|
British
Columbia Passenger License Plates
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Quick Links: |
In 1924, the Provincial Government again advertised the license plate contract, this time through ads in the Vancouver and Victoria newspapers starting on May 23rd and closing on June 16th. The Attorney General subsequently announced that two bids had been received for the 1925 contract; one being from J.R. Tacey &S on for $14,510.00 and the other from the B.C. Iron Works in Victoria for $15,158.00, and that the contract had gone to J.R. Tacey & Son as the lowest bidder. |
.jpg) One of the most visible changes introduced to BC license plates in 1924 was the full spelling of the province's name across the bottom of the plate. Reflecting a trend that was occurring throughout North America as the road system became more extensive, states and provinces were replacing acronyms with the proper spelling of their names in order to avoid any confusion in neighbouring jurisdictions. The 1924 plates also marked the introduction of a unique set of slanted dies - likely in an effort to thwart counterfeiters and would be used by Tacey through 1927, and the first use of a dash between the figures denoting hundreds and thousands. |
| 1924 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) |
2-digit |
.jpg) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1925 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1-digit |
2-digit |
3-digit |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)
 |
 |
A rare example of a license plate from the 1920s produced by the J.R. Tacey & Son company of Vancouver with its wax paper cover still intact (top right). As their slogan states; "Let British Columbia Flourish by her Industries". |
|
| 1926 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1-digit |
2-digit |
3-digit |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Similar questions were asked of the Attorney General regarding the1926 contract on December 9, 1925. The A.G. advised that three tenders had been received, these being from St Thomas Metal Signs Limited (Ontario) at $9,934.60; J.R. Tacey & Son (Vancouver) at $10.795, and Shanks Sign Company (New York) at $12,702.50 plus duty. Despite not presenting the lowest bid, the contract was again awarded to Tacey on the basis that the "advertisement calling for tenders stated manufacture of plates in British Columbia would be given preference, and the successful tender was the only one who complied with this condition, and in addition the plates were of superior quality." |
To a further question of whether "on [the] original tender different dies to those used in 1925 were to be used?", the Attorney General replied that "when tenders were called it was proposed to use a different style of number to that used in 1925 ... [however,] after Purchasing Agent accepted tender of J.R. Tacey & Son the Police Department recommended that the same style of plates as in use in 1925 be used." |
-2.jpg) |
.jpg) |
The irony of the above statement from the Attorney General is, of course, that the 1926 series turned out to be one of the worst years for quality as the paint is notorious for having faded, chipped, peeled, cracked and become generally discoloured. Finding a 1926 in excellent to mint condition is, therefore, almost as difficult as finding a 1921 base with matching tab. |
|
 |
|
| 1927 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1-digit |
2-digit |
.jpg) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
.jpg) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
A minor variation can be found on the placement of bolt holes on the 1927 base with the first few thousand having holes placed at at the top corners similar to the 1926 design. We have reason to believe that these extra mounting holes can only be found on plates between 1 and 4,000 and and as we get more photos of this base we hope to confirm this. |
|
Another minor variation can be found with the colour of the base paint applied to the 1927 plates with a darker, burnt orange being used on the initial run and a lighter pumpkin orange used on the subsequent over-run series: |
|
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
In 1928, Tacey introduced a new set of dies, which would be used again in 1929, which would be the last year that license plates were produced for the province by Tacey (which they did at a cost of $0.14/pair, or $14,000 for the contract). |
| 1928 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1-digit |
2-digit |
.jpg) |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) |
.jpg) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1929 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1-digit |
2-digit |
3-digit
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
4-digit |
.jpg) |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Quick Links: |
Antique | APEC | BC Parks | Chauffeur Badges | Collector | Commercial Truck | Consul | Dealer | Decals | Driver's Licences | Farm | Ham Radio | Industrial Vehicle | Keytags | Lieutenant Governor | Logging | Manufacturer | Medical Doctor | Memorial Cross | Motive Fuel | Motor Carrier | Motorcycle | Movie Props | Municipal | National Defence | Off-Road Vehicle | Olympics | Passenger | Personalized | Prorated | Prototype | Public Works | Reciprocity | Repairer | Restricted | Sample | Special Agreement | Temporary Permits | Trailer | Transporter | Veteran | Miscellaneous |
© Copyright Christopher John Garrish. All rights reserved.