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This ad on Detroit - Wayne County Craig's List was pointed out to me, but the car is in Georgia, USA.

http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/3429667288.html

Don't know what to make of this. The data plate shows that it was delivered to Alphonse Capone. Can't say I've ever seen a data plate with the owner's name on it. And I thought the plate was screwed in place, rather than bolted on from the inside.

Scam? Salesman's puffery?

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Here we go again.

Are they asking something like $585,000?

And the plate is attached with pop rivets?

HHHmmmmmnnnnnnn.....

At least it's not one of the rusted out derelicts that have hit more than one list and site claiming to be his car.

The plate attachment certainly does look crude. Seems kind of odd to have such a perfectly done plate and ugly mounting. In addition to the questionable nuts holding it, I thought everything after the number was rubber stamped instead of nicely imprinted -- or was that only on the later cars.

I suppose if it truly was his car the dealer could have been doing a little advertising. Or -- Maybe it was "bought" under a very very heavily discounted deal -- "I like that car - make me a good price and I won't have the guys ventilate you or the store" and the presentation was duly noted.

I'd also be willing to bet a small sum no matter how it was acquired that if Mr Capone wanted his name to be displayed in any fashion and on any surface, that also was possible.

Quote:Howard,

The perfectly done lettering and numbering caught my attention too. Other plates I've seen don't have that level of finish, so it makes me wonder.

I thot the plates had "Marcus Registratus" Not "Trade Mark" in the upper 1st quadrant.

According to Puffer & Williams, that tag on the car is from 33-34

http://www.pulferandwilliams.com/Tag%20Images/Packard/Packard.pdf

re: Evanston Packard

Packard info Dealer entry
Packard Motor Car Company of Chicago (Evanston Branch)

Wonder what the cast date of the engine block might be?

Armor plating?
'Bulletproof' glass?
Oversize tires to hold the added weight?

A couple of comments:

1. Yes, the tag itself is from a 1933-34 car. This is established by the number of patents cited (1100) in the text at the bottom of the plate.

2. The vehicle # cited is correct for a 1930 car. The correct patent plate for 1930 would have had a different format and cited 600 patents.

3. The selling dealer and date information would have normally been stamped and not engraved, though I suppose a dealer would have removed the plate and engraved it for a special customer.

4. As already noted, the plate is incorrected affixed.

Bottom Line, a 1933/34 tag with a 1930 vehicle number = a bogus tag. You can reach your own conclusion about how much else in the claim is bogus as well.

Note to HH56: I thought everything after the number was rubber stamped instead of nicely imprinted -- or was that only on the later cars.
Up until early 22nd series cars, this varied depending on the selling dealer, most were stamped with a metal stamp set, some were crudely scribed, some left blank. Never seen an ink-stamed one until postwar though anything is possible as completing the patent plate was entirely a dealer proposition until part way into the 22nd series. The ink-stamping by the factory began part way into the 22nd series when the info fields on the plate changed from dealer and selling date (only known to the selling dealer) to paint and trim codes which were known at the time the car was built and thus the info provided by Detroit.

I suppose then that the question would arise as to whether or not the tag in and of itself is bogus. i.e. an incoorect tag for a particular model of car is one thing. But the tag itself. Is it bogus????

Bogus, Bogus, Bogus