Auction Purchase - Oddity?

If I posted this in the wrong forum section please feel free to move it.


Picked up this heavy steel license plate at an auction yesterday as it caught my eye being a bit odd in design. I'm familiar with the red, white and blue USA-1 plates normally seen but this one is reversed. It says 1-USA with Chevrolet stamped underneath, painted Chevrolet reddish/orange and stamped in heavy steel. Won the auction but have never seen this type of plate before. Just thought it would be cool looking to hang on the garage/shop wall. Any one seen this style plate before? I have the common USA-1 aluminum stamped red, white and blue on the front bumper of my '57.

I have a similar one in black, never saw red before.

Bought that one after some spirited bidding between me and several other bidders. Later during the auction I bought a few "junk" boxes of odds and ends, tools, elec cords and such. Digging thru them this afternoon I lucked out big time and found three more plates but in different colors. Now have a total of four, one each of the reddish/orange, blue, and two black. Haven't decided yet if am keeping all four or maybe just keeping one. Decisions, decisions.

My GF says I am a horder so you know what my answer is already.

Decided to sell three of the plates and keep one for myself for my 57. Sold the red plate with white lettering, the blue plate with white lettering and the black plate with yellow lettering and keeping the black plate with white lettering. Did learn some interesting facts about these plates along the way. First offered by Chevrolet in 1957 and are referred to as booster plates. Several colors offered including an off green plate which I did not find at the auction. Some time in the mid 60s Chevrolet switched the lettering around to the more known USA-1 variant and the ''See the USA in your Chevrolet'' phrase. During subsequent years that phrase changed nearly every year up thru early 70s. Some nice to know trivia, had never seen the 1-USA style plate before this. Been playing with cars and trucks since the early 70s and missed seeing those plates when they were more recent.