| With
Antique plates, you are allowed to drive a vehicle for special
occasions such as exhibitions, parades, car club activities,
public events such as the opening of a new highway, weddings,
and graduations. A vehicle must be: at least 30 years old,
owned as a collector's item, maintained as close as possible
to its original condition with original parts and mechanically
sound. |
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| Note
the different style of dies used on these plates |
|
| At
the time of their introduction in 1966, British Columbia was
celebrating the centennial anniversary of the unification
of the Colony of Vancouver Island with the mainland Colony
of British Columbia, and
was one year away from celebrating the centennial of Canadian
Confederation. B.C.'s federation with Canada would not occur
until 1871 - which is duly noted on the 1971 validation decal.
According to the province, many of the public occasions that
would be held over the next two years would be enlivened through
the participation of vintage cars. As such cars were not on
the road everyday, a permanent plate was designed - in part,
at the suggestion of the owners of these cars. |
|
The
plates also marked a first, of sorts, for British Columbia.
For years, the province had been seeking some method in
which to introduce a form of "lifetime plates."
While the nature
of these Antique plates obviously limited their applicability
as a general issue, for those who qualified, the $20 fee
brought with it a license plate that would never need to
be re-validated; they would be permanent and would stay
with a car till it could go no more!
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| As
is evident from these plates, at some point in the mid-1970s
(possible even in the late 1960s), the province required
that validation decals be attached to Antique plates. |
|
At
the time of their release, Antique plates were reported to
be starting at number 101, to be issued in sequential order
thereafter (Vancouver recieved plates 101-199, and Victoria
200-299).
The die type for
all three-digit plates is noticeably larger than for the four-digit
plates (such as the one pictured at right). They all display
the word 'Vintage' on top-center, with British Columbia along
the bottom center. The
plates are also adorned with an embossed image of an old motor
carrier. An interesting, and as yet unexplained issuance appears
to have occurred in the early 1970s. An authentic Motor Vehicle
Branch box (used for storing plates), and labeld "Vintage"
with the date 7/5/1973, that yielded plates numbered: 51-75
has been brought to this writer's attention. Employing the
original, bigger die type, is it possible these were produced
at the end of the 101-999 run before the switch to the smaller
dies? Does this series technically start at No. 1 now, or
was a No. 1 ever prodcued? These are questions that remain
to be answered. |
A month after
their release in 1966, nineteen Victoria residents had applied
for the plates, and today the series is roughly into the high
four digit range, and can also be seen, on occasion, as motorcycle
plates. One of the more amusing quotes from the early days
of this issue came from the Attorney-General, who felt compelled
to state that the plates were not meant to be displayed by,
or denote the Liquor Control Board. A misconception that was
obviously being fueled by the word 'Vintage' displayed at
the top of the plate. |
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| Sources |
| Vancouver Province Newspaper |
| Victoria Colonist Newspaper |
| Victoria Daily Times Newspaper |
| Dan Howlett, "Decoding British Columbia
License Plates", http://www.kasumirecords.com/bcplates/index.htm
(October 28, 2001). |
| Insurance Corporation of British Columbia,
http://www.icbc.com (Ocotber 28, 2001). |
| Bill Hobbis, personal correspondance (December
2001), image credit Vintage plate No. 70. |
| Ron Garay, image credit; Vintage Motorcycle
plate. |
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