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Formerly the BACK BUMPER
Collecting Ontario licence plates for 41 years
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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2024 Highlights and Outtakes
Here’s the 2024 outtake round-up… pictures that didn’t make it into any 2Cents columns, most of which are being seen here for the first...
Dec 9, 2024
2023 Highlights and Outtakes
Here’s the annual outtake round-up… pictures that didn’t make it into any 2Cents columns, most of which are being seen here for the first...
Dec 17, 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...
Nov 15, 2023
2022 Highlights and Outtakes
Here’s the annual outtake round-up… pictures that didn’t make it into any 2Cents columns, most of which are being seen here for the first...
Dec 17, 2022
Graveyards of Algoma
August is the month when I venture northward into Algoma District, as I do every summer. I lived the first half of my life there, so we...
Sep 2, 2022
Vineland '22 and Johnny Rubick in the news!
"For collectors, licence plates a unique way to tell country’s history" The 2022 outdoor Vineland swap meet is coming up in a couple of...
Aug 5, 2022
Swapping Belleville Rendezvous
Sometimes, when you get the call, you have to accept the charges. Such was the case this month for Dave Steckley, Eric Vettoretti, and...
Jul 30, 2022
2021 Highlights and Outtakes
It’s time for the 2021 outtake roundup! This year was better than 2020, in that things opened up enough that I could actually attend a...
Dec 15, 2021
Plates in a Northern Town
I grew up in the small city of Sault Ste. Marie, in northeastern Ontario. “The Sault” is actually situated further west than any city in...
Aug 25, 2021
Platecoin
I don’t envy those collectors who are new to the scene. Values have never been higher. I see people offering quadruple for a run-of-the-mill
May 2, 2021
Barrel of Plates
I’m coming up on 18 months of not having attended an in-person swap meet. The virtual swap meets are a reasonable substitute for now, but...
Apr 2, 2021
2002 Jubilee Jubilation
This story was originally told in three non-consecutive installments in this column, spanning April through November 2002. Those three...
Mar 7, 2021
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...
Dec 27, 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...
Dec 3, 2020
Normy's Wonder Case
For only the second time in the history of The Back Bumper, I’m handing the 2Cents pen over to a guest writer. Norm Ratcliffe has been...
Nov 16, 2020
Catching the blues
I meant to tell this story as its own unique post, but suddenly, the whole #Plategate thing happened, and I was busy following the news...
May 3, 2020
Acton meet cancelled: COVID-19
The 2020 Acton licence plate swap meet is cancelled because of the COVID-19 emergency. Read on about COVID-19 (I'm a biology teacher).
Mar 28, 2020
The Five Rs of "A Place To Grow": Roll-out, Reflection, Recall, Redo... and REPEAL
What started as an interesting event for collectors of Ontario licence plates has turned into a train wreck, followed by emergency...
Mar 7, 2020
A Place to Grow: Day 1 of New Ontario Licence Plates
Today’s the day! Blue numbers on a white background are no longer being issued to passenger vehicles in Ontario. After 47 years, we’re...
Feb 1, 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...
Jan 19, 2020
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