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Collecting Ontario licence plates for 40 years
THE
BACK
BUMPER
2CENTS ARCHIVES
First started as "My 2 Cents" in 1997, I have written posts numbering into the hundreds. New posts arrive continually. Find an article by clicking the tag cloud below, or selecting a category, doing a search (see magnifying glass below on the right), or just scroll down to see the articles in chronological order.
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Nov 16, 2023
Rust In Peace
This summer, I found myself driving past a lot of rusty old vehicles. You know the type: They’re sitting in fields, behind bushes, or...
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Sep 16, 2022
Barrie Bust / Country Collection
I write about the Barrie Automotive Flea Market every time I go there. But the way things are going, I might not write about it again...
191 views0 comments
Dec 27, 2020
2020 Highlights and Outtakes
I suppose that, after three years, I’ve established an annual tradition here at The Back Bumper… a 2Cents installment for all those...
165 views0 comments
Dec 4, 2020
Hobbyists: Enslaved by Social Media?
Social media has imposed some indelible changes upon this hobbyist’s world. I have a few other hobbies aside from the big one—plate...
120 views0 comments
Jan 19, 2020
2019 Highlights and Outtakes
After 2018 was finished, I posted a series of pictures from that calendar year that I hadn't posted anywhere else. Some were intended for...
138 views0 comments
Jul 25, 2019
Plate Storage
Ever had a bright idea? Sure. We all have. Ever have a bright idea that snowballed into a big project? Well, that’s what happened to me...
146 views0 comments
Mar 2, 2019
Ontario graphic licence plates that should exist
Much ado has been made about Ontario graphic plates over the years. A small-but-loyal group of collectors has been avidly following the...
597 views0 comments
Jan 6, 2019
2018 Highlights and Outtakes
It's January... a time when very little happens in my collecting world, and usually, I have trouble finding subject material for the next...
267 views0 comments
Dec 7, 2017
Downtown garage
I received a phone call from an antique auto enthusiast last week. We hadn’t spoken in a few years, but previous to that, we had...
206 views0 comments
Sep 28, 2017
Twenty years of 2Cents
It was twenty years ago this month that The Back Bumper was first launched! Back then, the Internet seemed to be catching on. There still...
118 views0 comments
Mar 1, 2016
Leap day article
Brrr, it’s cold. The biggest news to come out of the Ontario media about plates, over the past couple of years, is the peeling...
55 views0 comments
Oct 1, 2015
Stories for the sake of telling
I’ve been to the Barrie Automotive Flea Market a couple dozen times since I discovered it in the mid-1990s. The first time I was there...
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Jan 25, 2015
Is it spring yet?
Ugh, I despise winter… more and more every year. This weekend marks the halfway point between the fall plate meet in Grimsby and the...
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Apr 6, 2014
Lightning striking again
A funny thing happened to me recently. But like any good yarn, the lead-up and delivery are everything, and I simply cannot pass up a...
42 views0 comments
Aug 13, 2012
Doors Open 2012
The lazy days of summer are here. It’s been so hot and dry outside that there hasn’t been much to do except be lazy. I’d like to go to...
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Aug 2, 2011
Bert's barn and bug
While I was vending at the Merrickville Cruise and Shop in July 2011, a man by the name of Bert dropped by my table to chat. Bert said he...
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Aug 17, 2010
Ketchup
Wow, this column sure has been gathering dust lately. What used to be this site’s most popular feature seems to have taken an extended...
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May 31, 2009
Watson, Steam, Nash, and Fun
I spent part of my weekend volunteering at the Cumberland Heritage Museum in Watson's Garage, displaying a portion of my license plate...
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Jan 1, 2008
The 5-year chase
It started on the Saturday of the 2002 ALPCA Convention in Niagara Falls. Everyone, including myself, was dismantling their displays and...
43 views0 comments
Apr 12, 2006
1913 Conundrum
A couple of months ago, a visitor to my site mentioned that she had a few older pairs of plates available that she was looking to sell....
72 views0 comments
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