License plate collecting is a hobby that is popular among license plate fans across the world. It is supported by such organizations as the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association. [1]
Contents
License plate collecting is a hobby that is popular among license plate fans across the world. It is supported by such organizations as the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association. [1]
France and Germany in Europe were the first countries to produce license plates. [2]
By the early 1900s, most states in the United States had begun issuing license plates in order to identify cars and match them with their owners. [3] New York was the first state to require license plates on vehicles; this happened in 1903. [4]
These plates were made of porcelain baked onto iron or ceramic, without any backing, which made them fragile.
With time, old license plates would be put away by their original owners, or they would be hung on private garages. [5]
In 1954, the American ALPCA was formed. As of 2024, it counted with 2,800 members in 19 different countries. [6]
License plates are issued around the world. [7] In addition, they are issued also, in many cases, by a country's states, provinces or local regions. In the United States, all 50 states plus territories issue distinct license plates with their names on them. [8]
Also, there are different license plates for private and commercial vehicles. [9]
The large amount of license plates produced yearly across the world gives collectors an opportunity to amass large personal collections.
The Automobile License Plate Collectors Association (ALPCA) is the largest such organization in the world. Founded in Rumney Depot, New Hampshire, United States, in 1954 and holding its first meeting/convention in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, in 1955. It serves as a way for license plate collectors to trade plates, distribute news, and provide historic information to members.
The U.S. state of California first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1905. Registrants provided their own license plates for display until 1914, when the state began to issue plates. Plates are currently issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
The former U.S. territory of the Canal Zone first issued license plates in 1910, and this continued until the Canal Zone was returned to Panama in 1979. A single plate was issued for all years. The country of Panama also issued Canal Zone license plates for United States citizens that lived in Panama but worked in the Canal Zone, but these plates have the country name "Panama" clearly showing on them. Since reciprocity for license plates between the Canal Zone and Panama did not exist until 1950, old photos often show local vehicles with two different license plates mounted on the vehicle.
In 1910 the Canal Zone, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, and New York joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 19 states and 2 territories that were issuing license plates and 14 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1911 Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, and Oregon joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 26 states and 2 territories that were issuing license plates and 10 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1912 Mississippi, New Mexico, and Puerto Rico joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 28 states and 3 territories that were issuing license plates and 9 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1913 Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and Montana and Nevada entered the prestate era. There were now 35 states and 3 territories that were issuing license plates and 8 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1914 Arizona and California joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 37 states and 3 territories that were issuing license plates and 7 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1915 Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 44 states and 3 territories that were issuing license plates and 2 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1916 Guam and Nevada joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 45 states and 4 territories that were issuing license plates and 1 other state requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1917 South Carolina, Texas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 47 states and 5 territories that were issuing license plates and 1 other state requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1918 Florida joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 48 states and 5 territories that were issuing license plates. The prestate era ended when Florida began to issue license plates.
Massachusetts became the first state to officially issue vehicle license plates in 1903. New York continued to require their residents to register their vehicles with the state, but the owner had to supply their own license plate. Connecticut, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia all began to require vehicle registration with the vehicle owners also supplying their own plate. Each of the other states of the United States of America plus several of its territories did not require or issue license plates during 1903.
In 1904 Rhode Island became the second state, joining Massachusetts, to issue its own license plates, and the states of Iowa and Maryland began to require owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1905 the states of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and West Virginia all began to issue their own license plates. The prestate era of plates began in the states of California, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakoya, Tennessee. This year saw the most changes during the prestate era. Eight states were now issuing plates and another 17 required their owners to provide their own plates.
In 1906 Pennsylvania and Virginia joined the list of those providing license plates to vehicle owners, and the prestate era began in Washington (state). There were now 10 states that were issuing license plates and 17 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1907 the District of Columbia joined the list of states providing license plates to vehicle owners, and the prestate era began in Illinois and Missouri. There were now 11 states and territories that were issuing license plates and 18 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1908 Delaware, New Jersey and Ohio joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and no new states entered the prestate era. There were now 14 states and territories that were issuing license plates and 16 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
In 1909 Minnesota joined the list of states and territories providing license plates to vehicle owners, and North Carolina and Utah entered the prestate era. There were now 15 states and territories that were issuing license plates and 17 other states requiring owners to provide their own license plates.
At this early point in the history of license plates in the United States of America, none of the 45 states, territories, or the District of Columbia, was issuing its own plates. The State of New York remained the only state that required vehicle owners to register their automobiles. The system of using the owner's initials as the registration number, begun in 1901, remained in effect. This would change in 1903 when a number was assigned to each owner to display on their vehicle. Across the country the increases in the number of automobiles was being noticed, and there were many cities, like Chicago, that had already begun to require their owners to register their vehicles.