Colorado 1956 Standard Plate
1956–1956Colorado · annual
The first Colorado plate built to the size every American plate now uses. Until 1956 states made plates to their own taste and a car crossing a state line might need a different bracket; the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators settled on six inches by twelve, and this is Colorado complying. It is why a plate from 1955 will not fit a modern frame and this one will. 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 1956 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.
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). The move to the 6 by 12 inch standard, colours and serial format (CC BY-SA).
- Issued
- Standard issue
- The plate you received by default when you registered a vehicle.
- Serial format
- A:9999
- Material
- Embossed steel
- Source license
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Reference
- View original