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Michigan Motor Vehicle tag
Catalog #: 312,074,
Accession #: 155,078
Currently on display
From the Smithsonian Collection
This is an early motor vehicle registration tag from Michigan. The city of Detroit becan registering motor vehicles in 1903. In 1905, the first state-wide licensing laws went into effect in Michigan. This license claims to the first one issued for a gasoline engined car. |
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Physical Description |
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artifact. Aluminium disc. Says “Registered Motor Vehicle No. 5 Michigan Motor Vehicle Law” on one side and “First State License for a gasoline automobile in Detroit issued to William G. Simpson 1905” on the other.
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Details |
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Credit: | Gift of William G. Simpson |
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History |
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As the number of motor vehicles reached tens of thousands, state and local governments assumed a new power: authorizing vehicles and drivers. In 1901, New York became the first state to register automobiles; by 1918 all states required license plates.
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