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
On 11/1 we showcased the first one
of these new Let
Freedom Ring - 250 Years plates with serial number 00087F/R
which was the first plate issued. Now, thanks to George Kunsman
and Bruce Sakson we
have 00052F/R and 00108F/R.
It appears that higher and lower numbers are being issued simultanously. Vanity check also
shows 51, 52, 53, 60, 87, 88, 107 through 111, so I'm guessing some plates are arriving by mail
while others are over the counter. No cycle plates yet.
At first glance this Clayton Moore
plate looks
like an Amateur Radio plate. However,
Bruce Bufalini comments that "It's a call sign but one no longer in use.
Without an FCC license submitted as proof of licensure, it cannot be
made as a plate with amateur radio as the caption. That technically
makes this a vanity plate". These have been seen on the www base
also.
This is an Expeditionary Forces
Veteran,configured as a vanity plate. I'm not going to
speculate on the meaning of H2P. As a personalized plate, up to 5
characters are permitted + the E/F
prefix. Thanks to
Bruce Bufalini for the photograph.
This recently spotted Gettysburg
College plate from Matt Ciecka is starting to show its age.
I also revised the number range on the www base from a high of C/G2331
to C/G2358. I always thought the few special org plates with a
4-digit serial were more eye-catching than those with 5 numbers.
This plate program dates back to 1999 on the yellow on blue base.
If anyone has a photo of a first generation plate, I'd appreciate it.
This beautiful 1919 1-Star Truck plate
is from Brandon Sowers. While these plates are labeled as truck
plates they were also issued to cars with solid tires. You may recall
that truck weight classes were shown with stars ranging from 1 star for
the lightest weight class to 5 stars for the heaviest. This plate
is made of steel, and was prison made. Plate measures 6" by 13½",
which is one of three sizes used.
This is a
1963 Motorcycle Sample plate. All of the characteristics of
the plate are correct except that the colors are reversed. Add
this to the ever-growing list of unexplained variations. The image
is from Worthpoint.
These are low number Motorcycle Dealer
plates from 1954 and 1955. For 1954 the series started at 1 and
progressed to at least 160, and for '55 the series ran from 1 to at
least 170. All such plates were 4½" by 8", the standard motorcycle
size at the time. Both images are from Worthpoint.
A little Déjà Vu here. I had posted a picture of this
plate on 11/1, but the picture was poor. This plate deserved a
second chance. This beautifully refinished 1935 3-digit
Tractor plate
belongs to Tim Gierschick, who sent me this photo. The serial
numbers began at 1 and extended to at least 2903. Plates were
authorized up to 4699.
Next is this 1955 Tractor plate,
also courtesy of Tim Gierschick. All such plates were 4 characters
starting at 0001 to 9999, then A000 to U609 or above. Plates were issued
as singles and 1955 was the last year for 6 inch by 10¼ inch tags. Future
plates were all 6 inches by 12 inches. More plates from Tim next week.
Here is a very well preserved 1930 Official
plate. Official plates are known as far back as 1924 in a somewhat
different format. The format shown here is believed to have begun in 1925
and ran until 1935. The serial numbers likely started at 1 and extended
above 1000, at least in some years. This photo came from Worthpoint.
Posting 11/15/2020
This past week I spent 5 days in the hospital, not
Covid-related. I'm
home now mending and catching up on sleep. As a result, this week
will be very short on material. Also, as more plate photos are
added it has become increasingly challenging to fill the remaining plate
gaps, so future updates will likely have less material. Enough said.
These are extremely rare 1918
Passenger plates. These were white on black, made of steel,
manufactured in the PA prison system, and issued in pairs. 1, 2
and 3 digit plates all measured 6" by 10". Plates from 1000 to
99999 measured 6" x 13½" and 100000 and above, 6" x 16". The
maker's number was stamped into the keystone. I've had these
images for years, and don't know where they came from. If either
happen to be yours, please let me know.
This 3-digit 1920 Passenger
plate is thanks to Tim Gierschick. Original colors were white on
dark blue. Like the 1918 plates above, tags with 1 to 3 digits
measured 6 inches by 10 inches. Other 1920 passenger plates with
4, 5 and 6 characters measured 6 inches by 12, 13½ and 16 inches
respectively. It may be worth noting that 10-inch plates only had
strap slots, and no bolt holes.
This is a 1933 passenger
plate. The serial number may seem a little odd, but it is part
of what I call Format 3. Starting in 1924 passenger plates began
using alpha-numeric combinations. By 1933 there were 8 different
serial progressions with this plate being a part of the 0A to
9Z999 series. The use of alpha-numeric combinations allowed serial
numbers to be limited to 5 characters. Plates with up to 4
characters were
6" by 10", as shown here. 5-character plates were and 6" by 12".
Here
is a pair of very nice 1919 Trailer
plates. The far left plate photo is thanks to Jeff Hinkle, and is
the lowest known plate; however the series likely started as T1.
The T1123 was previously posted and is thanks to Clayton Moore.
Note that the plates are different sizes, with the T190 being 6" by
13½", and the other plate being 6" by 16". Plates with 1 or 2
digits are believed to measure 6" by 10".
Posting 11/8/2020
On
the far left is a Persian
Gulf War Veteran vanity from Jordan Irazabal.
Such plates may contain up to 5 characters + the stacked PG.
The P/G03652 plate is the latest high
from Tom Perri's PA Plates.
This plate type dates back to 1993, then in 2015 the plate got a
completely new look on the current base.
The
far left plate caught my attention while driving by a corn field that
was being harvested. It was on the front bumper of the truck
tractor that was hauling corn. Pennsylvania offers several
Farm Truck registration options, some of which do not require a license
plate, but instead require a
Farm Vehicle Registration Exemption such as the example shown
here. Bottom line, this is not an official plate (note the slotted
bolt holes), but something the owner made up, or had made up, to avoid
being stopped for having no plate.
Here is a low number Motor Home plate
from Clayton Moore. The HG-series was issued as part of the
re-plating process which started in May of 2000. That process
replaced those plates still in use from as far back as 1977, and
included HC, HD and HF series. There were no HE Motor Home plates
as that prefix is reserved for Hearing Impaired plates. Current
issue plates are in the HH-80000 series.
This is a first generation House Car
plate. These were first issued in 1977 starting at HC-10000.
The plate shown here is a new high; however, it is possible but not
confirmed, that plates up to HC-99999 were issued before switching to
the yellow on blue '84 issue with a new series starting at HD-00000,
while still retaining the term House Car. House Car was rebranded
Motor Home between HD-41740 and HD-42215. This photo was from Worthpoint.
This was one of the first generation
Handicapped Person plates. This plate is on the 1965 base.
Today's term would be Person with Disability (PD). This plate
raises the known high in this series, although it is quite possible that
the series went all the way to HP-9999, with the next series starting at
HP10000 on the '71 Bicentennial base. This photo was from
Worthpoint.
If you guessed 1934 Passenger
plate, you are correct. This plate is what I list as a Format 3,
which includes 0A to 9Z99 on 6-inch by 10-inch plates, and 1A000 to
9Z999 on 6-inch by 12-inch. This plate is currently available on
eBay if interested. Thanks to Jeff Hinkle for the use of
the photo.
Next is this 1954 Passenger
plate. Plates with fewer than 4 characters are considered
non-standard issue. A number of 3-character combinations were seen
during 1953, '54 and '55. All 1954 plates measured 6 inches by 10¼
inches. This photo was from Worthpoint.
These are
City of Philadelphia porcelain plates that were issued between
1903 and 1906. They are often referred to as pre-state plates.
These were the equivalent of an operator's license rather than a vehicle
registration plate, even though they were mounted to the rear of the
vehicle. The 1903 plate is the highest I've seen, and the 1906 is
the lowest I've seen. All of the Philadelphia plates reportedly
started at 101. These plates measure 4 inches by 7 inches, and
were part of a Dave Lincoln display. With the state taking over
the licensing process state-wide in 1906, and after some legal
wrangling, the Philadelphia pre-state era had come to an end.
This 1935 3-digit
Tractor plate has been beautifully restored thanks to Tim
Gierschick. Unfortunately my photographic skills fell a little
short the day I snapped this image. We don't know just how many
were issued but 4699 were authorized with the series starting at 1.
The highest I've seen was 2903.
Posting 11/1/2020
Didn't expect to see one of these
Let Freedom Ring plates quite so soon. Clayton Moore is the owner of what appears to
be the first and only plate issued so far. Vanity check of the
number sequence from 00000F/R to 00105F/R
shows this plate as the only number issued. Why start at 87?
Spotted this new high Disabled Veteran
myself recently. In addition to recognition of the veteran and his or
her service and sacrifice, what I like about the plate is that it's not part of the "family of plates". It's my
understanding that the plate design was determined by the wording of the
original legislation that authorized the plate, so it can't arbitrarily
be changed. All of the legend and the DV- are screened, only the 5-digit
serial number is embossed.
Here is a recent vintage Expeditionary
Forces Veteran plate. It's not a new high but it does help
narrow the gap for the removal of the sticker well which was still
present on E/F2902. I'm going out
on a limb and say that the change occurred at E/F3000
since these are produced in lots of 100 with the starting point at each
100 mark. Thanks to
Bruce Bufalini for the photo.
Here's a new
Distracted Driving Awareness plate image from
Bruce Bufalini. These are part of the
Special Fund group of
plates. Sales of these plates have been anything but brisk with the
series starting at D/A00101 and vanity
check showing a current high of D/A00133.
That's 32 plates issued in 20 months making them a rarity and therefore
collectible. Better yet, the
Motorcycle version shows only 4 sold, if I am correct.
This is a low number Special Mobile
Equipment plate. What makes it low is that when this
series transitioned to the www base, the starting point was SME-000D.
The previous yellow on blue series was authorized to SME-999C, but the
highest known plate is SME-266A. Thanks to Clayton Moore for
sharing this photo.
This is a new high
Pennsylvanians for Nebraska Alumni Chapter, courtesy of Arthur
Levine. These plates date back to 2011. While this plate
still has a validation sticker, the current registered high is 10058N/U,
so it is unknown if later plates have been issued without the sticker
well or with the map outline.
Ever wonder how many types of
Motorcycle plates are currently issued by the state? Below are 13
motorcycle types. There are certainly additional variations within
some of the types. There is also at least one organizational
motorcycle plate, that being the International Association of Fire
Fighters, for which I have no photo. ATV plates have not been
included here. Have I missed any?
This is a 1914 1-star weight class truck,or car with solid rubber tires. This was the first year for
truck plates. This plate is thanks to Jeff Hinkle. The
aluminum band on the far left shows the single star designating this as
the lightest class. To the right is an aluminum keystone which
would normally show the maker's number. This number was the the
equivalent of today's VIN or Vehicle Identification Number; however, in
this case the word 'SPECIAL' appears on the tag in place of a number.
The meaning of this term is unclear, but likely a truck that was
produced, or put together outside of a vehicle manufacturing facility.
These are 1949 R-Weight Class Truck
plates. The R Class had 6 serial progressions that year and these
plates help to provide examples of R00A0 and R00AA. Since the
letter R designates the weight class, it does not progress. Thanks
to Worthpoint for the photos.
These
are similar to the plates above but represent the 1954 U & V Weight Class Truck
plates. Still looking for a W-Class plate. Thanks to
Worthpoint for the photos.
Posting 10/25/2020
These are prototypes of the new
Let Freedom Ring - 250 Years, Semiquincentennial plate.
This optional plate type will be available October 29. The
application form,
MV-919,
is now available. The plates are
eligible for use on a motorcycle, a passenger car or a truck with a
registered gross weight of not more than 14,000 pounds, or a motor home.
They are also available to be personalized.
I'm disappointed to see that there is no departure from the "family of
plates" look, where every PA plate looks like every other PA plate.
These could easily be mistaken for an organizational plate.
This
Pennsylvania Hunting Heritage plate is the first I've spotted
with the map outline, although Tom Perri's
PA Plates listed higher plates —
01063H/T & 01069H/T
as early as 8/6/19. This plate type has been in use since late
June of 2015, and is also popular as a vanity.
This Honoring
Our Veterans Special Fund plate was spotted by
Bruce Bufalini. These also appear to be popular as vanities.
These plates date back to November of 2012. Vanity check shows the
current high of 03157H/V. There
is also a
motorcycle version of this plate, unfortunately the flag and eagle
symbol is the size of a postage stamp.
This is an Amateur Radio
plate with the map outline. The map was first spotted in February
of 2018. The 2-by-1 configuration (2 letters, region 3, 1 letter),
indicates that the holder possesses an Amateur Extra Class license.
That license pertains to the call letters, not the vehicle.
This is a
Person with Disability Motorcycle plate configured as a vanity.
Standard issue plates would have P in the first position, which does not
advance, followed by 2 numbers and a letter in the fourth position.
Personalized plates still have the P in the first position followed by
up to 3 characters. Again the first character
in the serial number, P, does not advance. The small PD and
wheelchair symbol are not part of the registration.
This is a
1953 Motorboat
License (MBL) plate from the Bill
Krellner collection. 1953 was unique in that early plates were
made of steel while later plate used fiberboard. The plate shown
here, 7399, raises the bar on the recorded high number steel plate. The
fiberboard plates are documented to be in use by plate 8952, that still
leaves a significant gap. Fiberboard plates were never used again
Can anyone help narrow the gap?
These are 1954 Motorboat Licenses,
thus the MBL. The far left is a very nice early low number plate
from the Bill Krellner collection. The other two plates are from
the end of production and have a white border. This was only
seen in the 41 & 42 thousand range. The source of the 41458 plate
is unknown, the 42690 plate belongs to John Willard. Click that
image to see how nice.
These are both 1935 Format 3 Passenger
plates. Format 3 consisted of 1A to 9Z99 on 6" x 10"
plates, and 1A000 to 9Z999 on 6" x 12". It may be worth
mentioning that the progression during this time period may need some
explanation. All plates using A in a sequence would exhaust all of
the numbers before advancing to B. Therefore in this series 1A0
would advance to 9A9, then 1A00 to 9A99 on 10" plates, then continue
with 1A000 to 9A999 on 12" plates before advancing to the letter B with
1B00 back on 10" plates. These plate photos are thanks to Worthpoint.
Here is another non-standard issue
1953 Passenger
plate from Ed Burr. Non-standard issue would include plates with
fewer than 4 characters, and includes the following formats: 000, A00,
0A0, 00A, AA0, 0AA, A0A. 3, 4 or 5 characters, all plates measured
6" x 10¼".
This is a very rare 1924 Tractor (or
Trailer) Dealer. The original colors would have been dark
blue over yellow, and while most of the paint is gone, the plate itself
is in great condition. The plate measures 6-inches by 10-inches.
We don't know the number of plates issued, so if numbers went to TX100
and above, the plate size would likely have been 6-inches by 10-inches.
Many thanks to Jeff Lesher for the photo of this plate.
Next up is this 1954 Tractor Dealer
plate. Tractor Dealer plates are so rare that I do not have a
single image of any between 1931 and 1949, as well as some years in the
'20s and '50s. Anyway the plate shown here measures 6" x 10¼", and
all such plates would use the TX000 serial format. Thanks to Jeff
Lesher for the photo.
Images and photos are always welcome.
Please send to:
On 11/1 we showcased the first one
of these new Let
Freedom Ring - 250 Years plates with serial number 00087F/R
which was the first plate issued. Now, thanks to George Kunsman
and Bruce Sakson we
have 00052F/R and 00108F/R.
It appears that higher and lower numbers are being issued simultanously. Vanity check also
shows 51, 52, 53, 60, 87, 88, 107 through 111, so I'm guessing some plates are arriving by mail
while others are over the counter. No cycle plates yet.
Here
is a pair of very nice
1919 Trailer
plates. The far left plate photo is thanks to Jeff Hinkle, and is
the lowest known plate; however the series likely started as T1.
The T1123 was previously posted and is thanks to Clayton Moore.
Note that the plates are different sizes, with the T190 being 6" by
13½", and the other plate being 6" by 16". Plates with 1 or 2
digits are believed to measure 6" by 10". 
On
the far left is a
Persian
Gulf War Veteran vanity from Jordan Irazabal.
Such plates may contain up to 5 characters + the stacked PG.
The P/G03652 plate is the latest high
from Tom Perri's PA Plates.
This plate type dates back to 1993, then in 2015 the plate got a
completely new look on the current base.
The
far left plate caught my attention while driving by a corn field that
was being harvested. It was on the front bumper of the truck
tractor that was hauling corn. Pennsylvania offers several
Farm Truck registration options, some of which do not require a license
plate, but instead require a
Farm Vehicle Registration Exemption such as the example shown
here. Bottom line, this is not an official plate (note the slotted
bolt holes), but something the owner made up, or had made up, to avoid
being stopped for having no plate.
These
are similar to the plates above but represent the
1954 U & V Weight Class Truck
plates. Still looking for a W-Class plate. Thanks to
Worthpoint for the photos.
