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Mississippi began issuing license plates in 1912. There are no examples of Mississippi license plates which existed prior to 1912 with proper documentation. From 1912 through 1926, all Mississippi license plates were embossed/stamped vertically with the letters MISS. From 1914 through 1918 through 1918, the Mississippi license plates were undated. A horizontal embossing format was introduced in 1927: MISS. 1927.
A vertical MISS was reintroduced in 1941 through 1950. The vertical MISS was centered on the license plate. An expiration date: EX. 10-31-41 was embossed/stamped on the Mississippi license plate in 1941 and this continued to 1950. The 1951 Mississippi license plate issue was embossed/stamped with the county name beginning in 1951 and is still done currently although the county name is screened printed. Special issue plates like NASCAR do not have a screen printed county name.
The first slogan appeared on Mississippi license plates in 1977, a screen print of HOSPITALITY STATE along with a silk screened magnolia. The slogan was deleted in the 1981 Mississippi license plate issue. Over the early years, license plates issued in Mississippi were practical and there were no unique characters or embossed/stamped designs. Mississippi license plate colors included: White, Black, Blue, Aluminum, Light Blue, Cream, Gray, Silver, dark Green, Tan, Maroon, Dark Blue, Yellow and Orange. Retro-reflective white was introduced in 1956 and is still used today.
As more Northerners (Yankees) move to sunny Mississippi, a new interest in classic car restoration has emerged. There are many car shows across Mississippi and interest in old and replica license plates for show cars and automobile museums has emerged. These ardent car collectors and auto enthusiasts depend on www.licenseplates.tv to manufacture replica license plates.