The Continental X-100’s plates were thought to have been thrown into the trash
A pair of license plates from President John F. Kennedy’s open top Lincoln Continental limousine, named the X-100 by the Secret Service, have just brought $100,000 at auction. The two District of Columbia license plates with the letters GG-300 were worn by the limousine on that tragic day in Dallas in November of 1963 when Kennedy was assassinated, and are visible in footage from the time.
The 1961 Lincoln Continental limousine itself was built by the Ohio coachbuilder and armorer Hess & Eisenhardt, with the limousine itself costing in excess of $200,000 and joining the Secret Service fleet that year. After the assassination of the President Kennedy two years later, the open-top limousine was not scrapped but sent for a thorough refit, gaining a roof as well as armored elements. The car itself stayed in the White House motor pool and was used by Lyndon Johnson before retiring to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.
