The Quest for Updated Pictures

It's about time to start updating pictures. This is quite a daunting task - I estimate that over half of my current pictures should be replaced (due to poor quality, blurry, too far away, etc.). At this point you're probably thinking to yourself "How the heck is he going to remember which ones need to be replaced and which ones don't?". Well my method is simple - unless I'm 100% sure that the picture I have of that particular tag is fine, I'll simply retake it. i ordered a really good camera with 10X optical zoom so that should help.

Trip to the DMV

Yesterday I went to the Wilmington DMV to renew my tags for two years. When I got to the second checkpoint, I was talking with the guy there and asked him if any good tags ever came by. He showed me the computer system they have - you just type the license plate number in and it shows you all the information you could ever want. I really need to get that software haha. He plugged #10 in there and then #16 - coincidentally I know both of the owners - and they're related! What are the chances?

ALPCA, C93

As of last night, I am an official member of ALPCA! I should be getting all my literature in the mail soon...

Saw this as I was leaving the DMV today.

Little Update

Hey All,

Now that I have 5 seconds of free time, I'd like to provide you with some small updates.

> The website is up! I am still working on some cool features but the main parts are fully functional.

> I am in the process of joining ALPCA - the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association. My friend Reid turned me on to it so I figured I would give it a try. The meets are usually far away but they should definitely be fun!

> I ordered my beach/lighthouse tag and will be ordering my centennial tag soon. I am actually going to get two centennial tags and keep one sealed for sale at a [much] later date.

> I have been pretty avid on eBay, looking for good Delaware tags. I have decided to be more focused on DE tags; in particular, DE tags that are rare and/or special.

That's all I can remember now. More to come later!

ji

Twitter

TD3K is now on Twitter!  Look to your right - follow us @ thedelaware3000.

Huge Announcement

The website is up!

Please take a few moments to check it out.

www.thedelaware3000.org

HUGE UPDATE!

There have been quite a few good sightings in the past month. Here are the most notable ones:

Little Update

Yesterday I ate lunch with Jean at Cafe Scalessa's on Greenhill Ave. I highly recommend it to anyone that likes authentic Italian food! I had homemade ricotta gnocchi with homemade butter cake. I didn't even know that you could make gnocchi out of ricotta! Ya learn something new everyday! After lunch I took a stroll through Paul's place and saw this tag right outside the shop:

After that I headed up to Greenville and saw this:

I love that blue tag! I am pretty much over black tags. In fact, I put the blue tag on my car; my black tag is hanging on the wall:



And for those of you who want to see my current license plate collection here ya go:

RI - 1942 --- SC Legislator - 1986 --- VT - 1929
PA - 1940 --- DE - 1964? --- PA - 1919

Pennsylvania tags in descending
order of issue from current to ~1970

My Delaware tag collection. Top-right plate is a rare
prototype tag made by 3M as part of a test by DE DMV.
Only a few were issued.

Tags in Dover

Today I took a random trip to Dover and saw some pretty awesome tags. Here are the pics:

FT1 = Farm Truck 1 = the same family that has tag 5 and tag 16

Not a bad day for sightings! The gold tags were all out today - I guess because everyone is back in session. So yeah - pretty chill.

Tag 5!!!

Tom and I went for a mid-winter trip to Rehoboth on Thursday 1/15 and we ran into tag number 5 on Rehoboth Ave. UGH! What a milestone for us! Here's another picture...


We also saw a few others, such as 178, PC25, D12, and PC411. We also saw FT89 in Smyrna but we all know I don't use farm truck tags...

So I got home, Tom left, and I got a text from a friend at Hope, who sent me a picture of PC68! Ugh! But that's not the best part. I logged onto Facebook and posted the picture of 5 on my group and my friend Ryan replied back and told me he had a picture of C3 hahahaha UGH!

Tom said it best - quality, not quantity! Our tag number average for the day is 105.67. The typical average is usually above 250. Ugh. I love. My life. :D