It has only been over the last five years that Mexico has gone from a single-design for all license plates across the country to a new registration system with colorful graphic designs, making Mexico’s new license plates, like this one from Sinaloa, much more sought after by collectors.

Mexico, or the United States of Mexico, as it is called in Spanish (los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), consists of 31 states and one Federal District (Distrito Federal—also know as Mexico City).

Aguascalientes

Campeche

Chiapas, old

Chiapas, new

Since the late 1950s, Mexico used a semipermanent style license plate, where each state had the exact same design and colors. The only thing that distinguished one state’s plate from another was simply the abbreviation of the state name at the bottom of the plate next to the abbreviation MEX. Can you imagine all 50 states in the United States having the same exact design and colors on their license plates during a 40-year period? It is because of this single national style that one license plate from Mexico would often serve to represent the entire country in any particular international license-plate display.

Chihuahua

Colima

Durango, old

Durango, new

But what has happened in Mexico in the license-plate realm in the last five years represents a complete 180-degree turnaround, with the result being a sophisticated registration system with new, colorful and fully reflectorized graphic designs. It goes without saying that Mexico’s new graphic license plates are now much more sought after by collectors. Close examination of the new collectible license plates from Mexico reveal several design elements that are required by law. Each plate must have a jurisdiction code (a number from 01-32) that corresponds to the state’s name when all are listed in Spanish in alphabetical order. Each plate must also indicate whether it is for the front (delantera) or rear (trasera) of the vehicle. Motorists, therefore, cannot split a pair for misuse on two different vehicles. Each plate must also have a designation for private cars, trucks, buses, taxis and trailers.

Hidalgo

Jalisco

Michoacan

Morelos, old

Additionally, each Mexican plate must have a bar code. The bar code replicates the registration number for all 31 Mexican states, while in the Mexico City area (Distrito Federal), the bar code represents the vehicle identification number (VIN) of the vehicle. This feature permits police officers to scan the respective bar codes when issuing a ticket. In the upper right corner of the license plate is a small security seal bearing the small letters “SCT” that stands for “Secretaria de Comunicaciones y Transportes” or Department of Communications and Transportation.

Moreelos, new

Nayarit

Nuevo Leon

Puebla

As far as graphic designs and appearance, each individual state may use any colors, styles, slogans, graphics or abbreviations that it likes. Close inspection of the photos of Mexican plates clearly illustrate just how interesting Mexico’s new license plates are. They are truly inviting to all license-plate enthusiasts.

Queretaro	San Luis Potosi	Sonora	Tabasco
Tlaxcala	Veracruz	Yucatan	Zacatecas

Collecting Mexican license plates can be very challenging, also. Often the most difficult states to obtain are the southern states of Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco and Colima. A full display of all 32 Mexican plates is one of great color and contrast of designs of pyramids, and indigenous characteristics, which include the Aztec calendar, dancers, monuments and even heroes of the Mexican Revolution such as Zapata, Pancho Villa and Morelos. Viva Mexico!

Andy Bernstein is a Worthologist who specializes in collectible license plates.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth

EDITOR’S NOTE: Brimfield, Mass., is a small New England town with a population of about 5,000 or so. Settled in 1706, it shows its traditional New England quaintness rather well. It has its large, steepled church, and with the leaves of autumn or the snow of winter, looks the part in any Norman Rockwell painting. And then for one week every spring, fall, and summer, the population doubles with 5,000 antique dealers converging on Brimfield to create the “Antique Capital of the United States.”

I had the most unique opportunity to go antique hunting with Will Seippel, CEO and founder of WorthPoint.com to learn about furniture and other things that caught his eye. Will is quite the collector himself and he finds the most fascinating items.

We wandered to the original show that started it all back in 1959; J&J Promotions. There are 20 different shows now at Brimfield, and Will was glad to be back to the place where he himself was a dealer about 20 years ago.

The first stop was the RCA, Edison Electric booth. We were greeted by an oversized Nipper, the original RCA Victor logo and mascot—you remember, the perplexed black and white dog looking into the new fangled Victrola that played the original 78 rpm records. Will found quite a stack of original Edison wax cylinders used for the original phonograph or gramophone. “The thing you have to be careful for is that they don’t end up with a mold on them. When that happens, no more sound.” Will says. These cylinders are very plentiful and the WorthPoint Worthopedia has many auctions where similar cylinders sold on average of $3 to $5 each.

Interestingly, Will walked into a trailer displaying early phonograph cabinets and noticed one from the Sonora Phonograph Company of New York, N.Y.

“It actually belonged to my great-grandfather and that was his record company,” Will says. The company produced phonographs from about 1907 and later also distributed radios until the company closed in 1930. Will tells the story of his grandfather locking the plant after a union strike which bankrupted the firm, all while his father, the true owner of the company, was on vacation. Still, a well preserved Sonora phonograph has been sold at auction for $200 to $300.

I pulled a surprise on Will that day. As the Worthologist recruiter for WorthPoint then, I passed a box full of old license plates and informed Will that we just brought on our own Worthologist for license plates, a very collectible item these days. We found plates for Massachusetts 1966, California 1974, New Hampshire, Kentucky 1970, and Michigan 1976 still in its wrappers.

“I always like to see the ones from Washington, D.C. with ‘No Taxation Without Representation,’” Will says. To get a good idea as to the value of any early license plates visit WorthPoint’s Worthologist Andy Bernstein. Some very early license plates have values into the thousands if you know what to look for.

As always, antiquing with Will Seippel is a great educational experience. Will’s stories, knowledge and the practiced eye made me a better collector. Everyone should go antiquing with Will at least once. It was a great treat.

To watch a video of Will Seippel’s tour of Brimfield, click here.

To see an example of an Editon gramaphone, click here.

To see an example of an Sonora phonograph, click here.

To visit Andy Bernstein’s Worthologist home page, click here.

Tom Carrier is a general Worthologist, with an expertise in a wide variety of subjects, including vexillology, or the study of flags.

WorthPoint—Discover Your Hidden Wealth