License plate

[37PackardMan]

In the early 70s I had a farm in the village of Tranquility, NJ.

One day while scouring the farm dump for 'treasures' i found this plate.  (I also found 5 other NJ plates from 1912-1915.)

I assume that it was a Mercer plate because of the color and the proximity to Trenton.

Are any other 'MFR's CAR' plates known to exist?...or factory photos with similar plates?

How it ended up on the farm is a great puzzle.  A neighbor, Cecil Dennis, had grown up on the farm and never spoke of a speedster.

 

[mercer09]

all 1910 NJ plates are that color. However there is a good chance that it was for a Mercer, because of the M designation.

Fred Hoch has one of these on his speedster and a 1912 plate from the Mercer factory just sold last week on ebay................ it was found on the roof of the Mercer Factory in the 1960's.

The one on ebay sold for 350. and was in a bit better condition.

That is a fun historical find!

[37PackardMan]

Thanks for the response and info.

Were there any other manufacturers in NJ in 1910????

 

Here are the other plates that I found...

 

[Chris Paulsen]

Neat plate and story. The Manufacturer designation is a bit misleading. They were actually just dealer plates and used in this form from 1908-1915. In 1910, I believe they used approximately 650 dealer numbers with Car 1-5 available, each in pairs. I'm not sure if that makes sense, but they made quite a few of them. Additionally, a pile of 1910 MFR plates were found in the ground about 30 +/- years ago, making that year the most common. All this is not to say yours isn't really cool and has a great story- I like it.

Some say the colors are in tribute to the orange and black of Princeton University, but the shade is a bit off. The 1911's are red and gray, supposedly a tribute to Stevens Institute of Technology. 

[37PackardMan]

Thanks for the info.

I saw a very similar one on the internet, but the apostrophe was missing from the MFR'S.

On the back is a stamp of the company that made all the NJ plates that I have.

 

[mercer09]

yes 37

 

Horace Fine I believe was the manufacturer of these

[ersatzS2]

I have one in great shape.  Remember that during the first decade of the automobile, especially with new manufacturers, there were no dealer networks.  You bought your car direct from the factory and it was shipped, often by rail, often by road, to your town.  In that situation, every car that left the factory would've likely worn manufacturer plates, especially if it was delivered locally.    So 'manufacturer' plates had slightly different utility then than we think of today.

[37PackardMan]

Good point...

In Rosenberg, TX, which is 12 miles south of us, there is a two story antique shop that has a hand operated (rope pull) elevator.  Model T's were brought by rail in crates, assembled upstairs, and the finished car lowered down to the showroom front window.

 

...so I guess my plate was probably used on a Ford or Chevy....Shucks!  with the yellow and black, I thought FOR SURE it had been on a Mercer Raceabout!

 

I appreciate all the comments that were posted.