STATE LICENSE PLATE COLLECTION

Ever wake up in the middle of the night and can't go back to sleep?? Years ago while racking my brain during the night I said to myself, Wouldn't it be great to have a license plate from ever state in the USA to hang on my shop's wall?? I was receiving a car magazine that you could place a free add. I WILL TRADE A TENNESSEE LICENSE PLATE FOR YOUR STATE PLATE. Then the fun began as I started receiving some plates from different states and would in turn mail one from Tn. back too those who sent me theirs. The states I thought would be the most difficult to collect were attained right off the start. I found a Hawaii plate locally at a garage sale. Found a bunch of Tx. plates at a junk yard. One guy in Colorado wanted to trade 7 plates. It was always an adventure to go to my mailbox and find new license plates I didn't have. Within a year I had most of the states and finally down to that last remaining plate( Delaware) That one was so hard to add to my collection. I had almost given up on Delaware and one day there it was in my mailbox. Mission accomplished. The Delaware plate was the worst looking plate in my collection but I sure treasured that ugly plate. I have traded for some foreign plates, Australia, England, Germany, Canada, Nova Scotia, Yukon to name a few. I also have several older Tn. plates shaped like our state. Some of these are valuable to collectors. The most valuable Tn. plate is the 1915 , because it was the first year Tennesseans had to by law have a license plate on their cars and trucks. Not many were sold. A collector friend found a pair of 1915's and gave $7,000 for them and had them refurbished. He runs an add in those swap and shop papers all over Tn. A while back a black lady called him and ask, "Are you the fool who will pay $1,000 for a 1915 Tn. License plate??" He said yes I will!! " You had better get down here before you change your mind." He went to Memphis and got a great looking plate, almost in perfect condition. License plates are highly collectible and get this.... A man in California has every state license plate that has ever been issued!!!!