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Fellow CABEr good deed story, and help on a plate

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View attachment 1384942
Trace out plate on a thin piece of metal flashing leaving a mounting tab on top or bottom and cut out pattern with tin snips. You can then wire plate to it to keep it rigid and then mount it on fender or hang from seat . You can patina up the metal with white vinegar , peroxide and salt if you want.
This is what I would do but he was insistent as doing it the way they would have in the '40s. If it's fiber I wouldn't attach it to the bicycle but for looks. That thing has bound to be delicate/fragile
 
I’m a bit worried about using wire. This is a thin fiberboard license plate, only used 43-46, and I suspect wire might act like a knife on the edges of the small holes in the plate. I’d like to keep it around, and on the bike for a while.
Thanks for the suggestions so far. I have to think about this a bit.
Ted
fibreboard....hmmmm
Then you can't use the holes either. Attachment will pull it apart with vibration in short time.
In the interest of maintaining its integrity as a cool old plate, I would make a custom Hangar for it that it slid into and protected its edges.
Nice piece of thicker sheet metal can be origami'd into a proper shape and aged to look stock.

Use a piece plywood or loanne a bit bigger than the plate as a form.
That way you can decide where you want to put it, and make the bracket to fit. For instance it could be a metal sleeve with a nipple on top with a hole that could fit between the reflector and fender/ rack if there is such a reflector. or a sleeve with hangar brackets to hang under the rear of the seat

Thats what I'd do....
 
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I didn’t “insist” on anything. Quite the contrary, I was looking for suggestions on the best way to accomplish display of a rare and delicate old plate on a bike.

There have been some good suggestions, and I appreciate any and all of them.
Ted
 
I'm a bit late to this thread but I've collected a few of these Minneapolis plates that came with wire still attached. I'm told they could confiscate your bike if you didn't have the license.
wire.jpg
 
I'm a bit late to this thread but I've collected a few of these Minneapolis plates that came with wire still attached. I'm told they could confiscate your bike if you didn't have the license.View attachment 1386523
I have been told a long time ago by a cop if the tag isn't in a proper location; bumper/front & rear or rear depending on state you can be fined & vehicle impounded. I asked why & his response was "if you decide to rob a bank but you don't have a tag .... that's a more difficult job for me to identify you" even if the tag or vehicle is stolen it does make some sense I suppose. They never bothered me anywhere for having my actual tag in the back glass, mounted to bracket above the top of the tailgate, frenched into the tailgate BUT when I ran my mini truck vanity tag with my real 1 in the glovebox until most local cops knew my truck for pulling me over they always seemed to light it up. Shame on me but I made a running joke they jus' loved & wanted to see my beater
 
Seems like a frame or a bracket is needed. You need to fabricate something that puts it where you want it to go, and have that something give it a string backing and some protection from scuffs and scrapes. Maybe a deep frame and then tuck it way under the seat where no one can accidentally molest it.
 
Seems like a frame or a bracket is needed. You need to fabricate something that puts it where you want it to go, and have that something give it a string backing and some protection from scuffs and scrapes. Maybe a deep frame and then tuck it way under the seat where no one can accidentally molest it.
A "frenched" / shadow box, a door hinge & a piece of plexiglass could make a decent flip up tag; removable via wire or string
 
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