Did you know that there was a time when cars roamed the streets without license plates. Then how and when did this practice start? Here’s a fascinating and brief history of the ubiquitous number plate.
We can’t even imagine cars without license plates but was this always the case? How was the number plate made? Where did this all start? Here are 10 facts about license plates that will blow your mind, even if you’re not an auto nerd.
Number Plate: More Interesting Than You Might Think
The world’s first license plate:
France was the country that introduced the world to the concept of license plates. The first number plates were issued in 1893 through the Paris Ordinance. When the automobile was invented, they were a handful in number. It was only after they became popular that it seemed necessary that vehicles be identified to keep track of the car owner in the event of an accident.
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New York’s DIY Number Plate:
From 1901 to 1909, New Yorkers made license plates on their own. When number plates were first introduced there was no mass production system in the state. This meant that auto owners made plates using either leather or metal until the process was standardized.
History of Massachusetts with Plates:
Massachusetts was the first to issue license plates in the US in 1903. This was a time when metal plates were not in vogue, and only porcelain was used to make what we know today as license plates.
Virginia gives America its first stamped metal plate
In 1921 people realized that it would be better to have a license plate made of metal because of its durability. Subsequently, the first metal plate was issued in Virginia in 1921.
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Alaska’s limited edition from 1921:
Alaska was a severely underdeveloped area in the 1920s and there were only a few vehicles left. A handful of plates were then made, which have now become collector’s items.
Slogans from Idaho:
In the US, license plates often bear the slogan “Idaho Potatoes” and soybean-based plastics – and it changes from state to state. The practice began in 1928 when the northwestern state of Idaho decided to put the “Idaho Potato” stamp on all of the state’s number plates. Other states also followed suit and it became a kind of custom.
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Plates with a Personal Touch from Pennsylvania:
In 1931, Pennsylvania allowed people to customize their license plates. At first, people could only print their initials and you couldn’t tailor the whole plate until 1965.
Metal shortage during WW2:
In 1944, during World War II, most of the metal was used in war supplies – to make weapons and vehicles. This led to a shortage of metal for making license plates. Until the metal became available again, alternative materials such as soybean-based plastics, cardboard and embossed fiberboard were used.
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A world meeting on license plates:
Today it all seems unbelievable. Yes, but such an incident did happen. Once upon a time, number plates came in all sizes. This changed in 1957 at a meeting between some governments in the West, where it was decided that license plates should be the same size. In case you haven’t noticed, all cars throughout the US and Europe have a standard size for their number plates, a practice that was later adopted around the world.
Plates with Police Codes and more:
Before the 1990s, car number plates in the United States contained the police code, county designation, and congressional district. This made it easier for law officers to identify license plates at a time when computer records did not exist. It helped them zero in on the county or district to figure out who they were pulling or who to ticket.
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