The photos on this
website, whether provided by me or other contributors, are intended for use
solely on this website, and may not be otherwise used without permission.
This is a
reference-only website, no plate sales.
What's new
in the last 30 days?
٠ Click
thumbnail images to enlarge ٠ Click links to go to plate galleries
Here is a new high, agency-specific, Official Use PennDOT
plate. This plate is used on a non-commercial vehicle, or passenger
vehicle, as commercial vehicles or trucks use a different serial format, i.e.
P/A0000T. The other agencies having their
own plates include the
PA State
Police and the
PA Turnpike.
There are also non-agency specific
Official Use plates as well.
Thanks to Brayden Harnish for the image.
Here's another new plate high. This PA
Breast Cancer Coalition photo is also thanks to Brayden Harnish.
These plates date back to 2005.
And another high from Brayden Harnish.
This plate is a new issue in spite of its appearance, York College remains
with their all-embossed original design including the sticker well.
It may be worth mentioning that as of 10-22-2021 plates up to 01199Y/C
were in the warehouse inventory. After reaching that number, it will be
interesting to see what York College does.
How about a new Transporter high, also
thanks to Brayden Harnish. This plate still appears to have a validation
sticker, so while this is the highest observed plate, a record check shows that
DT-16145 is the registered high. That plate likely has the map outline.
► Click thisVanity Page
link to see additional personalized plates of the week including this
"You've Got a Friend" era plate still in use from Bill Young.
Here is a low number 1914 Dealer plate.
This white on black porcelain tag measures 6 inches by 10 inches and is the
second of four sizes used that year depending on the number of characters in the
serial number. I took this photo at an ALPCA plate meet in Bethlehem on
June 11, but missed identifying the owner. I'd like to credit the owner if
possible.
This, as the plate says, is the #1 1932 Legislative
plate. Plate size is 6 inches by 12 inches. Such plates extended at
least as high as 260 and were likely used by both the House and Senate.
Credit for this unique plate would go to John Willard and John Anshant.
Aside from the colors being reversed, the 1933 Legislative plate
is much like the 1932 above. The number series is known to go from 1 to
334. This image is from Worthpoint.
This low number 1933 National Guard
plate is similar in design to the '33 Legislative plate above. It was my
understanding that with each succeeding year of membership, the plate number
would likely be lower as more senior members would retire.
It's definitely not much to look at, but it
fills a gap in the 1945 Format
4 Passenger series which ran from 10A0 to 99Z99. This is the first
4-character plate from that series seen. The photo is from Worthpoint.
Still in need of a Format 8, 4-character in
the AA10 to ZZ99 series. Was this series ever issued?
No matter how you look at it Bob Connison
has a nice run of low number Passenger plates starting with a pair of 1950s, and a pair of 1951s.
After '51 the state went to singles. All '50 and '51 plates measured 6
inches by 11 inches.
Plates
beginning in 1952 were issues
as singles. Most '52 plates, including the one shown here, measured 6
inches by 11 inches; however some later plates were scaled back to 6 inches by
10¼ inches. Plates from
1953, 1954 and
1955 were all 6 inches
by 10¼ inches. Then, as you may recall, that beginning in 1956 all full-size plates
were standardized to 6 inches by 12 inches. Note the difference in the map
outline between the 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958. Note
the difference in serial dies between the '56, '57 and '58. The '58 also
has multi-year validation thru 1964.
8/7/2022 Posting
A new feature has been added called Needed Images to
help identify the growing number of plate types without photos. This website is
dedicated to photo-documenting as many plate types and variations as possible. Any help with pictures
of any of the listed plate types, would be much appreciated.
Many are new issues or logo updates. Also included are a number of
low-issue NASCAR plates, and several extinct or nearly extinct types from the
1980s and 90s.
This beauty is a personalized Honoring Our
Women Veterans plate. The photo is thanks to Drew Steitz (aka
Drewski) who got it for a family member to help honor another family member.
Here is the #1 82nd
Airborne Division Association plate. The photo was snapped by Ben
Vaughn in Pittsburgh. This plate type has been on the street since 2007.
The most recent observed high was 00290A/B, which was in June of 2019.
Zach Taylor posted this Conserve Wild Resources -
Otter plate photo at the end of May, which I missed. When these
plates switched to the small graphic, the series started at R/C00001 which was
back in November of 2017. At present the registered high is around
R/C05562.
While this AH-series Apportioned Truck is
not a new high, it is a picture perfect image of an unspoiled plate.
Thanks to Jim Moini for the photograph. Jim maintains an excellent website
featuring New Jersey, Apportioned, Mexican and Corporate Fleet Plates.
https://moini.net/ Check it out.
These Person
with Disability Motorcycle plates were posted by Clayton Moore.
They are actually standard Motorcycle plates with a sticker. It
is unknown when the Person with Disability stickers were first issued, but
likely in the late 1990s. Anyone know for sure?
The use of a
standard Motorcycle plate + a sticker was replaced in 2007 with Person with
Disability Motorcycle plate as shown below. See
Person with Disability, Motorcycle History page for more images.
It may be worth mentioning that a Veteran Motorcycle plate with a Person with
Disability sticker, shown below, makes it a
Severely Disabled Veteran Motorcycle plate.
► Click thisVanity Page
link to see additional personalized plates of the week.
Here is a group of 1967 New Car Dealer
plates. What I recall about such plates is that the plates were actually
surplus 1966 plates that were never issued, and rather than discard them, they
received '67 stickers. Dealer plates at the time were issued annually and
were not revalidated with stickers. This practice of re-dating plates also
took place with some 1968 and 1969 plates. The group photo is also posted
under Group
Displays. Thanks to Clayton Moore for sharing the display.
Ben Vaughn shares an interesting newspaper
article sighting vehicle registration records for 1914. The article
indicates that there were
1,167 Tractors registered that year and 116 Trailers.
Click the article to enlarge. Ben also provided a photo of a 1914 Tractor
plate. This white on black porcelain plate measures 6 inches by 12 inches
and would have been issued as part of a pair.
7/31/2022 Posting
Here is a recent photo of a Linglestown Fire Co.
#1 plate from Zachary Bent. Note that this plate has the map
outline, the previous high, 30056L/F, did not.
This plate program dates back to 2008.
We don't have a photo yet, but Bruce
Bufalini recently spotted Legion of Merit
plate number 10052L/M but was not able to get a
photo. Record check suggests that plates from 10001 to 10054 are in use.
The medal is awarded for: Exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance
of outstanding services and achievements.
It's worth mentioning that Nick Tsilakis
spotted a motorcycle version of the
International Association of Firefighters but
could not get a photo. The plate he saw was P/F0010.
Record check shows that 41 plates are in use. I don't even have a
prototype plate image, so I did a R2K request to PennDOT on Tuesday and received
nothing than an acknowledgement so far.
This is part of what I have categorized as a
Format 6 Antique Motorcycle
Plate. That group ran from 0A to 99Z. The wide bolt hole
spacing indicates that this is not one of the earliest groups of Antique
Motorcycle plates. This plate is still valid. Possibly someone can
narrow down the time period. The plate was photographed by John Fedorchak,
but had been previously spotted by Preston Turner who was unable to get a
picture.
Didn't
get any vanities posted last week, so here are a few. The far left is an
eye-catching U.S. Marine
Corps Veteran vanity. Next is a personalized Antique Vehicle plate
showing the letter "I" and numeral 1 next to each other. This photo is
thanks to Bill Stephens. Unlike most PA plates, the letter "I" has been
used as part of the serial progression on Antique Vehicle
Format 11 plates and
Motorcycle plates.
► Click thisVanity Page
link to see additional personalized plates of the week.
Finally succeeded in finding a West Point Alumni
Sample plate. For whatever reason these seem to be very scarce.
The West Point plate program dates back to 1987. This nice image came from
Worthpoint.
They didn't get much lower than this —
considering the fact that the
1949 Passenger plate series started at 1001. This initial series
eventually went to 99999 before extending into numerous alpha-numeric formats.
These plates measured 6 inches by 11 inches and were issued in pairs.
Thanks to Tim Gierschick for the photo.
Much like the plate above, this 1950 Passenger plate was
part of the initial all-numeric series running from 1001 to 99999. These
plates measured 6 inches by 11 inches and were still issued in pairs.
Thanks to Tim Gierschick for the photo.
7/24/2022 Posting
Sorry, this update didn't get posted
until 7/25.
Here is a new
Passenger high
recently spotted by John Fedorchak.
The Hearing Impaired is
one of PA's rarest plates. Do not let the 3281 serial number suggest that
over 3000 plates have been issued. The series actually started at HE-03000
on the www base. They originally dated back to 1987 on the yellow on blue
base. Thanks to Richard Than for this photo.
It's been 12+ years since PA issued NASCAR
plates, yet they are still renewable, and there are still several plate types
that have never been photographed. The 2005 racing season NASCAR 99
plates of Carl Edwards is one such plate. There were logo color
differences for 2005, 2006 and 2009, yet so far no plates have been photographed
with the green 2005 logo, except samples. The plate shown here with the
2006 colors helps establish that the group ran from N/9/90109,
or lower, to N/9/90113. Many
thanks to Richard Than for this photo. Does anyone in the hobby collect
these?
Here is a new high Official Use Truck plate
and was provided by Richard Than.
This plate would have been used on a state-owned vehicle, but not one used by
PennDOT,
State
Police or
Turnpike, as those agencies have plates with
their own logos.
What
do we have here? Yes, it's a Person with Disability
plate, and was provided by Richard Than. My first thought is that it
was part of the double plate series starting at 98000PD, but plate
check shows that plates only up to 98161PD have been issued so far.
It also appears that no plates in the 99000PD series have been
issued, except for the one shown here. Therefore, I am of the opinion that
this is a vanity plate.
It ain't pretty, but it's a needed piece to
complete photo displays of the 1945
U-Weight Class truck series. The U-series consisted of U000A,
U00A0, U0A00 and U00AA. Plate measures 6" by 11". This image is from
Worthpoint, a service to which I have a subscription.
And they're not getting any nicer, but again
it's a needed piece to complete photo displays of the 1947 Y-Weight Class truck
series. There was only a single Y-series, Y000A. Plate measures 6"
by 11". Again this image is from Worthpoint.
For 1951 R-Weight Class trucks there were 6
serial progressions, including R000A, R00A0, R0A00, R00AA, R0AA0 and R0A0A.
This plate fills the remaining photo gap. Plate measures 6" by 11".
Again, this image is from Worthpoint. '51 was the last year for plates to
be issued in pairs. This image is from Worthpoint.
This 1954 S-Weight Class truck fills the
remaining photo gap. S-class plates consisted of S000A, S00A0, S0A00,
S00AA, S0AA0, with all plates measuring 6" x 10¼". These plates were
issued as singles. This image is from Worthpoint.
7/17/2022 Posting
My apologies, Bill Stephens spotted this new
Passenger high back
on July 8, so I'm a little behind. It has, however, been posted to the High Page, thanks to Jordan.
Here is a new high Permanent Trailer I
spotted in my travels. It was a windshield shot with the truck moving.
Here is a new high Temporary Intransit
cardboard plate. The photo was snapped by Jordan.
This is a new high Truck plate recently
spotted on the fly by Nick Tsilakis. After exhausting this series at
ZVZ-9999, the next series will be ZWA-0000.
Here
is one from Bill Ceravola added to this week's
Vanity Page.
It appears that from the earliest state
issued plates there was always those who sought low number plates, especially
those with political connections. Just look at the
1912
registration records for the first 100+ plates; it kind of reads like a
who's who in PA at the time. Eventually the demand for such plates went
beyond the political arena and was made available to the average driver.
An application form was developed for 1965 Special
Registration Plates spelling out the process. Thank you to John
Willard for a copy of the form.
Click the photo to the left to enlarge this
pair of low number 1914
and 1915 Passenger
plates, or click on the photos below to see them individually. The photo
of these 100+ year old plates is thanks to John Willard. The 1914 is white
on black, while the '15 is white on sky blue. Both are 6" by 10" and were
manufactured by Brilliant Manufacturing Co.
of
Philadelphia.
These are 1929 W-Weight Class Truck
plates that were recently spotted by Tim Gierschick at Renningers. These
W-Class plates measure 6" by 15", with a documented high of W8-646. Anyone
have a Y, X or ZZ-Class?
If you didn't immediately recognize this tag
as a Truck plate, you are probably not alone. For 1930 Truck plates adopted a
new, and somewhat cryptic 2-letter suffix method of displaying the weight class
of the vehicle, abandoning the R through Z prefix classes. This plate, for
example, is a Class V with the serial formatting from 00PA to 999PZ.
Thanks to Clayton Moore for sharing the image, I also understand the plate's new
home will be with Rob B.
But wait, there's more! This 1931 Truck plate came off the
same truck! And again thanks to Clayton Moore for the photo.
It should be noted that in 1931 Truck plates went back to using the R
through Z prefix to indicate the weight class. This was after 1930 plates
used a 2-letter suffix to identify truck weight classes as seen above.
This class would have started at V0A00. This is believed to be the first
plate of this class to be documented.
Plates
beginning in 1952 were issues
as singles. Most '52 plates, including the one shown here, measured 6
inches by 11 inches; however some later plates were scaled back to 6 inches by
10¼ inches. Plates from
1953, 1954 and
1955 were all 6 inches
by 10¼ inches. Then, as you may recall, that beginning in
1956 all full-size plates
were standardized to 6 inches by 12 inches. Note the difference in the map
outline between the 1955, 1956,
1957 and
1958. Note
the difference in serial dies between the '56, '57 and '58. The '58 also
has multi-year validation thru 1964.
Didn't
get any vanities posted last week, so here are a few. The far left is an
eye-catching U.S. Marine
Corps Veteran vanity. Next is a personalized
Antique Vehicle plate
showing the letter "I" and numeral 1 next to each other. This photo is
thanks to Bill Stephens. Unlike most PA plates, the letter "I" has been
used as part of the serial progression on Antique Vehicle
Format 11 plates and
Motorcycle plates.
What
do we have here? Yes, it's a
Person with Disability
plate, and was provided by Richard Than. My first thought is that it
was part of the double plate series starting at 98000PD, but plate
check shows that plates only up to 98161PD have been issued so far.
It also appears that no plates in the 99000PD series have been
issued, except for the one shown here. Therefore, I am of the opinion that
this is a vanity plate.
Here
is one from Bill Ceravola added to this week's
Vanity Page.
of
Philadelphia. 
