MTFCA Forum

I don’t think this has changed. Most of us are as proud of our old autos today, as dad, grandad and great grandad were back when they were new. I love these period badges showing auto club affiliations. They are extra special when you find one with a special affiliation to where you live, or lived.

COOOOL!!!

That's a nice one Tim.

Brakes? We ain’t got no brakes! We don’t need no brakes! We don’t to drive with any stinking brakes!

Another , the date tag is interchangeable , similar to the first one. These are from adjoining counties in northern Ohio

AAA was around in 1927? Wow, I had no idea it’s that old!

.....see the pyramids from your Speedster!

The license plate is my legal Missouri YOM plate. (Bit of trivia: 63081 could be a ZIP code in this area. (Mine is 63011.) A Model T friend who retired from the Post Office told me that there is no 63081 ZIP, but that 63080 is Sullivan MO and 63084 is Union MO, so that if there were a 63081, it would be a town that started with a T.)

The porcelain AAA badge was given to me by a friend in the old car hobby. He owned large 1920s and 1930s cars, and that badge was on a Marmon. He was in an automobile accident (in a modern car) and both of his wrists were broken. They eventually healed, but he could no longer wrestle the hoods of his large cars open and had trouble steering, so he reluctantly let them go. He said that the period of the badge is at least close to correct for the T.

The Masonic emblem was sent to me by a friend in Paris. I had posted a question about car badges in an online forum and he answered that he had one that he had bought at a flea market in Israel, and would I like to have it? Again, I don't know its exact age but it is probably approximately correct.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.....

Dick, zip code didn’t start nationwide until 1963. That’s good to remember when you see old packaging, no zip, Made and sold before 1963

This was before AAA

As was this The Automobile Legal Association was started in 1907

Cleveland Ohio , well worn. Gifted to me by a long time car friend. I use this on a 1925 Ohio plate with a Cleveland metal frame. My dad was born in Cleveland in 1925

Dropacent wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 20, 2020 3:18 pm

Dick, zip code didn’t start nationwide until 1963.

Tim, more postal trivia for you. My mother's maiden name was Frances Day, and her second cousin was Ed Day. He was JFK's first Postmaster General and it was during his time as PG that zip codes were introduced. I got to know him somewhat because he did a lot of work on the Day genealogy and I was interested in it. Small world.

I’ve always wondering if Big Al had some involvement with this organization. Pay up, or else!

AAA was officially founded in 1902. It was formed by combining a few already existing automobile clubs, and expanded by incorporating other automobile clubs from around the country. So actual beginning dates are varied by the individual clubs incorporated into the AAA, some of which predated the 1902 "official" date. "Planetary" state clubs vary in how they consider themselves as offshoots or subsidiaries of AAA.

AAA sanctioned automobile racing for many years, to help promote public acceptance of the newfangled fire wagons. What was often said to be the first AAA sanctioned automobile race was held on Long Island New York (1903?). It was won by a Riker electric car especially built for racing.
AAA was one of the leaders in the movement to improve roads all across the nation.

A lot of history to be learned.

A great friend sent these to me to add here. More beauties. Let’s see what you have out there! Maybe you can guess who sent these two. He’s very connected to both , through his lifelong love of a subspecies of Model T.

One of my personal favs. I got this from a good friend. It’s in a little rough shape , as am I

Dropacent wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 23, 2020 1:01 pm

I got this from a good friend. It’s in a little rough shape , as am I.

There's a lot of that going around, Tim....

Living in the northern Kentucky community of Taylor Mill, a city by which Cincinnati grew up, I never knew of a Northern Kentucky Motor Club affiliate of the AAA. Rudimentary research has uncovered nothing. But when I saw this on Greedbay I bid and was lucky enough to get it for a modest amount from a seller some 15 minutes away. It’s a non-magnetic metal and efforts to polish a small inconspicuous area revealed nothing. But as it is it’s a nice addition to our unrestored ’22 touring.

Hi Tim

Here is one for the Nova Scotia Motor League with a 1927 year badge. The year badge looks identical to yours. I wonder if they may have been made by the same company>

Jeff
Nova Scotia

I’ll bet you are right, Jeff. I actually found my 1927 date tag loose in an antique shop, and thought it “looked right”. I was happy when I got home, but I think you have confirmed that it is certainly right. I’ll have to look on the back. Oh, the days of this kind of quality are missed by me.

Tim - my Gramps' 1924 TT was purchased new from Wm. O. McKay !!! Cool badge there, Buddy !

That’s cool, Steve. Here are two more from the same guy, may make guessing who it is easier.

England’s Automobile Association was started in 1905.

Years ago, I went into one of their agencies to buy a road atlas. The lady asked me if I was an AA member. I replied that I was AAA, not AA. She was kind enough to give me the member discount.

These were commonplace after WWII , showing an honorably discharged veteran. I display this in honor of my dad, a WWII veteran. The tin litho one was often displayed with the initials of the owner. I have a well worn one somewhere I will post , as soon as I find it.

I fixed one up for my Roadster.

I have been following this thread and completely forgot about the badge on my desk in the living room! (It's fun getting old, isn't it?)

In the 1950s, Anja's parents owned a 1929 Chrysler Touring and a 1931 Morris (Minor, probably). Around that time, a group of car enthusiasts in Holland started a club for owners of cars from 1930 or before, the PAC (Pionier Automobielen Club = Pioneer Automobile Club). My father-in-law joined. I don't know if he was a charter member or just an early member. Ten years ago, I exchanged emails with the secretary of the PAC and he told me that he didn't have accurate records from that time. As Anja recalled it years later, the Chrysler qualified for membership but her father sold it. That left the 1931 Morris, but because it was post-1930, he was kicked out of the club. I gather it was not an amicable parting, so my father-in-law kept his badge (the 14th issued). Now I have it.

Somewhere, I may have a picture of the Chrysler, but I have no idea where. I have noticed through the years that film was expensive and our parents didn't see much point in taking a picture of something they saw every day (like a car or a house).

Another fav of mine. I was hatched in this little town. Turn of the 19th century , it was a huge manufacturing center, with many of the famous bicycle and then auto manufacturers having facilities there, including Garford, Overland and later Fisher body. General industries made important parts for them all. Ridge tool moved from a little town nearby and still calls Elyria their world headquarters.

Here’s two beauties

A couple of mine

Don: Do you have more information on the National Automobile Service Corp.? My '26 coupe had one of those badges on it when I bought it. Thanks, jb

Beautiful stuff! I especially like Don’s with the double flag. Can’t come up with the organization, any ideas? New Hampshire? Here’s about the last of mine. Need to start hunting again!

James, I have no idea of the origin of that badge, maybe somebody else might chime in.
Here is another I need to restore this one,.....some day.

Here are a few I've picked up along the way -
Terry

We also used to have various local clubs in Denmark. A nationwide, F.D.M., was formed also in 1909 and it still exist. It did have badges, but today the most sought relique is there radiator ornaments, which came in several sizes for motorcycles over Model Ts to Auburn, Lincolns and Rolls-Royces.