License plate collecting with the Wizard

Quote: Evenbob

He sold one for $35 and now wants 10K?

Even Bitcoin doesn't go up that fast.

Here is a nice bit of history available for sale -- 1941 Georgia license plate *** President Franklin Roosevelt's plate.

Quote: Wizard

Here is a nice bit of history available for sale -- 1941 Georgia license plate *** President Franklin Roosevelt's plate.

This is a collectible that will only go up
in value. It has rock solid provenance.
I would pay at least $4500 for it if I
were you. In 10 years it could be worth
double what it sells for now.

Quote: Evenbob

This is a collectible that will only go up
in value. It has rock solid provenance.
I would pay at least $4500 for it if I
were you. In 10 years it could be worth
double what it sells for now.

One thing that holds me back is there is no provenance. It would be nice if there were photos or documents it was on FDR's car. I'm not accusing the seller of lying but if I buy it people will ask me questions of proof and saying I got it off Ebay won't be very convincing.

This video doesn't show the license plate in question.

Quote: Wizard

One thing that holds me back is there is no provenance.

He has the story with names and dates,
that's not provenance? The names
can't be verified?

Robert Hogg was the director of the place and received the plate. (From the eBay ad). He would have had money, which should mean a will. This was a significant bequest. The will would have gone through probate, which should mean public record.

With the will indicating the plate was in his possession, and presumably a bill of sale from the son to the seller, that would be pretty solid provenance.

There should also be state registration records somewhere, associating that plate with FDR. No idea how one might get a hold of that, but there must be archives, perhaps on microfiche. In some way, it must be public-owned information. I would guess as a serious collector, you know much more about going this route for provenance.

1941 was probably the most significant year of FDRS presidency, because of Pearl Harbor. For all the things that happened under him in the 30s, and during the war, the most closely associated with a date is the Day of Infamy speech, and the fateful decision he and Congress made that day. There's also an ever-growing awe in what he accomplished as a disabled person, and this is highly symbolic of that.

There's only one. I'd go for it, too. EB is right that it will never be worth less. If future people collect license plates at all, that will always be top 1% merchandise.

Quote: beachbumbabs

There's only one. I'd go for it, too. EB is right that it will never be worth less. If future people collect license plates at all, that will always be top 1% merchandise.

This would be the centerpiece of
any plate collection. The due diligence
to verify it would be worth the effort.
I would even go to $6K just because
of the back story. Heck, now I'm
thinking of bidding on it myself because
this is not just valuable in one area,
but several.

So, I did some googling. Found this article:

https://www.allpar.com/history/mopar/phaeton.html

About the car in the video. That car was sold in 1938, and Roosevelt got a 38 Phaeton instead, which he had until his death. It's the one still on display in Warm Springs, and has FDR-1 on the plate. A 1945 plate.

There's also a Willys on display, made for FDR, but no angles show a plate or even where it would attach. There's a plaque says the car was too small for FDR so his servants drove it.

The article also says GA Gov. Talmadge ordered his vanity plates must include the letter R, which that one does, but doesn't list the numbers.

Quote: beachbumbabs

The article also says GA Gov. Talmadge ordered his vanity plates must include the letter R, which that one does, but doesn't list the numbers.

"Roosevelt’s PA phaeton was probably one of the first cars to carry a personalized license plate. Gov. Eugene Talmadge of Georgia issued an order that the President be issued license plates bearing the letter “R.”

I read this to mean the plate had just
a big letter "R" in the middle, which
was not uncommon in an early personalized
plate. No numbers, just the R. The plate
that's up for sale is from a later year
and there could have been several personalized
plates over the years. They were dated and
had to be bought new every year, not like
now when a plate lasts the life of the car.

"There is his ribbon from Harvard's football game against Yale in 1903. There is his 1938 Ford Phaeton, complete with white-wall tires and Georgia license plates ''FDR-1.''

Why does the 41 plate say US1 on it, this
seems out of character for what FDR liked.
His early GA plates just had the letter R. In the
30's his NY plate just had the number
"3" on it. 1 and 2 were the Gov and Lt Gov,
3 was the president.

So what's with all the numbers and letters
on the 41 plate.