History of The License Plate

License Plates History

The first license plates were issued in the German state of Baden in 1896. Massachusetts was the first state in the United States to manufacture license plates in 1903. The earliest license plates were made of leather, wood and porcelain. The state of Delaware still permits the use of porcelain license plates.

Mexico was the first country to issue reflective license plates in 1936. The embossed numbers were a coated with ink containing glass-like beads to achieve reflective properties. The state of Connecticut introduced the beads-on-paint reflective license plates in 1948. The invention of reflective sheeting by 3M replaced the beads-on-paint process in the 1960’s and adopted by most of the states for license plate manufacturing by 1970.

In 1924, New York and California had each manufactured and issued 1,000,000 license plates. In the United States, license plates are manufactured in correctional facilities which are state or quasi-state owned. Only Alaska, Hawaii and Oregon license plates are manufactured by a privately owned facility but the license plates are issued or distributed by the state government. In Europe and most countries around the world, license plates numbers are state issued, but privately manufactured (motorists take documents to a private manufacturing facility for license plates production).

Idaho was the first state to manufacture license plates with a graphic –a potato in 1928. Pennsylvania manufactured the first custom, vanity or personalized license plate in 1931. As Americans became more prosperous, custom or official vanity license plates became very popular. The increased fees for custom, personalized or vanity official license plates have earned the states hundreds of millions of dollars and a great source of tax revenue for education (colleges), wildlife conservation and other projects.

Over 30 states in the United States and some Provinces in Canada do not require front official license plates. Many auto and license plates enthusiasts install vanity, custom or personalized license plates on their vehicles to add a unique touch. License plates can be promotional –to promote a business or group, vehicle brand, hobby, antique or old USA State, European, sport team, Greek Fraternity or Sorority, International country of origin or custom creations. Other popular vanity license plates are: nautical license plates, religious license plates, military license plates, flag license plates, fun license plates and may more.

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And here is more on the first License plates in United States....

The First License Plates Issued in the U.S. (1903): Although New York was the first state to require automobiles have license plates (1901), these plates were made by individual owners (with the owner's initials) rather than state-issued plates.

The first state-issued license plates were issued in Massachusetts, beginning in 1903. The very first plate, featuring the number "1," was issued to Frederick Tudor. (One of his relatives still holds an active registration on the plate.)

These early Massachusetts license plates were made of iron and covered in a porcelain enamel. The background was colored a cobalt blue and the number was in white. Along the top of the plate, also in white, were the words: "MASS. AUTOMOBILE REGISTER." The size of the plate was not constant; it grew wider as the plate number reached into the tens, hundreds, and thousands.

Massachusetts was the first to issue license plates, but other states soon followed. As automobiles began to crowd the roads, it was necessary for all states to find ways to start regulating cars, drivers, and traffic.
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