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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?
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thumbnail images to enlarge ٠ Click links to go to plate galleries
Hoping all who attended the ALPCA Annual
Convention in Covington, KY had an enjoyable few days.
Please send
PA photos!
Closer to home, spotted this plate display
at Stove & Tap in Lansdale, PA. Click to enlarge.
Photo credit Jim McDevitt
There is a new organizational plate on
the horizon — the West Lake Fire
Department is now listed on PennDOT's website. It's listed as a
Specialty plate rather than a Special Organizational plate. Nick
Tsilakis pointed out this likely error. Unfortunately, we have no
prototype image yet. It also appears that no plates are in use yet.
The formatting of the plate appears likely to be W/F00001.
This is the highest number
Mario Lemieux Foundation plate I've seen without the map outline;
however, one was previously documented with 01520L/F.
Current issue plates are in the 01950L/F
range. Thanks to Rob Baran for the photo.
Here is a pair of recent issue Antique Vehicle
plates. The far left plate is still in the D-series, the near left
plate is now in the E-series. The E-plate is a new high. As with
most of PA's plates, numbers advance first, then the letter in the 4th
position, then the 3rd spot and finally the letter in the first position.
The D plate photo was from Larry Resnick, the E plate was from a recent car
show.
Next up is this new high Classic Vehicle
plate, also from a recent car show. The main difference between
Antique and Classic is the age of the vehicle. An Antique Vehicle must
have been manufactured more than 25 years prior to the current year, 15
years is required for a Classic Vehicle. Here is a link to a
Fact Sheet on such plates. After opening, scroll down past the
application form.
The final plate from the recent car show
is this Street Rod
which is also a new high. This latest edition of the Street Rod plate
not only does not have the map outline, it still has the sticker well.
The current batch runs to 7599S/R, so it may be a while.
Here is a recent Disabled Veteran
photo from
Bruce Bufalini. It is also a new
high. One feature of this plate that I have always liked is that it
has retained it original color scheme of red, white and blue, and has not
fallen victim to the
"family of plates" look.
These School Vehicle
plates were recently acquired by Brandon Sowers. What's strange about
these plates is that the formatting seems to change every time a new batch
is produced. Note that the keystone separator comes and goes.
The length of the SCHOOL VEHICLE legend can also vary. Wouldn't there
be a sample plate or some other standard to follow? Or maybe the gang at
the plate factory enjoys the variety. Anyway, the photos of the two
plates above have been added to the School Vehicle section.
Here is a link to the Vanity Pagewhere this and an
assortment of personalized plates are posted. This plate and most of the
vanities are thanks to Arthur Levine.
This pair of 1915 Format 3 Tractor
plates shows that tractor plates were issued in pairs. Previously it
was thought that 1914 was the only year where tractor plates
were issued in pairs. Thanks to Tim Gierschick for the photo.
These plates measures 6 inches by 12 inches. Other sizes for plates with
E+1 digit were 6" x 8"; E+2 digits were 6" x 10"; and E+4 digits were 6" x
14".
This is a 1930 Tractor
plate. By 1928 Passenger plates needed the letter 'E' for serial
numbers, so 'TE' was assigned to Tractor plates, coming from the now archaic
term 'Traction Engine'. This plate is also considered the high for the
series. Thanks to Rick Kretschmer for the use of the plate photo.
Also
check out Rick's website:
http://www.ricksplates.com/
8/1/2021 Posting
Pennsylvania seems to have quite a few
organizational plates where the number of plates in use is relatively small.
The result is that many such plates are seldom seen. This low number
Commonwealth Constables Association was spotted by Nick Tsilakis,
and is one I've never seen despite searching. These plates hit the
street in 2016.
Here is a new high
Appalachian Trail Conservancy plate. This great image is thanks to
John Clark. This plate type dates back to 2014, and has been seen with the
map outline at least as far back as A/T00334 in March of this year. The
Appalachian Trail travels nearly 230 miles in Pennsylvania. Virginia,
Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia also offer such plates.
Here is a new high
Mercedes Benz Club of America plate thanks to
Bruce Bufalini. This one also
has the map outline. The previous high was 00039M/B
from back in 2014, so we know for certain that the 2014 plate didn't have the map.
Another great image from John Clark is this
Pennsylvania Resources Council plate. It is also a new high.
This anti-litterbug plate type dates back to 2011. While this plate is a
new high, it still has the sticker well.
This is a personalized Combat Action Ribbon
plate spotted by Matt Ciecka. The CG-11 may refer to the USS Chicago, and
the plate frame refers to a retired Navy Chief. The Combat Action series
of plates dates back to 2011.
This Korean
Defense Services Medal is another new high. The photo is thanks to
Brandon Sowers. The plate type dates back to 2010. My guess is that
this plate is intended to take the place of the
Korean War Veteran
which is no longer in inventory.
The two far left photos are from a street
shot of the first serial-numbered U.S. Air
Force Active Duty plate spotted. The A/D suffix differentiates
this plate from the
U.S. Air Force
Veteran plate which uses A/F. Thanks to Preston Turner for the photo.
The other plate is a personalized plate of the same type. This photo is
from Brendan Sherry. The C-17A likely refers to the C-17 Globemaster III
military transport aircraft.
Here is a link to the Vanity Pagewhere this and an
assortment of personalized plates are posted. This plate and most of the
vanities are thanks to Arthur Levine.
Wow! At first glance do you know what these
are? They are AMAZING low-number 1915 Motorcycle plates —
only the second year of state-issued motorcycle plates! I have always held
to the belief that 1914 and 1915 used the letter 'O' as the leading character on
such plates, which is believed to be the case with these plates. Such
plates were originally believed to measure
4½" by 6", however these
plates are actually
4½" by 5½". The O5 plate
photo is from John Willard, while the O88 is thanks to Tim Gierschick.
This 1952 Passenger plate photo
was provided by Eric Tanner and establishes a new high. This series
started at D000A and extended to the plate shown here. 1952 passenger
plates were made in two sizes, with early and mid-year plates measuring 6" x
11", and later plates like the one shown here measuring 6" x 10¼".
7/25/2021 Posting
These 4-H Youth
Program plates made their debut back in 2005. Since that time, only 38
plates have been issued with this plate photo from John Clark being the current
high. The map outline was first seen on a prototype in 2017, so it is likely
that additional plates have been issued with this feature.
These Gettysburg 1863 / PA
Monuments plates date back to 2014, yet this new high from John Clark
still shows the sticker well. A look at a late 2014 inventory sheet
indicates that 4000 plates were produced. So it could be a long while
before the map outline appears. As a
Special Fund plate, proceeds from this plate go directly to
the Veteran Trust Fund and will support the cleaning, repair and restoration of
the Pennsylvania monuments by the Gettysburg National Military Park.
This Honoring Our Veterans
plate is a new high, and also part of the
Special Fund series. This
plate also benefits the Veterans Trust Fund.
Credit for the photo goes to Matt Ciecka.
This Cetronia Ambulance
Corps plate is actually on the low side, likely dating back to 2007 when
the program was launched. The current registered high is 10039C/A. It is not
known if these plates are still being issued. The photo is thanks to
Bruce Bufalini.
Here is a link to the Vanity Pagewhere this and an
assortment of personalized plates are posted. This plate and most of the
vanities are thanks to Arthur Levine.
This is a State Representative
plate from the 190th House District spotted recently by
Jordan Irazabal. The plate is
configured with the HR-keystone symbol in the suffix position. This is an
indication the HR190 is also registered.
This is a very low number
House of Representatives / Legislator plate from the 1971 to '76
Bicentennial plate era. It's hard to see, but 71 is lightly etched into
the upper left sticker well. The HR symbol could be in the prefix position
as well as the suffix position, to allow registration of two vehicles. The
number represents the legislative district. This is a Worthpoint image.
This
State Representative Sample plate was produced during the 1984 to 1999
era. Some sample plates at the time were similar to this but had three
zeros, and were likely made later during the same time period. This is a
Worthpoint image.
These
are believed to be US Senator
plates with 68 and 69 validation stickers on the 1965 to 1970 base. While
PA only has two U.S. Senators, the Archives reports that plates with serial
numbers as high as 10 may have been allowed. These are Worthpoint photos.
This 1916 low-number Tractor
plate was recently acquired by Tim Gierschick. Tim is the première
collector of PA tractor plates. This plate measures 6 inches by 13 inches.
Up till now, E+1 and E+2 digit plates were listed as 6 inches by 11 inches.
With this plate measuring 13 inches, the question still remains, what size are
E+1 digit plates? There is a good chance we may never know.
This pair of 3-digit Motorboat License
plates are from 1950 and 1951. Plates at the time ranged from 1 to 5
digits in length. The dimensions were the same as Motorcycle plates of the
time measuring 4½" by 8". These are also Worthpoint images.
Here is a Dealer Vanity plate
with a unique number. Dealer plates are eligible to be personalized.
Here is also a link to the Vanity Pagewhere the un-cropped
photo is also posted. There is (or was) a Chevrolet 21 dealership in
Hellertown near Bethlehem. Don't know if there could be a connection to
this plate. This photo is thanks to Matt Ciecka.
Not one seen every day — this
Quality Deer Management Association plate was recently spotted by Rob
Baran. These date back to 2015. This is also a new high.
According to vanity check, the current registered high is 00098Q/D. Rob thought
this plate did not have a sticker well, but could not be certain.
I've
always considered the far left Temple
University Official plates to be unique. Such plates have been in
use since about 1987. This one, courtesy of Bill Young, looks like it has been
around almost that long. When PA sadly abandoned these legacy designs in
favor of the visitPA and map outline format, new plates were forthcoming for
Temple as well at Penn State, Pitt and Lincoln Universities, but so far none
have been spotted. At the
present time, a record check indicates that plates from T0500U to T0505U are in
use, and likely on this new base.
Was still in need of several first
generation plates including Lebanon Valley
College plate photo. Jeff Lesher provided this photo of this
perfect low-number pair, one with a 2-97 validation sticker and one without.
Plates still needed include first
generation, yellow on blue photos of the following plates:
Here are a few more first generation
organizational plates,
this one being
U.S. Air Force Reserve thanks to Brandon Sowers. This plate
appears to be unused, and the serial number suggests that the plate may be above
the issued high. What does this mean? Likely means that more plates
were produced than were needed, and the plate found its way into the hands of
plate collectors.
The next gem is this U.S. Marine
Reserve plate, again thanks to Brandon Sowers. This plate also
appears to be unused, and the serial number also suggests that it may be above the issued high. What does this mean? Like
above more plates were produced than were needed.
The final one of these first generation
plates is this U.S. Navy Reserve
courtesy of Brandon Sowers. This plate also appears to be unused, however, it does fall within the issued series of
numbers.
These 1933 and 1934 Passenger plates are
good examples where one of the letter Hs is inverted while the other is
correct. When in doubt, do one each way, at least it's 50% correct.
My sense tells me that the first H is inverted on both plates. The 1933 HH
plate photo is from John Anshant, while the 1934 plate photo is thanks to Ed
Levine. Neither plate is a new posting.
Here is another pair of 1933 Passenger
plates. Again we have the letter H in both serial numbers, and again the
870H5 appears to be inverted, while the H1057 appears normal. Minor errors
but noticeable. Thanks to Eric Tanner pointing this out. The 870H5
plate is from Worthpoint, while the H1057 is thanks to John Willard and has been
previously posted.
Here is another example of minor errors with
plate dies. These are also 1933 Passenger plates with
the first example having the letter U properly spaced in the center, while the
second example shows the letter U aligned with the bottom margin. Both of
these plate photos are from Worthpoint.
7/11/2021 Posting
For the next several weeks, possibly
longer, my computer time will be limited.
As a result, web-postings will be
shortened. Too much
happening.
This Korean War Veteran
plate is almost at the end of its run. The plate type dates back to 1993
but was never changed to the graphic base, instead the
Korean
Defense Service Medal became available in 2010. This plate reads K/V02963,
with a Jan-2020 warehouse inventory extending only to K/V02999,
plates were only issued as high as K/V02987. The
Feb-2021 inventory shows
no plates remaining.
A
few vanities of the week. This plate is thanks to Bill Young. Click this link to the
Vanity Page
for additional images.
Recently Brandon Sowers posted these very
nice images of first generation college plates. On the far left is a Dickinson College
tag. The tag is a great example, even though the number suggests that it
may have been above the issued high. Next
plate is an
Edinboro University tag. The final plate is a Gannon University
plate. This plate may also have been slightly above the issued high.
Here's another beauty, this one being a
National Greyhound Adoption Program. This plate program dates back
to 1997, and is also thanks to Brandon Sowers.
This U.S. Coast Guard
Reserve plate photo is one I've always needed. These military
reserve issues are not considered veterans' tags, rather they were established
as organizational tags. It is unknown how many of plates were issued,
probably no more than a few hundred. It was brought to my attention by
Brandon Sowers from an eBay listing and now on Worthpoint. If the current
owner of this plate lets me know, I'll credit you.
These plates provide an enlargement of the 1933 Dealer series,
including the addition of a previously unknown format. Photos of the first
three plates came from Jeff Lesher. The 10"-shortie on the left shows a plate with the X in the
first position, followed by a 12-inch X+4-digit plate, the next plate with the X in the
second position, fills a needed plate photo gap. The 58X1 from eBay user
oldies_museum adds a previously unknown format. A big thank you to Jeff Lesher and to oldies_museum.
Such a rare plate should probably be at the
top of the page, but I try to keep the postings in a chronological order.
Anyway this is a well-preserved
1925 2-digit Passenger plate. The plate belongs to John Willard,
the photo is thanks to Tim Gierschick. Tim has an amazing collection of 1906
to 1935 two-digit and one digit plates that I plan to showcase in the near future.
I've
always considered the far left
Temple
University Official plates to be unique. Such plates have been in
use since about 1987. This one, courtesy of Bill Young, looks like it has been
around almost that long. When PA sadly abandoned these legacy designs in
favor of the visitPA and map outline format, new plates were forthcoming for
Temple as well at Penn State, Pitt and Lincoln Universities, but so far none
have been spotted. At the
present time, a record check indicates that plates from T0500U to T0505U are in
use, and likely on this new base.
