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Remember These? Or am I too old?


hirsca
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Tiny part of the mother load that was found a couple of weeks ago. Just got arout to itemizing it. WW2 era 1942 California/DAV return guaranteed key chain. Thanks, Al.

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Yes, sure do remember them and I am 1957 vintage. I recall them from growing up in PA. From memory, they seemed to be quite common (at the time).

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I have a question----if you made a donation to the DAV, did they duplicate your license plate number and used it to track you down?? Thanks, Al.

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craig_pickrall

I'm from Virginia and I think they just sent them to all registered owners in hopes of getting a donation. It may have been different in other states however. I'm not sure when they stopped doing this but I would guess in the 60's.

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Here's a thought... you drop your keys in a parking lot, and someone finds it. Now all they have to do is match it to the car, and off they go! I think that is why they fell from popularity.

 

I have one or two from PA from the 1960's. You have to figure the only way they could have done this was by matching name, address and DMV records. Not sure that would fly today.

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I think they came in the mail asking for donations, like you get mailing labels today. I have got 1956 and 1957.

 

So...in the mass mailing effort, did each addressee get a different license plate number so the DAV couls track you down, or did you get your own tag number to insert once a donation was made? Thanks for all of the comments, Al.

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Manchu Warrior

I have two that are still in the envelopes. One is dated 1946 and the other one is dated 1968.

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Back of envelope.

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Many thanks to all for clearing this up for me. I remember them growing up (I'm 67), but did not know the way they worked. Thanks again, Al.

 

P.S. Any more out there? Any earlier then my '42?

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I've seen these for sale on websites, but I was never really sure what they were. There are seemingly thousands of them around. Thanks for this post and for teaching me something new!

 

Kevin

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  • 4 weeks later...
Joe McKinney

I have a friend who is a license plate collector who also has a rather large collection of DAV keychain plates. From what he has told me, the first DAV plates were made in 1942. Earlier similar keychain plates had been made by B.F. Goodrich starting in the 1930's. There were also do-it-yourself kits to make your own keychain plate. The last DAVs were made around 1975-76 when new Federal privacy laws restricted access to vehicle registration info. Since the demise of the DAV plates there have been a few organizations that have made keychain plates as fundraisers. Within the last decade the Florida Sheriff's Association has mailed out keychain plates to Florida residents.

 

I have a 1974 Alabama DAV that was sent to my grandparents and also a couple of the recent Florida Sheriff's Association plates that were sent to my parents. Most keychain plates are fairly common and not worth much. The early B.F. Goodrich plates and make your own plates are rare and can bring good money. Another deisrable category is the DAV special request plates which were custom made and feature personalized numbers, ham radio numbers, and National Guard plate numbers. Some of the first 1942 issues are hard to find and there are certain years for certain states that are less common. Any DAVs still in the original mailer are also worth a premium over loose plates.

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I have a friend who is a license plate collector who also has a rather large collection of DAV keychain plates. From what he has told me, the first DAV plates were made in 1942. Earlier similar keychain plates had been made by B.F. Goodrich starting in the 1930's. There were also do-it-yourself kits to make your own keychain plate. The last DAVs were made around 1975-76 when new Federal privacy laws restricted access to vehicle registration info. Since the demise of the DAV plates there have been a few organizations that have made keychain plates as fundraisers. Within the last decade the Florida Sheriff's Association has mailed out keychain plates to Florida residents.

 

I have a 1974 Alabama DAV that was sent to my grandparents and also a couple of the recent Florida Sheriff's Association plates that were sent to my parents. Most keychain plates are fairly common and not worth much. The early B.F. Goodrich plates and make your own plates are rare and can bring good money. Another deisrable category is the DAV special request plates which were custom made and feature personalized numbers, ham radio numbers, and National Guard plate numbers. Some of the first 1942 issues are hard to find and there are certain years for certain states that are less common. Any DAVs still in the original mailer are also worth a premium over loose plates.

 

Thanks Joe. Looks like my 1942 is from the first year's issue. Thanks again, Al.

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Joe McKinney

Here are some more examples.

 

This is the 1973 Alabama DAV (not 1974) that was sent to my grandparents, a 1967 Alabama DAV, and a mid-2000's Florida Sheriff's Youth Ranch plate that was sent to my parents.

 

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Next is an assortment of DAVs I picked for reference purposes while helping my friend find plates for his collection. These show most of the styles of DAV made over the years. I am not an expert on these and the dates given are approximate. On top is a steel frame plate of the type which was common from the early 1940's to mid-1950's. At the top and center left are two sizes of the plastic frame plates which were common in the 1950's and early 1960's. On the bottom left is an all plastic plate type which was a type made from the mid-1950's to mid-1960's. On the right are three aluminum frame plates of the type which were common from the mid-1960's to mid-1970's. These three have three different font sizes used during this period.

 

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Heres a little story.If your squimish turn the channel.

Back in 1973 I was a rookie police officer.I caught a call of a dead body in a farmers field under the only tree around for 100s of yards.The deceased had been there a while,major decomp and animal damage.

The poor fellow had hung himself from the tree with his leather belt.This rotted and broke,depositing him on the ground.After the body was removed I conducted a search and found a set of keys.On the key chain was one of these little license plates.It was badly weathered.With a lot of luck,I retrieved a plate number.A registration check came up with a name and address in the neighboring town.Further checks reveiled the subject was reported missing some months before.The subject had mental health issues and decided to check out.This post brought back this incidentwhich I had not thought of in a while.

Bob

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After buying out house contents for many years I have seen tons of these.

 

Wow Bob I don't know what to say.

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