California 1914 Porcelain Plate
1914–1914California · annual
California's first state-issued plate. Before 1914 a driver made their own and the state only recorded the number, which is why surviving pre-1914 plates are leather, wood or house numbers screwed to a board. This one is porcelain enamel fired onto steel, CAL reading up the left edge and the year up the right: heavy, glossy, and prone to chipping to bare metal at the bolt holes. The plate shown is a reconstruction carrying an invented serial, so no real registration is depicted.
A plate for one year only
California replaced its plates every year in this era, which is why 1914 is stamped into the design rather than carried on a sticker. The plate was the registration: it was surrendered and replaced twelve months later, and the colour pairing usually changed with it so an officer could date a plate at a glance. That is also why plates from these years are scarce, each one having been current for a single year.
Before the standard
This plate is long and shallow rather than the familiar oblong, roughly 13.4 by 5 inches. The uniform 6 by 12 inch size was settled later through the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, and until it was, plates were sized to each state's own taste. That is why one of these will not sit in a modern frame.
Stamped, not printed
Every character here is pressed into the metal and stands proud of the surface, along with the raised rim just inside the edge. Run a hand across it and you feel the whole design. The plate was struck from flat stock in a press, then the raised faces were rolled with paint, which is why wear shows first on the tops of the characters.
Sources
Reference photograph of an issued plate (Public domain, Nctriadguy). First year of state issue, colours and serial range (CC BY-SA).
- Issued
- Standard issue
- The plate you received by default when you registered a vehicle.
- Serial format
- 999999
- Material
- Porcelain enamel on steel
- Source license
- Public domain
- Reference
- View original