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British
Columbia Passenger License Plates
1955 - 1963
One
of the biggest changes to emerge from the 1950-54 experimentations
was the standardization of license plate dimensions in 1955.
The 1950 base plate had, after all, been manufactured in two
different lengths, depending on the amount of numbers that
had to be accommodated. While the Totem plates had the very
unusual 13 ¾ x 5 ½ dimensions. Henceforward,
the province’s plates would conform to the new North
American standard of six inches by twelve inches that was
due to take force in 1956. |
| 1955 - 1963 |
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Issuing
Statistics |
1955:
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1 to 275,000 |
1956:
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unknown |
1957:
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unknown |
1958:
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unknown |
1959:
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unknown |
1960:
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unknown |
1961:
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unknown |
1962:
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unknown |
1963:
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unknown |
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Much
to the chagrin of local tourist associations, newspapers,
and even a Totemland Society, the government also abandoned
the use of any slogan or emblem to promote the province. Suggestions
of retaining the Totem of the 1952-54 plates, or slogans such
as “Industry Moves West,” or “Land of Beauty”
were also rejected by the cabinet. |
| The
1957 Colour Scheme Conflict! |
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As
is apparent in the above photos, the 1957
Alberta and British Columbia license plates
shared the same colour combination. This
"faux-pas" violated an unwritten
rule that neighbouring jurisdictions could
not use the same colours in the same year. |
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Although
there was a return to an all-numeric serial format, plates
would continue to appear with punched holes in the lower right
corner around the date stamp through 1957. While the government
had no intention of returning to annual validation tabs, the
holes continued to be punched as a precaution, in case a major
steel shortage developed and there was a need to revert to
tabs. |
| Government
Plates |
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Through
the 1940s and 1950s, the provincial government
reserved plates in the 19-000 to 19-999 series
for use on public vehicles (in an earlier
time, these plates had been used by Medical
Doctors). The 1958 plate pictured above would
have been the first in this series for B.C.'s
Centennial year. |
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| Promotional Photos |
Each year, the release of the new number plate colours and design used to be considered a fairly big deal, and newspapers across the province would provide readers with a sneak peak in November of December. The following series of pictures represents a sample of these stories and, rather fortunately, the actual plates are still with us: |
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PHOTO CAPTION:
"SNEAK PREVIEW of what B.C. cars will wear in 1957 is taken by Dennis Rowe, 5875 Vine, at motor vehicle testing station. Next year's licence plate has blue figures on white background." |
PHOTO CAPTION:
"SHE'S GOT YOUR NUMBER. Pretty Lynda Kenney, of North Vancouver, gives a preview of British Columbia's 1958 motor vehicle license plates. They will be green on gold, emblazoned with "Centenary" to advertise this province's 100th birthday for and wide." |
PHOTO
CAPTION:
"Marilyn Peckham attaches one of the new 1959
B.C. licence plates to her tricycle. The plates, light
green lettering on maroon, will go on sale January
1, 1959."
Date: November 5, 1958.
Source: The Exploration Place |
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| Minor
Die Variations |
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| Here
is one of those interesting, but ultimately not
very significant variations that can be found
in some of the dies used to stamp out the plates.
For some reason different dies were used on the
date stamp in 1961. There appears to be no pattern
to this variation either. |
|
1904-1912
| 1913-1914 | 1915-1917
| 1918-1923 | 1924-1935 | 1936-1948 | 1949-1951 | 1952-1954
1955-1963 | 1964-1969 | 1970-1972
| 1973-1978 | 1979-1985 | 1985-2001 | 2001-2013 | 2013 and beyond
© Copyright Christopher John
Garrish. All rights reserved.
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