Q:  I have an old Alabama plate.  What's it worth?

A:  In all honesty, a plate (or anything else in the world, for that matter) is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.  There is no set value for any given plate, no matter how common or rare.  Recently on eBay, a plate that would normally bring $50 to $75 sold for $150 because there happened to be 2 guys that wanted the plate at that given moment.  It is entirely possible that the seller could have run the same plate one week later and gotten $50.  It all boils down to who is looking to buy at any given moment.  Granted, some of the earlier Alabama plates always command a premium when offered for sale, your plate is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.  No more, no less.

Q:  I have an old Alabama license plate but there isn't any date on it.  What year is is?

A:  If you will take a minute and look at the "Colors By Year" page, you will find a chart that tells what colors were used on which years.  There were only 5 years that were undated (1912 through 1916) so it should be pretty easy to determine what year plate you have.

Q:  My grandparent recently passed away and I found several old Alabama license plates in his/her garage.  Are you interested in buying them?

A:  I'm almost always looking to add a plate or two to my collection.  If you'll take a minute to email me and tell me what you have, I'd appreciate it.  If it isn't something I need, the chances are good that I'll know someone who might be interested.

Q:  After looking through your site, I've decided that it would be neat to have a plate from the year that I was born.  How do I go about getting one?

A:  First check my "Plates For Sale" page.  If you don't see what you want there, shoot me an email and I'll see what I can do.  It shouldn't bee too hard to find what you want unless you need a particular county or were born before World War II.  You might also want to check out my "Helpful Links" page for links to some other folks that sell plates online.

Q:  I saw a bunch of old Alabama license plates at a flea market this weekend.  Should I have bought them?

A:  There's almost no way to answer that question because the values vary a great deal depending on scarcity and condition.  Something to keep in mind is the fact that just because a plate is old, it doesn't automatically make it worth a fortune.  For example, many years ago a large number of 1930 and 1931 plates were discovered.  Most of them were in very bad shape too, so they aren't worth all that much.  Although 1930 and 1931 plates in mint condition still bring good money, rough ones are fairly plentiful and I wouldn't want to have a bunch of money tied up in them.  Having said that, please be sure to read the next question.....

Q:  I saw an old Alabama plate for sale the other day but it was so rough I didn't buy it.  Did I mess up?

A:  Maybe and maybe not.  Even the roughest plates can be restored, but sometimes it just isn't financially feasible to have one done.  The average cost of a professional restoration runs from $35 to $55 (more for the really rough ones) so it doesn't make sense to sink that kind of money into a $10 1962 plate.  However, some of the early plates are scarce enough that you can justify the cost.  Click here to see some "before" and "after" pictures that will give you a good idea of what can be done with a little effort.