I had this trap given too me that my father in law got a garage sale. Nice old trap but it has an oval tag says Wisconsin trap 1933. I have a bunch of old WI tags but no oval 1933's All the rest I have have two years on them 1935-1936 ect. Any trap tag collectors know why only one date and oval? I don't really care if it has value just interesting history to me.

Darn nice collection of tags I've got a couple floating around here some where myself but none are as nice as these.
Allan

Can't remember which tag was printed vertical and horizontal It was either the 1933 or the 1930. Other then that one I have them all.

Back in that era some States had a limit on the number of traps you could have set out. So they issued you tags for each trap for the year.
They are probably pretty rare since I imagine most of them where taken off every season.
Washington had a limit on the number of marten traps, I think is was either 32 or 36.

Here In WI we could only set 75 traps. And each year you had to buy 75 for each year. I think they were .10cents each.

For the years 1941- 42 they started out making the tags out of brass but because of the war they stopped making them out of brass and went to copper since shell casings were being made out of brass.
In 1942-43 they started making them out of tin and In 1964-65 they made them out of aluminum. In 1972-73 they stopped making trap tags.
In 1955-56 they started numbering the tags so when looking at a tag the warden would know who the trapper was.

I just looked It up and the 1930 was the cross tag I hear they are going for around $400.00 if you can find one.

We even had racoon tags back In the 1955. I think they cost .25 cents each and they were sold so the DNR could buy raccoons and stock them In WI. Another DNR success story LOL