A signed jersey or a championship ring might be prized by collectors, but one of the rarest pieces of USC memorabilia could be bolted to the back of a fishing truck.
A California vanity license plate that reads simply “USC” has been put up for sale, with its owners estimating it could fetch $675,000 or more — a price that would place it among the most expensive license plates ever sold in the United States.
The plate is expected to be promoted on USC’s official social media accounts, including Facebook and Instagram, on Aug. 31, according to Mark Magdaleno, who is assisting with the marketing effort.
The sellers are hoping the three-letter plate delivers a record-breaking payday, though they said they are also open to considering the best offer.
“Diehard USC fans would give anything to have that plate on their vehicle,” former owner Mike Stone told the Daily Trojan.
A sale anywhere near the asking price would surpass some of the most notable USC collectibles on the market. Charles White’s Heisman Trophy, among the priciest pieces of Trojans memorabilia ever sold, brought in nearly $300,000 in December 2006, according to ESPN.
Still, the appeal of the plate is not just its scarcity or projected value. Its backstory adds another layer to what could become a landmark USC collector’s item.
The plate’s history stretches to 1970, the year California began allowing drivers to order personalized license plates. James Stone Sr. selected “USC” as a tribute to his family’s deep ties to the University of Southern California, the Daily Trojan reported.
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
The plate remained with the Stone family for more than five decades before Stone eventually sold it to longtime friend Jeff Grotewold.
Grotewold, 63, had coveted the plate for years. Once he finally got his hands on it, he slapped it on his 1992 Chevrolet Suburban, which he uses as his fishing truck.
Then he decided the little piece of California history might be worth a whole lot more than a fishing trip.
“I was in no hurry [to sell],” Grotewold told the outlet. “I put it on my ’92 Suburban, which is my fishing truck. Philanthropy is great, but, in the end, I’m a businessman that has to pay bills, and so I looked at it as a business investment.”
Enter Magdaleno, and an unlikely reunion decades in the making.
Grotewold and Magdaleno played baseball together at Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead. Grotewold was not only a teammate but a mentor and friend.
After graduation, however, their lives went in dramatically different directions.
Grotewold went on to play Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies before building a successful career as a contractor. Magdaleno struggled with addiction and homelessness, eventually spending time in prison. Afterward, he became an inmate firefighter, fighting blazes from Oregon to the Mexican border.
A career-ending spinal injury that he suffered while battling fires left Magdaleno permanently disabled.
The old friends eventually reconnected through Facebook. When Grotewold learned Magdaleno had telemarketing experience and was trying to find a way to afford a vehicle equipped with adaptive controls, he offered him a shot at helping sell the USC plate and promised to share part of the proceeds.
“To me, this is redemption,” Magdaleno told the Daily Trojan. “It’s a second chance for me.”
License plate collector and broker Michael Modecki believes the plate could be the “Holy Grail” of USC memorabilia.
California’s secondary market for vanity plates is still relatively young. A DMV policy change in 2015 allowed owners to transfer certain personalized plates directly to another person instead of surrendering them to the state, creating an entirely new collectibles market.
Modecki said there is no established ceiling for a plate like “USC.”
“I think this plate could do it,” he told the outlet, referring to the possibility of a multimillion-dollar record.
But for Grotewold and Magdaleno, the money is only part of the story.
“What makes this story special isn’t the plate’s potential value,” Magdaleno wrote in a Facebook post. “It’s the friendship behind it. And one man refusing to leave another behind.”
Grotewold said he would also be willing to donate part of the proceeds back to USC, potentially keeping the rare plate within the Trojan family.
The sellers are accepting best offers and can be reached at magdalenomark@gmail.com.
