Prewar Los Angeles bicycle license plates?

[TR6SC]

I don't believe there was a tax or charge for registering a bicycle with the town or city, I think it was strictly to identify a bike if it was stolen. I may be wrong, some cities and townships might have charged to register your bike and get a tag, but I believe they were free, all you had to do was bring your bike to the police department and they would record the serial number and issue you a license plate.

Not too sure about free in LA, Amigo, but I believe you're right about the stolen part.
I remember going up to the Hollywood precinct on Wilcox and De Longpre and giving the officer a dollar. It was all very official, like the DMV. At the mid-turn of the Century (the 50s), the licenses were water slide decals. I remember that dollar. It was a lot of money.

 

[Balloonatic]

Wow Mike... you're OLD! And probably quite right about the tax or license fee. In South Pasadena, I seem to remember getting the license for free.. $1 would have certainly broke the bank for me! I seem to remember "safety presentations" at grammar school the police dept. would put on, and you could license your bike there for free.

I have a Denver bike tag, and always thought the T in D.B.T. stood for tag, but of course it makes sense it stands for TAX! Jeez, the govt. even had their hands in the pockets of kids!

 

[Autocycleplane]

I have a few Denver tags as well

 

[49autocycledeluxe]

anyone have any idea where HMK is?

 

[GTs58]

While looking for the City HMK I came across this bit of info. Wow. Y'all needs a license to ride your bike. :eek:

Bicycle Licenses
Per City Of Lorain codified ordinance 373.12, “No person who resides within this City shall ride a bicycle on any street or upon any public path set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles unless such bicycle has been licensed and a license sticker is attached thereto as provided herein.”

Ohio must $^%$^#$%

 

[dnc1]

So when did your licensing system finish? Or do any states/cities/towns etc. still operate a licensing system?

 

[saladshooter]

LA County

 

[TR6SC]

Well, it seems that everybody's got a 1935! The truth is, my 15 year old daughter found my little stash of plates and zeroed in on my LABL 8685. How could I say no? So, the plate is now part of the dowry! Sorry JP, no bigamy allowed.

Both parents are from the Gateway City.

The script reminds me of the playing cards. Also, CABE member wasp3245

Podunk town in Humboldt County known for 4H, not 420!

View attachment 707982

 

[TR6SC]

Here are a couple more that I've found.

 

[GTs58]

So when did your licensing system finish? Or do any states/cities/towns etc. still operate a licensing system?

Let me say this about that. Every state is different, all cities, towns etc. are different. Years ago it was more about registering your bike for a record of ownership if lost or stolen. If you see a plate with no year stamping that plate was most likely used for identification purposes only and that plate stays with the bike until the bike changes ownership. Some cities/towns had/have a yearly license issued and the fees/taxes if any vary from city to city. Where I live now there is no such thing as a registration or licensing of a bicycle, but they say to record your SN and mark your bike plus take a picture to help identify your bike if it's lost or stolen. The city I grew up in still has a bicycle registration and it's supposedly a requirement if the bike is used on any streets or city pathways. When I had my new Varsity registered in 64 it was free at the fire station and they fixed a plate to my bike and carved up the frame and a bunch of parts with an engraver with numbers that matched the plate.
The letters DBT on that plate may have meant Denver Bicycle Tax, but that tax must not have been implemented in last years or it meant Denver Bicycle Tag. Some cities/towns would use different variations on the plate like BL for Bike License.

Here's a quote from The Denver Post on July 2017.

A top Republican state lawmaker this week floated a proposal to tax bicycles to help pay for the state’s infrastructure needs, an idea that would make Colorado only the second state in the country to do so.

State Sen. Ray Scott, the assistant majority leader from Grand Junction, wrote on Facebook that he plans to introduce some sort of bicycle tax in the wake of the Oregon legislature voting this month to levy a flat $15 sales tax on bikes worth more than $200.

“Maybe it should just be a license plate?” Scott wrote on his Facebook page. “What do you think?”