License plate collecting with the Wizard

Quote: Wizard

Good point! In the picture with Harvey Keitel you can see the rear license plate with a yellow registration sticker. I suspect that the license plate in the auction is the front license plate for the car, which do not require the stickers. It also seems to me the license plate in the auction is rustier than the one in the picture.

This indeed depresses the value but I'm still interested.

Is it even a real 1994 CA plate?



I think you may be bidding on an artificially aged movie prop, not a real plate. I will go back to my position on repainted plates, namely if you like the appearance of the plate go for it.

I see to many red flags to authenticate it, Rick.

Quote: AZDuffman

Is it even a real 1994 CA plate?

It's a 74 Chevy and it's probably a 74
plate with a yellow 94 sticker on it.
This is a 74 plate:

Quote: Evenbob

It's a 74 Chevy and it's probably a 74
plate with a yellow 94 sticker on it.
This is a 74 plate:

Did CA really keep the same plates for 20 years? I don't live out west so don't know, but I am still saying movie prop.

EDIT: Conversation of same plate in 2011

Quote: Ayecarumba

Perhaps some provenance? Pulp Fiction Chevy Owner's Blog

Thanks! That looks like the one and same license plate as in the auction. Note how the bottom is bent upwards a bit.

Quote: Evenbob

It is awfully rusty for a 20 year old
Calif plate, it looks like NY plate
from the 50's.

I'd lay good odds that car was originally from back east and moved to California. My first car was a 1977 Plymouth Duster and had major rust issues. My mechanic said it definitely was not originally a California car.

Quote: Wizard

I'd lay good odds that car was originally from back east and moved to California.

But the Calif plate would have never
been back east so why would it be
rusty. That's a really rusty plate for
any state, let alone Calif.

Quote: AZDuffman

Is it even a real 1994 CA plate?

I think you may be bidding on an artificially aged movie prop, not a real plate. I will go back to my position on repainted plates, namely if you like the appearance of the plate go for it.

I see to many red flags to authenticate it, Rick.

In California the law is basically that as long as a car is on the road it can stick with its original license plate. So after a while it comes a status symbol to have an old one. That yellow on blue base was produced from 1969 to 1981. So, in 1994 you would have still seen quite a few on the road.

Whenever I watch a movie that was supposed to have taken place in the past in California I look carefully at the license plates. Usually I'm of the opinion that they were reproductions for the movie. However, in this case there would be no need to make a reproduction as there were plenty of originals floating around of that yellow on blue base. It also looks genuine to my eye. The fakes often don't get the colors and font exactly right. For some reason, they almost always make the lettering too skinny.

Quote: Evenbob

But the Calif plate would have never
been back east so why would it be
rusty. That's a really rusty plate for
any state, let alone Calif.

Why didn't I think of that? The owner may have bought the car in California, moved to Boston for a while, kept the California plates on the car, and then moved back. I don't know for sure but I have seen worse looking California plates that were not that old. At any license plate show you'll see boxes of free license plates full of such junky and worthless plates.

Quote: Wizard

Whenever I watch a movie that was supposed to have taken place in the past in California I look carefully at the license plates. Usually I'm of the opinion that they were reproductions for the movie. However, in this case there would be no need to make a reproduction as there were plenty of originals floating around of that yellow on blue base. It also looks genuine to my eye. The fakes often don't get the colors and font exactly right. For some reason, they almost always make the lettering too skinny.

You would think that the prison system would have a nice little niche in reproducing them correctly. Movie studios might be too cheap to use it however.

Thanks for the info on keeping plates, had no idea on that.

Quote: AZDuffman

Thanks for the info on keeping plates, had no idea on that.

It's a crime in NY, to the surprise of absolutely no one.

Quote: Wizard

Why didn't I think of that? .

There are places in Calif that have winter
and use salt on the roads. I looked it up
and 3000 miles of Calif roads use salt in
the winter. How come none of us thought
of that.