RESTAMPED License Plates
From the Metal Shortage WWII War Years

During W.W.II there was a metal shortage. The iron used in making licenseplates was needed to make the necessary tools of war. Scrap metal driveswere a common sight in America during World War Two. Many old license plateshanging on barn walls went to the scrap heap to be recycled into jeeps,helmets, and C-Ration cans. The states themselves looked for waysto help conserve the natural resources (Gasoline, Rubber, Steel, Iron,etc.) for the WW2 War effort. One method to save metal was to onlymake a single license plate and not issue pairs of plates. Later, insteadof issuing a new plate every year, a new metal date tab was issued to attachover the previous year's plate. The next step was to only issue a stickerto affix to the inside of the automobiles windshield. Some states evenstarted making plates out of soybean pulp and fiberboard. These soybeanplates are like press board fiber. They were made by the thousands, butgoats seem to have liked the taste of them so many are found with bitestaken out of them.

Shown at top-left is a 1956 California license plates that was been renewed through the use of an adhesive registration decal (which the first year California used decals), while the plate at top-right is a 1962 North Dakota license plate that has been renewed, for the first time, through the application of a 1963 registration decal. In 1963, California issued new base license plates with a black background and yellow lettering. Passenger car plates have 3 letters and 3 numbers. Truck / commercial plates have 1 letter and 5 numbers. 1997 – stickers were made with background colors that change every year. Characters printed in black. 1998 through 2000 – standard plates contain the words SESQUICENTENNIAL – 150 YEARS in red block letters at the bottom of the plates. 2001 – standard plate is white with blue characters.

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Several states found that they had already started making pairs of plateswhen the decision was made to only issue a single plate. The states savedone of the two plates and sent the other plate to the registered ownerof the vehicle with that license plate number. The duplicate platessaved by the state (the mates to the ones mailed) were often: flattenedand restamped with a new number or saved for another year (or more) andonly the date was restamped. The restruck or overstamped plate was sentto the registered owner of that license plate in subsequent years.

Here are photographs of the plates that were first stamped, and thenrestamped again in WWII to help save metal for the War effort. I do notown all these plates. I received help in the form of photographs from severalpeople listed at the bottom. Please see my Listof other wanted WWII vintage license plates I am looking for.
Please email me if you have any I collect or I am missing.

WANTED: MilitaryLicense Plates & License Plate Toppers
Bases,Camps, Forts, Fields, Victory, etc. (but not US forces plates)

Clicking on some pictures take you to large size photographs.

UNITED STATES
US Military 4-Star Army General California

Gen. Douglas MacArthur's restamped plate

World War Two - WW2 - WWII
1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945

MacArthur's Four Star license plate.
Many officers fighting to hold off the invasion of the Phillipinesby the Japanese brought symbols of their rank from Manila to the new HQof the American Army on Corregidor. And for MacArthur it was his four starplate which was hung over the General's desk in the tunnel on embattledCorregidor. <source>

Connecticut

1930's - 1950's

From the 1930s to the 1950s, the Connecticut State Police Cruiser plateswere made from flattened and restamped passenger plates.
See cover of Saturday Evening Post, March 24, 1945

Can anyone send me better pictures of thistype of plate to post here ?

1942 Connecticut License Plate
from cover of
Saturday Evening Post, March 24, 1945

Florida

1942

Florida plates were recycled and restamped as 1942 plates

Maryland

1945

Many, but not all of Maryland's 1945 expiration plates had a digit ofthe serial # restamped. They had probably already made some 1943expiration plates in pairs when they decided instead to renew the 1942expiration plates with metal date tabs. They then restamped one plateout of each 1943 pair to make unique serials and also restamped the year,and issued these plates singly as 1945 expiration plates.

the 1942 plates were issued in pairs. The 1942 plate became the firstMaryland multi-year base plate, as metal tabs dated 1943 and 1944 wereissued to extend the expiration year stamped on the base plate. The 1943tabs were also issued in pairs, but only a single 1944 tab was issued.A new base plate was issued for 1945 expirations; it was identical in designto the 1942 base and differed only in that the colors were reversed tosilver on black; however, only a single plate was issued on the 1945 base
An interesting detail about the 1945 base is that some of them werestamped a second time to change a digit of the serial number. There doesnot appear to be a consistent pattern for this restamping. The 1945 basepictured above had its first digit changed from a '3' to a '5', as youcan see from the close-up photo. I've seen photos of other 1945 platesthat had been restamped, one where the first digit was changed from a '4'to a '1', and another where the second digit was changed from a '2' toa '5' (the first digit was already a '5' in this case). Also, on my exampleat least, it looks like the last digit of the year was also restamped tochange the expiration year from 1943 to 1945. (This is impossible to seein a photo and difficult to see in person, because of the size of the digit.)I've seen a photo of a 1943 sample plate, but no real 1943 expiration plateswere issued. It would seem that the state had intended to produce 1943expiration plates and had already manufactured some, when, due to the metalshortage caused by World War II, they decided to hold on to the 1943 platesthey already had and issue the 1943 renewal tabs instead. Probably the1943 plates were made in pairs, but the 1945 plates were issued singly,so apparently one of each pair was restamped to a create a different serialnumber.

Minnesota

1944

1942 Minnesota Restruck License Plate

Mississippi

1944

1944 1-Ton Mississippi Overstamped License Plate

1944 1 1/2-Ton Mississippi Overstamped License Plate

1945

1945 1-Ton Mississippi Overstamped License Plate

1945 1 1/2-Ton Mississippi Overstamped License Plate

Montana

1943

1943 Montana tabs were made from previous year's plates that were restampedto include the 1943 date
Montana used a fiberboard plate in 1944, and some of them were doneon the other s

California License Plate Sticker Colors