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Mexico Archive
TOTAL KNOWN PORCELAIN VARIETIES: 11
MEXICAN PORCELAINS
Although this website is primarily devoted to porcelain license plates from the
United States and Canada, I have included this special archive on Mexican
porcelains just because I'm so fascinated by them. There are three known
jurisdictions from which porcelains were issued in Mexico: the states of Baja
California and Sonora and the city of Tijuana.
BAJA CALIFORNIA
It is unclear exactly when the state of Baja California first began issuing porcelain
license plates, but it appears to be around 1919 which is roughly the date
collectors believe the red & white plate pictured below was issued. Then in 1920
they began a system of using an undated green & white porcelain base with a
series of dated metal tabs issued annually to renew one's registration. This
system is nearly identical to Baja's U.S. neighbor to the north where California had
used an extremely similar system from 1916 through 1919. It is not inconceivable
that the tabbed Baja porcelains were modeled off of the California plates, if not
even manufactured by the same company. Unlike the California porcelains,
however, our knowledge of these Baja plates is extremely small because of the
paucity of surviving examples - particularly examples with original tabs still
attached. Nevertheless, there are examples of each year known - including a pair
of the #1 plates that was unearthed in an old home in Sacramento, California.
Interestingly, these undated Baja porcelains were issued in two distinct
varieties. The Type 1 plates appear to be plates from #1 through about #1000 and
were made with periods after the words "Baja" and "Mexico" as well as having
the first letter of "Baja" and the first letter of "Mexico" lined up directly over one
another. The color of the characters is sort of an emerald green and backs are
black. Then around plate #1000, a second variety was manufactured, probably
indicating a new order placed by state officials, and possibly even a change of
manufacturer. These Type 2 plates have the word "Mexico" offset to the right
and omit the period after the word. On these plates, the green is more of an olive
color and the backs of the plates are light gray. Based on known examples,
registrations seem to have reached around #1800.
After experimenting with this tab system, Baja then switched over to annual dated
plates in 1923. They used the same basic format as the undated plates, but
changed the characters from green to blue and added a date to the right. Then in
1924, they continued with porcelain but altered the format quite significantly,
centering the plate number, removing the word "Mexico" entirely and switching
the date to the left side. Plates are known to have surpassed #2000 in 1924. In
1925, Baja finally ceased the issuance of porcelain license plates and began a
long tradition of annually issued embossed metal plates.
SONORA
Right around the same time that Baja California began issuing porcelain license
plates, officials in the neighboring state to the east, Sonora, chose to do the
same thing. And just like Baja, they selected a porcelain base that was
re-validated each year with the attachment of a dated metal tab. This system
began in Sonora in 1921. Much like the case with New Mexico porcelains, the
first year was dated and carried no metal tab, although it did carry pre-drilled
holes so that motorists could attach tabs starting the following year. But then at
some point in the future, just as with New Mexico plates, the date was dropped
because it was pointless. After all, the tab was going to be covering it anyway,
and officials could probably save a penny or two by not having it enamelled onto
the plates. As with all Mexican porcelains, Sonora plates are quite scarce. In
fact, many of the tabs remain completely unknown. In fact, I've only ever seen
examples from 1925 and 1927, but the logical presumption is that they were
issued each year.
Note also that the Mexican state of Sonora issued plates that were designed to
be used by officials doing business across the international border in Arizona. I
have not included a discussion of those plates here, as they are discussed in
detail in the Arizona archive HERE.
TIJUANA
Immediately across the international border south of San Diego, California lies the
Mexican city of Tijuana. For years, only the states of Baja California and Sonora
were known to have issued porcelain license plates. But in 2017, a remarkable
discovery was made when California collector Jake Bear turned up the sole
surviving example of a Tijuana porcelain license plate. Dated 1918-19, this plate
is distinctive for being the oldest Mexican porcelain known.
MEXICAN PORCELAINS
Although this website is primarily devoted to porcelain license plates from the
United States and Canada, I have included this special archive on Mexican
porcelains just because I'm so fascinated by them. There are three known
jurisdictions from which porcelains were issued in Mexico: the states of Baja
California and Sonora and the city of Tijuana.
BAJA CALIFORNIA
It is unclear exactly when the state of Baja California first began issuing porcelain
license plates, but it appears to be around 1919 which is roughly the date
collectors believe the red & white plate pictured below was issued. Then in 1920
they began a system of using an undated green & white porcelain base with a
series of dated metal tabs issued annually to renew one's registration. This
system is nearly identical to Baja's U.S. neighbor to the north where California had
used an extremely similar system from 1916 through 1919. It is not inconceivable
that the tabbed Baja porcelains were modeled off of the California plates, if not
even manufactured by the same company. Unlike the California porcelains,
however, our knowledge of these Baja plates is extremely small because of the
paucity of surviving examples - particularly examples with original tabs still
attached. Nevertheless, there are examples of each year known - including a pair
of the #1 plates that was unearthed in an old home in Sacramento, California.
Interestingly, these undated Baja porcelains were issued in two distinct
varieties. The Type 1 plates appear to be plates from #1 through about #1000 and
were made with periods after the words "Baja" and "Mexico" as well as having
the first letter of "Baja" and the first letter of "Mexico" lined up directly over one
another. The color of the characters is sort of an emerald green and backs are
black. Then around plate #1000, a second variety was manufactured, probably
indicating a new order placed by state officials, and possibly even a change of
manufacturer. These Type 2 plates have the word "Mexico" offset to the right
and omit the period after the word. On these plates, the green is more of an olive
color and the backs of the plates are light gray. Based on known examples,
registrations seem to have reached around #1800.
After experimenting with this tab system, Baja then switched over to annual dated
plates in 1923. They used the same basic format as the undated plates, but
changed the characters from green to blue and added a date to the right. Then in
1924, they continued with porcelain but altered the format quite significantly,
centering the plate number, removing the word "Mexico" entirely and switching
the date to the left side. Plates are known to have surpassed #2000 in 1924. In
1925, Baja finally ceased the issuance of porcelain license plates and began a
long tradition of annually issued embossed metal plates.
SONORA
Right around the same time that Baja California began issuing porcelain license
plates, officials in the neighboring state to the east, Sonora, chose to do the
same thing. And just like Baja, they selected a porcelain base that was
re-validated each year with the attachment of a dated metal tab. This system
began in Sonora in 1921. Much like the case with New Mexico porcelains, the
first year was dated and carried no metal tab, although it did carry pre-drilled
holes so that motorists could attach tabs starting the following year. But then at
some point in the future, just as with New Mexico plates, the date was dropped
because it was pointless. After all, the tab was going to be covering it anyway,
and officials could probably save a penny or two by not having it enamelled onto
the plates. As with all Mexican porcelains, Sonora plates are quite scarce. In
fact, many of the tabs remain completely unknown. In fact, I've only ever seen
examples from 1925 and 1927, but the logical presumption is that they were
issued each year.
Note also that the Mexican state of Sonora issued plates that were designed to
be used by officials doing business across the international border in Arizona. I
have not included a discussion of those plates here, as they are discussed in
detail in the Arizona archive HERE.
TIJUANA
Immediately across the international border south of San Diego, California lies the
Mexican city of Tijuana. For years, only the states of Baja California and Sonora
were known to have issued porcelain license plates. But in 2017, a remarkable
discovery was made when California collector Jake Bear turned up the sole
surviving example of a Tijuana porcelain license plate. Dated 1918-19, this plate
is distinctive for being the oldest Mexican porcelain known.
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| Note the layout of the Type 1 plates with the placement of the word "Mexico" and the inclusion of a period after both "BAJA" and "MEXICO" Sometime around plate #1000, it appears that a second (Type 2) order was made, with the country name moved and the periods omitted. |
| FACTOID |
| As was the case with New Mexico porcelain license plates in 1920, the first Sonora plates temporarily carried a "1921" designation. However, at some undetermined point, once the re-validation tags were being issued, the date was no longer needed and was dropped. |
| FACTOID |
