Texas 1955 Annual Plate
1955–1955Texas · annual
Black on gold, with TEXAS ’55 across the top. This is the era in which the plate settles into the familiar oblong: a modified 1955 issue was the first Texas plate built to the 6 by 12 inch standard that the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators had set. Texas replaced its plates every year in this era, so the year is stamped into the design itself rather than carried on a sticker: the plate was the registration, surrendered and replaced twelve months later. The colour pairing changed annually, which let an officer date a plate at a glance. The plate shown is a reconstruction carrying an invented serial, so no real registration is depicted.
A plate for one year only
Texas replaced its plates every year in this era, which is why 1955 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 (CC BY-SA 4.0, AllenLow). Annual issuing practice and the 1955 move to the 6x12 standard (CC BY-SA).
- Issued
- Standard issue
- The plate you received by default when you registered a vehicle.
- Serial format
- AA9999
- Material
- Embossed metal
- Source license
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Reference
- View original