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Supporting the hobby, conducting research, preserving & promoting the history of Pennsylvania License Plates
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Weekly Posts
2024 Archives - 2023 Archives - Other Years (coming soon)
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LEGISLATION UPDATE: Senate Bill 915, which would waive replacement fees for veteran license plates, passed in the Senate on March 19, 2024. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration and is expected to pass and eventually become law. You can see any plate-related legislation news at the Legislation page, linked here. Click here to read more about Senate Bill 915.
Bruce Bufalini sends in this picture of a Washington & Jefferson College plate. This type has historically been a tough one to find in the wild, so any picture of one is a welcome addition to this site! It's also the first one observed with the map outline AND it's also a new high! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!
Here's another high, this one for the Ohio State Alumni plate type. Like the Washington & Jefferson plate above, it's also the first one observed with a map outline. Thanks to Ben Vaughn for the picture!
John McDevitt found this awesome picture (left) of a 1920 Motorcycle plate. Back in this era, plate length varied by the number of characters in the serial. In 1920, Motorcycle plates were 4 1/2" x 6" for numbers 1-999, and 4 1/2" x 8" for numbers 1000 and above. Plate number 2008 is shown to illustrate the difference in size. Both pictures are from Worthpoint.com.
Finally this week, we have a personalized Commonwealth Constables Association plate, yet another "first" for this site, both because it's personalized and it has a map outline. Thanks to the anonymous contributor!
The NASCAR page is finally done! Click the link to check it out, and you can always access it in the All Plates page. N.B. Some NASCAR plate types were issued in low quantities and have never been photographed. Any help with the "NO IMAGES KNOWN" would be appreciated.
The Plate of the Week award goes to John Clark for this "first-of" image of the new The Colebrookdale Railroad plate type. This type was announced in 2023 with the first plates observed in early 2024. It's also a new high! For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!
Here's another high from John Clark, this one for the Steel Worker type. This type came out on the blue base in 1997, with an observed high of S/W 00624 on that base. When this type transitioned to the "www" base in 2001, numbering restarted at S/W 05000, so although it appears that over 5,600 Steel Worker plates have been issued, in reality it's only about 1,230 to-date. Remember that you can always click the "(history)" link below each type on the All Plates page to see detailed information for each type.
Bruce Bufalini spotted this personalized In God We Trust plate. This is the first plate (personalized or not) that has been observed without the sticker well. As a refresher, some plates had no sticker well and no map outline when the state was transitioning from a sticker well to the map outline. It was likely a temporary arrangement used between the time they ordered the prisons to stop stamping a sticker well into plates and when they finalized the design of the map graphic.
Last but certainly not least this week, we have a rare U.S. Navy Reserve plate, which is even rarer than it appears! Numbers 0001 - 0010 from the blue base were allowed to be reprinted on the "www" base, so this is likely someone who had connections. Thanks to Nick Tsilakis for the picture, and see link for more info!
John Clark sends in this pair of new highs: one for East Stroudsburg University and one for Grove City College. Notice something unusual? That's right, they're both still on the "www" base, the base that was introduced in 1999 and replaced in late 2004. They are still on this base for two main reasons: (1) PennDOT overestimated demand on these plates, resulting in a pile of plates waiting to be sold, and (2) the school had no updates that would affect the plate (name, logo, etc.) For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!
John McDevitt found this picture of a 1947 Commercial Motorcycle plate while browsing Worthpoint.com, and it's a "first-of" for this year and type for this site! This type only existed from 1938 - 1949 and it's thought that these plates were issued to motorcycles used for business purposes. This type, and other defunct types, can be found on the "Defunct Types, Special Event Plates, Etc." page, which is also a selection on the All Plate Types & Highs page.
Here's an interesting one: a Personalized Pre-Owned Dealer plate, spotted by Fred Gardner. PennDOT charges $128 to personalize a Dealer plate.
Clayton Moore sends in this picture of a beautiful PA Association of Realtors plate, which is a nice upgrade for the picture previously on this site. This type started in 1995 and transitioned to the "www" base in 2001.
Finally we have a new high for the Person with Disability plate type from Richard Than. This type recently restarted at A0000 after it hit 97999 PD (98000 PD - 99999 PD is reserved for double plate for scooter hitches, etc.) See link for more info!
The Plate of the Week award goes to Tim Gierschick for his latest acquisition: a low-number 1921 Tractor plate. Most non-passenger plates from 1920 - 1923 measured 6" x 16", regardless of how many characters appeared in the serial. This particular plate has been repainted to the correct colors for 1921 (black on orange). Color, size, serial, and other data on this site comes from a variety of sources, but Eric Tanner's "All About License Plates" website is a major piece of that pie. Check it out!
Clayton Moore sends in this picture of what appears to be the first plate of the Otter variety of the Conserve Wild Resources plate type, but it's actually the second - numbering began at R/C 0000 for this type. Pennsylvania begins some types with the final number being 0 and some with the final number being 1. In general, special organization types begin at xxxx1 and non-passenger types begin with xxx0 / xxxx0. For example, Eddington Fire Company began numbering at E/D 00001, whereas Trailer always resets to 0000 each time the next letter in the series begins. There are some exceptions to this but you may not have expected this type to start at 0000!
Avery Merz spotted this plate which, at first glance, looks like a Passenger plate, but it's actually a vanity/personalized plate. It's safe to assume that this serial will be skipped when the number comes up in the regular Passenger run.
John Fedorchak spotted this personalized Pittsburgh Central Catholic plate, a "first of" for this website. It's also the first PCC plate that's been spotted with the map outline.
The last entry for the week is a new high for the Ducks Unlimited plate type from John Clark. This type started in 1990 on the blue base. It's surprising to your editor that less than 2,000 of these plates have been issued in a state with such a rich hunting heritage. Click here to order one, you must be a DU member to qualify. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!