Leather plates

[Willowbilly3]

S.D. license plates from 1904 to 1912 were leather. But not state issued or uniform although there is a bit of a standard because gas stations could buy the kit and make them for customers. Leather with aluminum letters nailed on. Anyway, I am at a license plate collector/dealer yesterday and he has bought a lot of the numbers and blank original leather plates. So I bought one of the blanks and the numbers to assemble my own. Even though it will not be an original issued plate, it is still pretty authentic. I have a good friend who is better at restoring than me to put it all together so I'll post pics when it's done.
I left the dealer a list and he is going to fill in the rest of the teens for me and a couple others so I will have a complete run through the 70s of S.D. car plates.
Anyone else here collect license plates?

 

[donsrods]

Did you see that episode of American Pickers where they bought a leather plate and sold it to the Olds museum ? They paid a $1000 bucks as I recall and sold it for the same amount to sort of "donate" it to the museum.

A local restaurant down here has license plates all over the ceiling and walls that customers have donated for lots of years. It is fun reading them as you sit there, some are vanity plates and some are old.

Don

 

[Willowbilly3]

I have a pretty casual and eclectic collection. I started years ago thinking I'd get one from each state I visited but soon found others I just liked because they were attractive in some way. My bear shaped plates from the Northwest Territory and Nunavit are some of my favorites. Some I want but can't afford like the early (33-34) Arizona copper or the Louisiana pelican plate.

 

[Bamamav]

I've never seen leather license plates. We need a pic! [cl