Original number plates

[Tony Griffiths]

Our 1934 Ruby has its original aluminium number plates by a company called "Homo Ltd." At a glance, they appear to be a thin casting but looking at contemporary advertisements they are described as being "die pressed from pure sheet aluminium the letters and figures being semi-sheared from this sheet" and "....made in one piece from pure aluminium 1/8" thick..."
The black paint remaining appears to be very hard, probably a stove enamel.
The first advertisement is from 1927 when just one type of plate was offered, the other two, from 1935 and 1935, show options available of letters and figures rivetted onto a steel backing plate.
What does "semi-sheared" mean - and does anyone else have these plates or ones of a similar type?

[Andy Bennett]

Semi-sheared I believe is simply half way to being punched out. So the numbers and letters etc will have been formed from a matching punch and die where the punch just pushed the metal into the die rather than fully punched it out and so 'semi-sheared' it. Should be easy enough to tell as there will be an indentation in the back rather than the level finish of a casting.