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Written
For Delaware Today Magazine
By John Lake
"TAG, YOU'RE IT"
The ads appear daily in the classified
sections of Delaware newspapers: "Delaware license plate, 4 digits, $10,000
or best offer." A license plate costing thousands of dollars? Does that
price include the car too? Are people just giving away the car and selling just
the plates for the cost of the car to somehow beat the tax man?
Not in
Delaware. The First State, with a population at nearly one million,
still issues license plates containing all numerical characters. A Delaware
license plate number can contain up to six digits and the low ones have achieved
a cachet that is legendary among Delaware residents. Delawareans love their
license plates so much that one of the state's hottest selling holiday gift
items each year is a diminutive solid-gold reproduction of a customer's Delaware
license plate.
Obtaining
a low-numbered license plate is a random process. When a new vehicle is
registered with the Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles the next available
plate in numerical sequence is issued. That doesn't necessarily mean the highest
number (currently above 980000). If a number has recently become inactive
through death or non-renewal that is lower than a new number, that is the number
that will be issued.
The
first law mandating the registration of Delaware license plates appeared in
1905. The law required the placement of a required marker on the rear of the
vehicle indicating "Arabic numerals not less than three inches in
height." These plates could be of any material and were created by the
owners. Some drivers merely painted their Delaware number on the back of a
Pennsylvania plate which was not only expedient but helped satisfy dual
automobile laws in the adjoining states.
The
first official Delaware license plates began in 1909. These were handsome white
on black porcelain plates, which are sold today as replicas. Automobile
ownership was rare in Delaware in the pre-World War I days and it wasn't until
1911 that the first four-digit Delaware license plate had to be issued. As late
as 1916, when the fancy porcelain plates gave way to less expensive painted
steel plates, there still weren't 5000 automobiles registered in Delaware.
The low
numbered Delaware license plates became so coveted they are typically passed
down through families for generations. Seldom does such a low number make its
way back to the public. In past years a two-digit number became available but
rather than hand that prize out randomly the state of Delaware auctioned it off
instead.
So just
how much is a Delaware license plate worth? Although a five-digit plate can
raise a half eyebrow, the interest doesn't begin until the four-digit plates. A
low four-digit Delaware license plate can fetch into the thousands of dollars
and two-digit plates will run into the tens of thousands of dollars. To cash in
on that bonanza, however, the plate must be legally attached to a car. The
seller must retain the rights to the number (retained through annual
registration) and be able transfer those rights to the buyer at the Department
of Motor Vehicles.
John David Lake
AutoArchives
Delaware
Black & White Tag Affair ®
Is
a registered trademark of Auto Archives
The Delaware Black & White Tag Affair is an annual R.S.V.P. event
hosted by Auto Archives
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