Basically, we could divide this section into three types of plates with pictures: those that have a drawing or motif stamped - embossed - on the plate (type 1), those that have a decal with a drawing stuck on (type 2), and those that have the drawing printed on a plate or tab (type 3).

I was fortunate enough to know the person who began this special series of plate designs in the early 1960s, although the initial kick probably came from the city of San Carlos de Bariloche (where I currently reside) with a type 3 plate, in which the purpose of promoting tourism is very clear (year 1959 number 338 with the slogan "SKIING-FISHING-ANDINISM"). Mr. Luis Orlando Scheuber, who served as Minister of Economy of the province of Neuquén in 1955, had the idea of using a plate in his province that included a picture referring to the beauties of the province. To this end, he commissioned some local architects to propose some designs. Since he received no response, he created a logo himself in a few minutes, composing a landscape featuring the Lanín volcano, an araucaria (also known as a monkey puzzle tree), and the waters of one of the many lakes in the province. With these three elements, he created a plate that is still greatly admired today. The dark blue license plate with the white number 468 is one of the prototypes that the firm that budgeted its mass production sent to Mr. Scheuber as a sample. This color was ultimately not used, and yellow was chosen for private cars and red for trucks. The green ones were supposedly issued only in the city of Cutral Có, the reason for this choice being unknown. The light-colored ones were given to mayors. Over the six years of use of this plate, various designs were made, some embossed, others with the picture directly on the plate. The types of numbers used also changed. It is important mentioning that it was the only one with provincial scope, although the validation tabs bore the name of each town.

The license plates from Neuquén province were not the only ones to undergo design changes. In Chubut province, for example, in the town of José de San Martín, type 3 license plates were issued in 1965, with a plate illustrated with sheep. In 1967 and 1968, regular license plates without illustrations were issued. In 1969, the sheep designs returned, but this time they were type 2 license plates. This design was repeated in 1970 and 1971. In Córdoba province, the towns of San Esteban, Capilla del Monte, and La Cruz (there may be others) had two different designs. The reason for this is unknown, but it may be because they changed suppliers and new designs were made.

The El Quebrachal license plate, in the province of Salta, is perhaps the only license plate model that had two pictures on a single plate. One drawing shows a quebracho tree, and the other, a wild boar. License plates with pictures are often characterized by having, in addition to a drawing, a slogan or reference to the intended picture, as in the case of this El Quebrachal license plate with the words "Tierra Brava" (Brave Land). In other cases, "Zona Pimentonera" (Red Pepper Zone) was used for the Molinos license plates, in the province of Salta; "National Capital of Folklore" for the Cosquín license plates; "Visit the Calchaquí Valley" or "Calchaquí Valley" for the Angastaco and Cachi license plates, respectively, in the province of Salta; "National Wheat Festival Headquarters" in license plates from Leones, province of Córdoba; "Portal de los Andes" in the Campo Quijano license plates, in Salta; "A Paradise in La Rioja" in the Malanzán license plates; "Calamuchita Valley" or simply "Calamuchita" in the broadcasts from La Cruz and Villa General Belgrano in Córdoba respectively, etc.

In the small town of Cushamen (Chubut), a plate with a beautiful Patagonian landscape design was used, although they were also made with the same type for Julián Herrero, its previous name.

Many themes are repeated in plates from different localities, such as the image of a sheep, typical of Patagonia, which was used in the municipalities of José de San Martín, Río Mayo, and Río Pico in the province of Chubut, and Perito Moreno in the province of Santa Cruz. A mountain landscape with a lake or river, typical of tourist locations, was also widely used in the following municipalities: Esquel, José de San Martín, El Maitén, Río Pico, Río Mayo, Cushamen, and Julián Herrero (all in Chubut), Perito Moreno and Gobernador Gregores (Santa Cruz), Villa General Belgrano, La Cruz and San Esteban de Córdoba, San Antonio de los Cobres and Campo Quijano in Salta, and Neuquén. In other cases, a mountain-only landscape can be seen in plates from: Molinos, Angastaco, El Carril, and Cachi (Salta), Cosquín (Córdoba), and Malanzán (La Rioja). Sport fishing was also a good reason for promoting tourism in plates from San Carlos de Bariloche (Río Negro), Gobernador Gregores (Santa Cruz), Puerto Madryn, Río Pico, and Esquel (Chubut). There are many examples in which the most important economic activity, whether local or regional, is reflected in the picture. Such is the case of the plates of Molinos (Salta), which is a pepper-growing area; Aimogasta (La Rioja), with olive groves; Leones (Córdoba), a wheat-growing area; Freyre (Córdoba), a sorghum-growing area; El Carril (Salta), with tobacco plantations; Fraile Pintado (Jujuy), a cereal-growing area and vegetable cultivation; and Urundel (Salta), with orange groves (I have no pieces from this locality). In other cases, the main monument of the town or city is represented in the license plate, as for example in Morrison (Córdoba), which has the entrance arch of its main entrance; Las Plumas (Chubut), with the Martyrs' Monument, and Humahuaca (Jujuy) with the Independence Monument. Water dams are also represented: Cruz del Eje (Córdoba) and Coronel Moldes (Salta) with the General Belgrano Dam are good examples, although I have no pieces from the latter town. The license plate for Campo Quijano (Salta) reflects the La Polvorilla viaduct built between 1921 and 1948, which is currently used in the "Tren de las Nubes" (Cloud Train) tourist trip, which connects the towns of Salta and San Antonio de los Cobres and passes through Campo Quijano. The license plates for Cosquín honor its famous Folklore Festival; Jesús María honors its Taming Festival, and Leones honors its National Wheat Festival; in all cases they are towns in the province of Córdoba. In the municipalities of Miramar and Santiago Temple, in the province of Córdoba, they chose to display birds from their beautiful 1970 broadcasts.

The same model was used for the design of the license plates for El Maitén, Chubut Province, and Alpa Corral, Córdoba Province. In the case of El Maitén, the image is meant to show the bridge over the Chubut River with Sleeping Beauty Hill in the background. The Alpa Corral license plate shows the bridge over the Barrancas River, nestled within a stretch of the Comechingones Mountains. The town of Río Pico (Chubut), on the other hand, had a drawing based on the one used for the license plates for Neuquén Province. While the mountain is not exactly the same, it is very similar. The araucaria tree was removed from the landscape and a cow's head and a fishing rod with a fish peeking out on the left side were added, in an effort to show various activities related to this town.

A truly interesting feature is the half-license plate with a picture used in San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro province, to promote the Las Grutas resort. It is estimated that this half-license plate was placed above the regular provincial license plate, with the validation tab with the year added on both, and was sealed with lead on the back.

WhileSi many license plates were manufactured with a decal and then varnished for protection, in many other cases the design was hand-painted over the base color of each license plate, and then the color of the letters, numbers, and perimeter border was applied with a roller. The craftsmanship that went into this process is evident, reflected in beautiful license plates such as those of Cachi, La Cruz, Cosquín, Morrison, San Esteban, El Maitén, Alpa Corral, Campo Quijano, Villa General Belgrano, El Carril, etc.

This category can also show manufacturing errors in license plates, such as the case of the Cushamen license plate (Chubut Province), where a careless worker tried to write Gushamen (with a "G"). Before the yellow background was given, someone spotted the error and it was corrected.

The list below is a reference to the plates I've seen and unfortunately have not yet been able to obtain, and others that are only assumed to have existed: from the province of CHACO, there are plates with a picture of the town of VILLA ANGELA with a cotton bud. From the province of MISIONES, there is a beautiful plate from PUERTO LEONI, showing the Tabay waterfall on the Paraná River; and I have references that there was one from PUERTO IGUAZÚ. From CORDOBA, there are some beautiful plates with pictures from Jesus Maria with a drawing of the taming in two versions and several colors, of which I only have two, from SANTA ROSA de CALAMUCHITA and SARMIENTO. From JUJUY, there are beautiful plates from TILCARA, I have heard that there are also some from PERICO and ABRA PAMPA. From the province of Salta, there are some from CORONEL MOLDES, GUACHIPAS, LA CALDERA, PROFESOR SALVADOR MAZZA, URUNDEL and SECLANTAS. There may also be some from CHICOANA and GENERAL MOSCONI.