Colorado 1945 Annual Plate
1945–1945Colorado · annual
Colorado kept issuing new plates through the war where most states resorted to tabs, and this is the last of them, the year in halves either side of the state name as 19 COLORADO 45. Its metal is thinner than the plates on either side of it, which is what wartime conservation looked like in a state that would not give up its annual issue. The plate shown is a reconstruction carrying an invented serial, so no real registration is depicted.
A plate for one year only
Colorado replaced its plates every year in this era, which is why 1945 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 (CC BY-SA 4.0, Absecon 49). Colours, serial format and Colorado's wartime issuing practice (CC BY-SA).
- Issued
- Standard issue
- The plate you received by default when you registered a vehicle.
- Serial format
- 9-99999
- Material
- Embossed steel
- Source license
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Reference
- View original