1912-20 Dealer Plates

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From 1912 to 1920 Ontario’s plates were made of flat metal and didn’t feature any embossed characters. Instead, the plate numbers, year and provincial crest were silk-screened onto the plates. From 1912 to 1916 they were made by MacDonald Manufacturing Co. and had a wire rim on the backside to increase rigidity. In 1917, the province wanted a heavier gauge metal plate so it switched suppliers to A.J. Stough of St. Thomas for two years, then for 1919 and 1920 to St. Thomas Metal Signs.

Unlike passenger plates, dealer plates had a unique plate number sequence in order to differentiate them from regular plates. As a hold over from the way dealer plates were issued from 1903 to 1911, dealers in 1912 were able to choose a letter-based plate combination of their liking. These were often initials of the car company, a sole proprietor or dealership. In 1913 the province switched the numbering pattern to an “M” prefix followed by a sequential number. With registrations skyrocketing the province likely found the previous system too onerous and administrative. The “M” prefix was chosen to represent a dual meaning – “Merchant” and “Manufacturer”.

Numbering started at M1 and no more than four digits were required as dealer registrations were very low compared to regular passenger plates. In any given year, no more than approximately 2,700 pairs were made annually (ie: M1 to M2700) as evidenced by the 1918 survivors.

1912 Plates Known: 0

At this time, no 1912 dealer plates are known to have survived. Both the ‘REO’ and ‘WWK’ plates pictured above are the only archival evidence found to date. Additionally, a list of permits registration book has not yet been found for 1912, therefore the origins of the ‘WWK’ plate are unknown.

1913 Plates Known: 0

Similar to above, no 1913 dealer plates have been found thus far. Until very recently it was unknown what year the “M” prefix began as no photo evidence or plate had surfaced. The photo above was found in 2019 and now demonstrates that the ‘M’ series started in 1913. The 1913 List of Permits Book shows that M235 was registered to Wolseley Tool & Motor Car Co. 81 Avenue Rd., Toronto (Wolseley had a block of numbers from M233 to M237).

1914 Plates Known: 4

Year	Plate Number	Ownership	Details	Picture
1914	M516	Dave Steckley Collection	Image courtesy of Dave Steckley
1914	M516	Krystian Kozinski Collection	Image courtesy of Facebook
1914	M657	Eric Vettoretti Collection	Likely registered to an Overland Motors dealership in Listowel, Ontario.
1914	M657	Jon Upton Collection	Likely registered to an Overland Motors dealership in Listowel, Ontario.

1915 Plates Known: 3

Year	Plate Number	Ownership	Details	Picture
1915	M480	Unknown Private Collection	Pictured, page 32 Ontario License Plates – A Century of History by (Sallmen)
1915	M807	Krystian Kozinski Collection	Image courtesy of Facebook
1915	M809	Patterson Family Collection	Image courtesy of Eric Taylor.

1916 Plates Known: 8

Year	Plate Number	Ownership	Details	Picture
1916	M790	Dave Steckley Collection	Image courtesy of Dave Steckley
1916	M1036	Jon Upton Collection
1916	M1292	Will Loftus Collection	Image courtesy of Will Loftus
1916	M1330	Unknown Private Collection	Image courtesy of Shackleton Auctions. Sold in 2017 for $400.
1916	M1551	Patterson Family Collection	Pictured, page 32 Ontario License Plates – A Century of History by (Sallmen)
1916	M1678	Eric Vettoretti Collection
1916	M2002	Scott Craig Collection

1917 Plates Known: 3

Year	Plate Number	Ownership	Details	Picture
1917	M725	Joe Sallmen Collection	Image courtesy of Joe Sallmen
1917	M817	Unknown Private Collection	Pictured, page 32 Ontario License Plates – A Century of History by (Sallmen)
1917	M994	Dave Steckley Collection	Image courtesy of Dave Steckley

1918 Plates Known: 13

Beginning in 1918 the word “DEALER” was added to the top of the plates. As a result, the plate numbers were much shorter to accommodate the heading.

Year	Plate Number	Ownership	Details	Picture
1918	M190	Eric Taylor Collection	Image courtesy of Eric Taylor. Also pictured, page 32 Ontario License Plates – A Century of History by (Sallmen).
1918	M190	Dave Steckley Collection	Image courtesy of Dave Steckley
1918	M775	Tim Brilz Collection	Image courtesy of Tim Brilz
1918	M775	Unknown Private Collection	Image courtesy of Worthpoint. Sold on ebay May, 2018.
1918	M1654	Unknown Private Collection	Image courtesy of Live Auctioneers. Sold at Miller & Miller June 2017.
1918	M1905	Wayne Brown Collection	Image courtesy of Wayne Brown. Plate was issued to John W. Brown (Wayne's grandfather's garage and car sales business in St. Marys, ON).
1918	M2310	For sale on HiBid (Shackleton Auctions) May 2021.	Image courtesy of HiBid
1918	M2374	Eric Vettoretti Collection
1918	M2374	For sale at Picker's End flea market in Barrie, March 2020	Image courtesy of Kijiji.
1918	M2687	Shayne Hart Collection	Image courtesy of Shayne Hart
1918	M2689	Unknown Private Collection	Image courtesy of Worthpoint. Sold on ebay July, 2013.
1918	M2704	Terry Ellsworth Collection	Image courtesy of Thomas Zimmermann
1918	M2885	Jon Upton Collection

1919 Plates Known: 3

Year	Plate Number	Ownership	Details	Picture
1919	M303	Dave Steckley Collection	Image courtesy of Dave Steckley
1919	M774	Bill Collins Collection	Image courtesy of ebay.
1919	M920	Eric Vettoretti Collection

1920 Plates Known: 5

Year	Plate Number	Original Registration	Ownership	Details	Picture
1920	M281	No Record	Eric Vettoretti Collection
1920	M1053	No Record	Mike Butters Collection	Image courtesy of Mike Butters
1920	M1077	No Record	Unknown Private Collection	Pictured, page 32 Ontario License Plates – A Century of History by (Sallmen).
1920	M1150	Harold Hills Garage & Dealership, 53/55 Elizabeth Street, Barrie, Ont	Jon Upton Collection	Sold by Harold Hills grandson, May 2024.
1920	M1150	Harold Hills Garage & Dealership, 53/55 Elizabeth Street, Barrie, Ont	Dave Steckley Collection	Sold by Harold Hills grandson, May 2024.