Archive / Q & A

RSS feed for this section

Can you give us some information about patriotic United States license plates?

Happy 4th of July to all of you! I thought that a posting on U.S. patriotic plates is good for today……Tom asked what types of patriotic plates are of interest to me…..patriotic, military, bicentennials.  I zeroed in on bicentennial plates. Most bicentennial plates are really colorful with varying degrees  of red, white and blue colors […]

Are some license plates made from nonmetal materials?

The short answer is “Yes!”.  According to Colorado License Plates, the First 100 Years, ” Wood, rubber, pressed soybean meal, cardboard, and plastic were used in lieu of metal or when metal supplies were limited, as was the case during Worl War II. In past years, new plates would be issued annually, but now virtually all plates […]

What types of metal are used for making license plates?

Again, Tom, George, and Jim’s book provided an answer: “Metal is most commonly used with steel and now aluminum leading the way. Tin, copper and brass were used as well. Early license plates issued in many states were porcelain covered steel, but these fell out of use by the early 1920s. However, Delaware, in its […]

What is the most unusually shaped license plate?

  According to Tom, George and Jim, this distinction goes to plates from Canada’s Northwest Territories.  Since 1970 their plates have been cut in the shape of a bear. On our mantelpiece, we have two passenger bear plates followed by 3 small motorcycle plates symbolizing our three daughters…..our bear family!  The bear motorcycle plates were […]