Original Items: Only One Set Available. During WWII there was a metal shortage, and the iron used in making license plates was needed to make the necessary tools for war. Scrap metal drives were a common sight in America during the war and many old license plates hanging on barn walls and garages went to the scrap heap to be recycled into jeeps, helmets, C-Ration cans and so on. The individual states themselves looked for ways to help conserve the natural resources (Gasoline, Rubber, Steel, Iron, etc.) for the war effort. One common method to save metal was to only make a single license plate and not issue pairs of plates. Later, instead of issuing a new plate every year, a new metal date tab was issued to attach over the previous year's plate. The next step was to only issue a sticker to affix to the inside of the automobiles windshield. States like California issued small corner plates, white with a “V” on them for Victory instead of using the stickers. Some states even started making plates out of soybean pulp and fiberboard. These soybean plates are like pressboard fiber. They were made by the thousands, but not too many survived due to animals eating them.

Several states found that they had already started making pairs of plates when the decision was made to only issue a single plate. The states saved one of the two plates and sent the other plate to the registered owner of the vehicle with that license plate number. The duplicate plates saved by the state were often flattened and restamped with a new number or saved for another year (or more) and only the date was restamped. The re-stamped or overstamped plate was sent to the registered owner of that license plate in subsequent years.

This example is for California from 1941-1943. The base, original plate is stamped as:

19 CALIFORNIA 41
41 H 388

This is not a re-struct or re-stamped plate, it is the original plate and original paint. The plate itself is in great condition with only minor surface rust and very little paint wear.

The 1942 top plate is as followed:

19 CALIFORNIA 42

The topper is in similar condition with minor surface rust and paint wear. This topper was common among many states. There is a registration number visible between the “19” and letter “C”. The number is 2492471.

The top corner tab is offered in great condition and has a registration number of 32284. The red “V” stood for victory and was a very common symbol used on virtually anything you could think of. In 1943, instead of using stickers, the state of California used these small corner tabs, showing just how important saving metal for the war effort really was. This was the last year metal was used to show registration renewal. After 1943, California switched to displaying stickers on the car windshields.
It wasn’t until 1945 that the country as a whole started issuing metal license plates again.

This is a wonderful example of just how important even the smallest amounts of scrap metal was for the war effort. While men and women were making sacrifices overseas, so were the ones left home. It may have not been sacrificing their lives, but it was sacrificing their way of life.

Comes ready to display in your homefront collections!