1919 CA license plate star

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JIvers
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '16 C cab PU, '22 speedster, '23 touring, '25 PU.
Location: Blue Lake (Rdwd Cr.) CA
MTFCA Number: 16548

1919 CA license plate star

Post by JIvers » Sun Jan 10, 2021 11:40 am

Free. A single red 1919 CA license plate star. Collectors please allow someone who actually needs this to complete their plate to receive it.


Janet_Block
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First Name: Janet
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1915 Runabout
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Re: 1919 CA license plate star

Post by Janet_Block » Sun Jan 10, 2021 2:53 pm

Email sent

Janet Block


Topic author
JIvers
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '16 C cab PU, '22 speedster, '23 touring, '25 PU.
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MTFCA Number: 16548

Re: 1919 CA license plate star

Post by JIvers » Sun Jan 10, 2021 3:20 pm

Janet, I'll answer here in case the info is useful to others. Just google: images 1919 CA license plates and you will have the info requested. Starting 1916, to conserve metal during WWI, rather than new plate issue, the dept. assigned attachments to designate the year of the plate. My 1916 YOM's
have lead grizzlies with date embossed. I think '19 was the last of the series. Guessing, but I think 17 and 18 were a poppy and maybe one of the missions. Maybe someone can correct me if I've got it wrong.
Anyone with a '19 wanting a YOM plate? At least one on Ebay needing this star and a lot cheaper than those with it.


Greg Griffin
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Re: 1919 CA license plate star

Post by Greg Griffin » Sun Jan 10, 2021 5:43 pm

1916 - Lead bear from CA flag.
1917 - Pressed steel poppy painted yellow w/red center of flower.
1918 - Pressed steel mission bell painted green (like verdigris).
1919 - Pressed steel star from CA flag painted red.

The pressed steel was pretty thin. I have seen a NOS poppy, others in fairly good condition. Not sure if color was actually paint or some other process, as colors were neither bright nor heavily applied even on the never-mounted poppy.


Topic author
JIvers
Posts: 102
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 11:29 pm
First Name: john
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '16 C cab PU, '22 speedster, '23 touring, '25 PU.
Location: Blue Lake (Rdwd Cr.) CA
MTFCA Number: 16548

Re: 1919 CA license plate star

Post by JIvers » Sun Jan 10, 2021 8:10 pm

Good info needing to be posted, after my attempt from feeble memory. Also your concluding statement rings true, in my experience, on the coloring. My red star is in fine condition yet the red is dull, while appearing neither weathered or retouched. Could you clarify "never-mounted poppy"?


modeltspaz
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Re: 1919 CA license plate star

Post by modeltspaz » Mon Jan 11, 2021 12:56 am

On each year tab, front and rear, was embossed the matching serial number of the license plate it was attached to. The exception was 1916.
That year the serial number appeared only on the rear tab. Above the rectangle that bore the number, in raised letters said "License Number". On the front tab, instead of the number, there was a blank rectangle and above that, in raised letters, said "Owner's Name". The owner of the vehicle was required to stamp or scratch their name in the space.
I have personally seen a pair of 1916 lead California Bear tabs that have the diamond E exempt followed by the serial number of the plate with the matching front tab with the letters "LBPD" designating the owner. Long Beach Police Department.
Knowledge that isn't shared, is wasted knowledge.

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Susanne
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Re: 1919 CA license plate star

Post by Susanne » Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:23 pm

I'd almost die for a set ofporcelain era Diamond E Ca plates - those are the cat's pajamas, the holy grail of someone wanting to build a mid to late teens "official" vehicle... 99 44/100% of them were sent to Sacto and shredded... as was the policy of the time.

In '16, the front "bear" was blank, the rear had the license plate # embossed. IIRC the same formula carried thru 1919 - my 17/18 set, the poppy/bell both have the plate number embossed (now all I need is a vehicle to put them on!!!)... making me think, like some today, they put the legal and current reg on the back, and the last years on front.... Someone once offered to sell me a blank poppy tag, making me think, maybe, the formula carried on.

Funnily enough my to-be speedster motor is a '17... maybe my plates will again feel the sting of insects... --lol--


Greg Griffin
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* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '14 torpedo, '25ish pickup
Location: Yorba Linda, CA
MTFCA Number: 30353
MTFCI Number: 23493

Re: 1919 CA license plate star

Post by Greg Griffin » Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:14 pm

Hi John -- The condition of the poppy was almost pristine, save for a bit of handling; even the surface immediately around the rivet holes showed no tool marks or flattening. In fact there was no flattening at all. I have never seen another tab, on a plate or off, with NO flats or bends to the tab. It just didn't look used (or removed). The color was in very good condition, and though not a light yellow, I don't remember it being at all orange. Maybe Susanne can comment on the poppy color, my memory shoots off mid-hiccup once in awhile.
I don't have it in front of me, but it made the papers at the time; the "controversy" over the belief that names had to be added to the front tabs. According to the newspapers it was a rumor, not a requirement. That's memory again.


Topic author
JIvers
Posts: 102
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 11:29 pm
First Name: john
Last Name: iversen
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: '16 C cab PU, '22 speedster, '23 touring, '25 PU.
Location: Blue Lake (Rdwd Cr.) CA
MTFCA Number: 16548

Re: 1919 CA license plate star

Post by JIvers » Mon Jan 11, 2021 8:25 pm

Thanks Greg. You had caught my interest regarding the possibility of a tag having never been attached to the plate sharing its number. The red star I'm offering also appears never to have been riveted. ...Curious.
Grateful for respondents in this thread explaining the differences in my 'two '16 tags.

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