Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Iowa License Plates

In 1904 the Secretary of State began registering motor vehicles.  Apparently the license plates were issued as round metal discs!  The mind boggles.  Owners were responsible for applying the number to the rear of the automobile.  In 1911 plates that already had the number on them were issued.  Whew!  What a relief for the owners - and the populace in general.  Can't have those 1911 vehicles wandering around with numbers applied will-nilly on the car's behind. Chaos would ensue.

Source:  Des Moines Tribune, 2/29/1931

2 comments:

googoobeans said...

When could people start personalizing plates?

Anonymous said...

According to research conducted by the State Library of Iowa, the Iowa General Assembly, in 1975, authorized the issue of individualized registration plates.
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