In 1952, the territory of Baja California Sur used the same national plate design as the rest of the country. But until now, we’ve never seen an example or photo of a 1952 BCS plate, though surely there are some out there.  Note the “T.S.” designation for Territorio Sur.

In 1930, Mexico divided the Baja into two territories–North and South.  Interestingly, Baja California started using a North identifier immediately in 1931 (D.N. for Distrito Norte) and then changed to “T.N.” for Territorio Norte from 1936 through 1953 (except for the 1937-46 national series).  The TN designation was dropped with the 1954/55 issue after Baja California became a state in 1952.  But curiously, Baja California used a “N” (Norte”) designation for 1956/57 for the first and only time.  Since then, it’s always been Baja California.

The history of Territorio Sur plates is not well known.  It was then and still is today one of the most remote and sparsely populated areas in all of Mexico.  Mexico Highway 1, the federal road stretching from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas was not even completed until 1973.  According to city-facts.com, Baja Sur’s population was estimated at 55,000 people, clustered a handful of towns.  The earliest license plates appear to be municipal.  There is an undated San Jose del Cabo documented and old La Paz and Cabo photos show automobiles in the 1920’s with license plates on them, but they are not legible.