The earliest license plates in Colorado was the responsiblity for a city or town and were called, 'pre-state,' which refers to plates that were either owner provided or government issued, and were used prior to 1913. They plates were homemade, meaning the motorist fashioned their own plate, often house numbers were use, and were usually made out of wood or leather. Metal house numbers were commonly used. These early plates usually did not include the state or year. Colorado did not adopt state-issued license plates until 1913.
This plate is fashioned from a piece of leather with house numbers attached. During these years, there were no specific requirements for license plates; thus, homeowners often used their address and or initials to create their own unique license plate.