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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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The prototype for the new PA Sportsman Special Fund plate has been revealed! From PennDOT: "The Youth Hunting and Fishing Account was established as a special fund for the purpose of conducting activities that promote youth hunter and fishing education by the PA Fish and Boat Commission and the PA Game Commission." The plate costs $40 for a numbered plate and $168 for a personalized plate. Fourteen dollars from the sale of each plate will be credited to the Youth Hunting and Fishing Restricted Account. Thanks to John McDevitt for the pictures, including an up-close look at the beautiful logo.
Jonathan Ortmann sends in this picture of a personalized Conserve Wild Resources plate, a first-of image for this site!
Many Non-Passenger plates are eligible for personalization, but the personalization option is less well-known for some types - such as the six pictured! PennDOT form MV-904C outlines character limitations and fees. Thanks to John McDevitt for the information and curated pictures.
Next up is a 1936 Trailer plate from Clayton Moore. It's also a new discovery for serial formats for this year and type! It was previously thought that numbering went from 9999 to A000, as some types in that era did, but now we know that it went to A0 or A1. Thanks Clayton!
Last up this week is a new high for the Spay/Neuter Saves Lives plate type from John McDevitt. This type came out in 2023 and it appears to be enjoying decent sales so far. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!
The Auto Wheel plate was a mystery for a long while - until Ned Flynn stumbled upon an eBay listing of one such plate along with the original envelope it came in. The envelope's return address was Auto-Wheel Coaster Co., Inc. of North Tonawanda, NY. It turns out that these plates were made as an add-on for the toy wagons they made. From Ned: "The Auto Wheel Coaster Company manufactured wooden sleds and toy wagons in that Buffalo suburb for sixty years beginning in 1904. The two holes on the top of the plate were evidently for the lucky boy's dad to screw it onto the back of the wagon, just as his parents' car displayed its own license plate." There is now a page for this plate type, found at the link above and also on the Defunct, Special Event, & Misc. section of the List of All Plates & Current Highs page.
John McDevitt shares this 2024-2025 validation sticker for a powered motorboat. Motorboats received metal license plates from 1931 through 1963, after which time stickers were issued. Check out the complete history on the Motor Boat License page!
Mark Bonora sends in this picture of the very rare Fort Mifflin on the Delaware plate type. As of today, only six of these plates have ever been issued. Thanks, Mark!
It appears that the serial progression for All-Terrain Vehicle (Type 2) plates is as follows:
0000X - 9999Z
000X0 - 999Z9
00X00 - 99Z99
0X000 - 9Z999
X0000 - Z9999
XA000 - XZ999
X0A00 - X9Z99
X00A0 - current high
As a reminder, Type 2 plates are for larger ATVs and the first letter only uses X, Y, and Z. Thanks to an eBay seller for the first picture and Avery Merz for the second and third pictures.
Last up this week is a new high for the Limousine plate type. These plates are showing up less and less over the years with the rise in popularity of services such as Uber and Lyft. For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!
The Plate of the Week award goes to an anonymous contributor for this picture of a 2025 Passenger plate. This base is not available to the public until mid-2025, once the current supply of "Family of Plates"-style plates has been exhausted. This plate is believed to be registered to a vehicle in the PA Executive Branch fleet.
Chuck Harrington shares this plate that was made for the National Governor's Security Association in the 1980s. This plate was not made for use on a vehicle, but as a souvenir for conference attendees. Thanks, Chuck, for sharing!
Here are a few new highs for the following types from John Clark:
Saint Francis University
Shady Side Academy
Neumann University
For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!
Julian Marrero sends in this picture of a personalized/vanity plate on the 1980s/1990s blue base. These plates are listed in the second column of pictures on the Passenger page.
Last but not least, Heather Conlan sends in this picture of a personalized National Constitution Center plate, a "first of" for this website. It is believed that there are less than 20 of this plate type on the road, so this is a fantastic spot.
NEW PLATE ALERT: Our own John McDevitt reports that a new plate is coming to Pennsylvania: NAWCC.ORG history page. Pretty obvious what this type is, right? The legend gives it away? Okay, maybe not... This is a new plate for the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. The plates should be on the streets any "time" now, but don't wait, time is "ticking".
Here are a few new highs for the following types from John Clark:
Action For Animals Humane Society
La Roche University
Lock Haven University
National Police Defense Foundation
For all current highs, be sure to check out the Highs page!
Ryan Battin shares this high-quality picture of the recently-redesigned Repossessor plate type. This is not a new high but it's the first "good" picture of this type and format. Thanks Ryan!
Peter Clericuzio shares this picture of an early vanity/personalized plate. On this website, vanity/personalized plates are listed under the Passenger pages, in the second column of pictures. Fun fact: The "PA0000" in the sticker means that the year shown on the sticker is the first year that particular number was issued.
Last up this week is a "first-of" picture for this website: a personalized Appalachian Trail Conservancy plate without a sticker well or map outline. This one comes to us from Tom O'Brien. Click the link for a complete history on this type!