The “USC” California license plate could be yours for a seven-figure price, according to Plate Broker founder Michael Modecki.

In 1970, when custom vanity plates were first allowed in California, James Stone Sr. memorialized his family’s love for the University in a license plate reading “USC.” The plate was passed down to his son, Mike Stone, who ultimately sold it to his friend of 20 years, Jeff Grotewold, about two years ago.

“Diehard USC fans would give anything to have that plate on their vehicle,” Stone said.

Grotewold, 63 and a Southern California resident, had been trying to buy the plate from Stone for years before he finally got it. Now that he owns it, he’s looking to sell.

“I was in no hurry [to sell]. I put it on my ’92 Suburban, which is my fishing truck,” Grotewold said. “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.”

Finding a buyer has not been easy for Grotewold, so he enlisted some help. Enter Mark Magdaleno, Grotewold’s friend from high school whom he reconnected with via Facebook after decades of lost contact. Grotewold knew Magdaleno was having trouble saving up for a vehicle adapted to his disability, and asked him to help market and sell the plate for a cut of the profits.

“[Magdaleno is] in a tough situation, and he’s putting in the time and the effort,” Grotewold said. “I’ve been very fortunate in my life, and there’ll be enough to go around for everybody. I believe in paying it forward, and we’re all going to win.”

During the years Magdaleno lost touch with Grotewold: The former was struggling with addiction and was unhoused. After a confrontation in a grocery store, he was sentenced to four years in prison. Magdaleno then became an inmate firefighter, battling fires from Oregon to the Mexico border — until he was injured on the job.

“[This is] redemption for me,” Magdaleno said. “It’s a second chance for me, and [Grotewold], being in the position that he’s in, it says a lot about him stepping up for me and wanting to give me something in life that was not attainable in any other way.”

Prior to partnering with Magdaleno, Grotewold approached Plate Broker owner Modecki with the artifact. Modecki started the business, where he sells secondhand vanity plates, in 2020. Modecki said he noticed the Department of Motor Vehicles added a line item in 2015, newly allowing people to release vanity plates to new owners — not just back to the DMV — opening the door for a market.

The vanity plate market is relatively new in California, making it a unique selling opportunity for the USC plate, Modecki said.

“[The buyer] could set whatever value they want for it at this point,” Modecki said. “There is no value standard, and my goal from the beginning has [been to] try to make it as high as possible to find someone who wants to have the publicity or the history-making and set a world record.”

A California plate, “MM,” is listed on the Plate Broker website for over $24 million, and another, “GO VIRAL,” at over $3.5 million. According to the Guinness World Records, the current most expensive plate, “P7,” ever sold went for $14.97 million at an auction in Dubai in 2023.

Despite many people recognizing the value in a “legacy asset” like the “USC” license plate, potential buyers are not biting.

“I don’t think people realize that the value can be as high as some of us are looking to get to,” Modecki said. “It’s hard to find someone who wants to be first to the game without them worrying about what other people are going to think. … If there was a plate that would set a record in the millions, I think this plate could do it.”

Modecki said when Grotewold reached out to him, he told him the plate could sell for $1 million, potentially even $2 million.

For Grotewold, this has been a “fun” journey. He said it has helped bring him and Magdaleno closer together and has made for a good story to tell. Grotewold said every time he drives his ‘92 Chevrolet Suburban, which is the current host of the “USC” plate, he either gets stopped by California Highway Patrol or is asked about it.

Magdaleno said he is in talks with the University to get USC involved in the sale. He and Grotewold, along with the University’s legal department, are trying to see if USC can help facilitate an auction of the plate in exchange for a portion of the proceeds.

The University did not respond to a request for comment to confirm their involvement in time for publication.

“The way I look at it is, it’s one big pie, and whoever gets involved with it gets a piece of the pie at the end,” Grotewold said. “I would be more than willing and able to donate [part of the sale] back to the college. … Plus, they might find the home for it where it stays in the USC family forever.”