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RCS
06-18-2010, 07:15
These license plates are from a Police Officer who retired in 1951. His DOB was 1895 and his house number was 934.

These plates are made from a soybean-cardboard mixture to save steel during the war
JBinIll
06-18-2010, 07:47
LOL I remember finding some of those down on my granddads farm.They had been nailed over rat holes in the grainery floor.Waste not want not.:icon_wink:
da gimp
06-18-2010, 08:56
wow, neat post.

da gimp
Sunray
06-18-2010, 09:36
"...made from a soybean-cardboard mixture..." Clever bunch those State tax collectors. I wonder how well they stood up to the elements.
Conductor
06-19-2010, 12:28
Most states came up with alternatives to regular steel license plates during the war. Pennsylvania used a small steel tab, about 2X2 inches that fastened in the upper right corner of the plate. In 1943, Virginia issued a gummed paper windshield sticker.
JBinIll
06-19-2010, 01:29
"...made from a soybean-cardboard mixture..." Clever bunch those State tax collectors. I wonder how well they stood up to the elements.

Pretty good I'd say.I've seen a lot of them over the years buying and selling antique car stuff.Whatever they used for painting them was pretty durable and protected the material they were made from.
Emri
06-19-2010, 05:37
Pretty good I'd say.I've seen a lot of them over the years buying and selling antique car stuff.Whatever they used for painting them was pretty durable and protected the material they were made from.


Just don't eat them ! Probably lead based paint.
John Kepler
06-19-2010, 10:13
My Dad and Grandparents were living/working in Illinois and had those same "composite" plates. According to my Dad....dogs LOVED to eat them, and Grandpa lost 2 sets that way. Ohio's plates were made out of Masonite.
JB White
06-19-2010, 12:43
Did those plates last the entire year if the car was on the road? I'm sure gas rationing kept most cars parked more than others.
John Kepler
06-19-2010, 01:25
I believe that with an "A" Card, you got 16 gal of gas per month. Because Grandpa was a Navy employee and had to do a fair amount of travelling for them, he had a "C" Card which basically gave him all the gas he needed. Tires were a whole 'nother issue!

And no, according to Dad and Grandpa....the plates were NOT all that durable, so most people took them off their cars and kept them indoors until they had to drive somewhere!