Collectors have developed many systems for organizing, storing and protecting their license plate collections. There are no right or wrong ways to do it. Each of us figures out what works for us. We’d like to share what we do. It might give others some ideas.
Storage with Shelves
One way we keep our license plates is on metal shelves. Our shelves are sized so that we can place our plates standing up lengthwise on the shelf, almost like a filing system. We adjust the shelves to fit the height of the plates. This allows us to store a larger volume of license plates using our available space efficiently. Also, the metal shelves can take the weight. We organize them by state and by year to easily find what we need. We simply flip through the shelf to get to the plate we are looking for.
Storage with Bins
The second way we store them is in bins. Bins give us the advantage of being able to quickly move license plates around and/or re-organize them as needed. The bins we are use measure 20x15x5. We run regular plates along the more narrow side. When we have early, longer plates, they fit nicely when the bin is turned long-ways. Because the bins are only 5 inches high, we can easily see the license plates and find the one we are looking for.
Plastic Sleeves for Protection
We store our license plates in extra-thick plastic sleeves that don't easily tear like thinner sleeves. We get extra protection so our tags don't get scratched. They are industrial-strength 4-mil thick to withstand metal plates being stacked together, handled roughly and stored. They prevent scratches over many years. They are clear and transparent so we can still enjoy our license plates.
We use a sleeve on each license plate. Some sleeves will allow us to store pairs of license plates. We store pairs two ways. In one way, we place the plates back to back and put them in the sleeve so that we can see both the front and back plates easily. This is important when we are quickly looking for a set and we want to check the condition of both plates without removing them from the sleeve. They other way we store our pairs is front to back. They fit snugly together this way and take up less room. When we ship license plate pairs, we use the second method because it is a bit more secure and we place a buffer sheet between the plates for extra protection.
Especially Designed Sleeve
We used commercially-available plastic sleeves for years. But we were frustrated that the sleeves were either too small to fit regular license plates or too large with extra floppy plastic.
So we decided to design our own size and work with a manufacturer to make them. Our custom-designed sleeves are made to precisely fit modern license plates. Since 1956, standard automobile license plates measure 6 inches x 12 inches. Our sleeves are made a schoosh bigger so that you can easily slip your license plate inside and still keep a nice snug fit. There is no extra plastic taking up space. This is an addition to the other sizes we use that fit larger license plates, smaller plates and long, narrow plates.
Sizes We Use
The sizes we use are:
6.25x12.25 inch for standard, modern license plates
7x14 inch for the older larger license plates
8x16 inch for extra large, older license plates
5x18 inch for the long, narrow license plates that were common in the 1920s
5x24 inch for even longer license plates
5x10 inch for small license plates such as motorcycle tags
Resources
The shelves we use are common industrial types. Our Sources include Grainger and Costco. The bins are a Rubbermaid commercial product, found on Amazon. The plastic sleeves that we use are available on our website.
These are just a few ideas we have for organizing our license plates. Most assuredly, you have your own methods. Feel free to tell us about them in the comments section. You might help others with some ideas.
Happy Collecting,
Barb and Tom, The License Plate Girl and The License Plate Guy at
License Plate Garage
© Copyright 2023 Barb Sistak Baur. All rights reserved.
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