License plates have been around almost as long as automobiles. They appeared in the earliest period of the transition from the horse. Those dates were 1890 to 1910.

The Netherlands were the first to introduce a national license plate. These were first called a "driving permit" and that occurred in 1898.

The first licenses were simply plates with a number, starting at 1. Around August of 1899 the counter was at 168. When the Dutch chose a different way to number the plates on January 15th 1906 the last issued plate was 2065.

One interesting fact is that at first, plates were not government issued in most jurisdictions and motorists were obliged to make their own. Massachusetts and West Virginia were the first states to issue plates in the year 1903.

What were the earliest plates made of? Porcelain baked onto iron, or simple ceramic with no backing, which made them extremely fragile and impractical. Finding these type plates in good condition is a rare find! Other experimental materials include cardboard, leather, plastic and during wartime shortages copper and pressed soybeans.

The earliset plates varied in size and shape from one jurisdiction to the next. Such that if one moved, new holes would be needed drilled into the bumper to support the new plate. Standardization of plates finally came in 1957 when automobile manufacturers came to agreement with governments and international standards organizations.

While peculiar local variants still exist, there are three basic standards worldwide.

* 12 by 6 inches (300 mm by 150 mm) - Used in the majority of the Americas.

* 20.5 by 4.5 inches (520 mm by either 110 or 120 mm) - Used in the bulk of the European countries and many of their former overseas territories.

* 14.5 by 5.3 inches (372 mm by 135 mm) - Used in Australia and some other Pacific Rim countries, about halfway between the dimensions of the other two standards, longer than Western Hemisphere plates but taller than European ones.