History How it use to be.

From 1933 to 1957, motorists were required to carry their South Carolina driver’s license on a stamped brass tag, usually carried on a key ring. This required drivers to turn off the ignition to show an officer their license. SCHP Corporal Grady B. Owen checks a driver’s license on November 5, 1956. The brass tags were not used during the time immediately before and after World War II when metals were scarce.


This is what they looked like - I just pulled this one off the internet but I have one of my dad's old ones on a key chain somewhere in my desk at home. HRP

 

I have my Dad's from when he was stationed @ Shaw. Did other states do that too?

 

I honestly don't know. HRP

 

That's interesting, never seen one before.

 

Very weird, but cool

 

thanks for sharing that.. learned something new today...

 

Interesting , thanks for sharing that Danny.

 

Born in Wa state, never heard of this ... suspecting it may be a local state thing.

 

Pretty good idea for the time. My first license was paper and pen. Kept it for a while as somehow the date of birth got altered.

 

Never heard of that. Pretty cool.

 

I wish all states would do it.

 

My Mom who was born in 1920 said she never took a driving test, she went to the general store and paid a quarter and got her license.

 

When I left Oregon for the mid west in '71 Oregon driver's license was paper with a loose description. Missouri was the same. Missouri punched a hole in my Oregon license, well my duplicate. I found out that I could apply for a duplicate Missouri license with a different iteration of my name so eventually I ended up with 3 different Missouri licenses (full name, nick name and initials with last name) and my Oregon license. I got stopped in a small town in Kansas and the cop said, "What is your name sir?" I could not remember what license I gave him so I said, "What does my license say?" (not politely) and he said it then I said, "Well that's my name."

That's how it used to be. No computers and life was good.

 

reminds me of a scene from a Cheech and Chong movie

 

I've got 2 conspiracy theories:
1- They stopped doing the metal tags because it cost the state 83 cents each to issue them.
2- They stopped because the metal tags are way too skimpy with descriptions of the alleged driver. Now that we have photos, bar codes, magnetic strips, chips, halographs, fingerprints, shoe size, etc., we're never going back.

 

Reminds me of a fellow truck driver! Before the CDL came out, you could get a regular license in many states and it covered anything you drove. Well, this guy had about 6 different licenses from about 6 different states! He used a different one each time he got a ticket to keep from losing his AL license. One night, his luck ran out. He got stopped for speeding again in another state, I think it might have been TN. He had ran hard all week with little sleep, the way we used to do it. He was also running about 3 log books. Cop asked him to see his license, he popped off , "Which damn one?" Things went down hill from there....can't remember just what went on, but he ended up losing his AL license for about 3 months after all.

 

When I was stationed at Clark AB in the Philippines years ago, I was required to obtain a Philippine drivers license. Went to the local DMV off base and a guy (whom I am certain made a career of it) took the written exam for me for 20 pesos ($1.00).

 

Danny, I'm not as old as you )) but I remember my mom having a license like that on her leather key fob when I was very young. I did grow up in SC.

 

Before the CDL came out, another driver and I worked for the same company and were running our loads down through Clovis, NM on the way to San Diego. We pulled into the Port of Entry and the fellow checking our paperwork made mention that the other driver's Michigan license would expire in a couple of days. Drivers license office was just down the road so we stopped and he went in to get a new license. They asked him for his NM address so he walked back out, looked over the door, went back in and gave them the address for the license office. He walked out with a brand new NM commercial drivers license.

 

Yea, here in Oregon you need a birth certificate and all sorts of ID - UNLESS you are an illegal then you are given everything without anything. Super stupid!

 

Kansas has always been paper since they required one either in the late 40's or early 50's. My 90 year old friend told me when he had to get one but I can't recall the year.

 

That's actually pretty brilliant, depending on the objective.

A lot of states used to require the registration be displayed on the steering column. They sold aftermarket spiffy leather deals with a clear plastic window.

 

Most cars back then allowed you to pull the key without turning the switch to the off position. So no reason you couldn't hand the cop the keys, and leave the engine running. My '69 Suburban is this way, and doesn't need a key to turn it off. Once in the off position, it needs a key to turn it back on, but I accidentally pulled the keys out one day, and stuck the wrong key in the ignition to turn it off. That's when I discovered it didn't need a certain ky to turn it off.

 

thats crazy it was a metal tag

 

That's pretty cool, maybe someone will reproduce them.

 

The DAV used to make little copies of that years license plates and give them to veterans. They fit on a key ring. I think they may have had the phone number and address of the nearest DAV office on the back side. Don't know if they still do them or not, see the old ones on eBay from time to time.

 

Cool story Dan. Thanks. Snowman

 

Yeah, I remember these, in fact Brenda has one that is a 1954 that she wears on a necklace, these were probably available from every state in the country. HRP

 

They still do it in Canada. It is a service provided by The War Amps. A little history blurb from their website below.

The Key Tag Service debuted in 1946, creating jobs for war amputees in the sheltered workshop and generating funds for the Association by providing a valuable service to Canadians.

This service was a popular venture from the start. It not only served as a revenue stream to support the Association’s activities but also helped raise the profile of The War Amps with the public. By attaching a War Amps tag to a set of keys or other valuables, Canadians could feel assured these important items would be returned to them if lost.

In the beginning, the key tags were made by hand and looked like miniature licence plates. Within a few months of operation, more than 70 sets of keys were found and returned by mail.

To date, The War Amps has returned more than 1.5 million sets of lost keys to their owners and the Key Tag Service remains a sheltered workshop, employing amputees and people with disabilities

 

DAV tags were discontinued in the '70's in the USA because of privacy concerns. The DMV stopped sharing plate numbers & addresses with the DAV.

The reverse side of the tag had an address that a lost tag could be mailed to, if found.