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Supporting the hobby & preserving the history of Pennsylvania License Plates John McDevitt, Walnutport, PA ALPCA #4376 |
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CURRENT PLATES OLDER PLATE MATERIAL Plate History, Special Organization REFERENCE Group Displays (old & new) Historic docs & misc references Plate Highs (www.paplates.com) Validation Stickers (old & new) ARCHIVED HOME PAGES 2006 Archives (from 7/22/06) |
Posting 1/19/2020
I had knee surgery this past week. While recovering over the next couple weeks, additions to this website may be limited.
While this is not a new Boy Scouts of America high, it is the highest plate spotted that still retains the sticker well. Thanks to Bruce Bufalini for the photo. Plate 00171B/S, without the sticker well, was previously spotted by Brendan Sherry. This organization's plate program dates back to 2007.
To the left and below are a couple recent veteran's plates from Bruce Bufalini. Oft times these traffic shots aren't perfect, but always worth the effort as with this Expeditionary Forces. This is one of those 'tweener' plates without a sticker well but still no map outline. This plate type dates back to 1996.
This tough traffic shot was taken by Bruce Bufalini. And while it's not the first example of a vanity Vietnam War Veteran plate, it is the first one spotted with the map outline. These veteran plates date back to 1999 when they were fully embossed and remained so until 2014 when the color graphic base was introduced.
This remarkable 65 year old plate is part of a matching pair of 1955 Motorboat plates. For 1955 the series ran from 1 to at least 43609. Starting in 1955 Motorboat plates looked much like motorcycle plates of the day except for the colors and legend. These plates were on eBay this past week, and my thanks to eBay user snortwheeze55 for the use of the photo. There were also Motorboat Dealer plates which used an 'X' prefix.
Here is a pair of 1933 Passenger plates. The first of these shorties is a 3-digit Format 1 plate which went from 1 to 99999. The next is a Format 2 which ran from A to Z9999. Both plates measure 6 inches by 10 inches. The first image is from Worthpoint, a service I subscribed to for research purposes; however, if the owner of a plate wishes, I can acknowledge them as well. The other plate is from eBay user zekeyman50.
These
photos are of before and after
1916 Trailer
plates. The early photo was from Judd Clemens which I've had for
several years, the new owner of the plate is Clayton Moore who
refinished the plate. He also confirms the actual size of the
plate to be 6 inches by 14¼ inches. The series started at T1 and
extended to at least T427. T+1 digit and T+2 digit plates are
believed to be 6 inches by 11 inches.
This 1951 Trailer plate is thanks to eBay user j0hnnyo (not a typo). It is part of Format 3 where the progression ran from 0A00 to 9Z99. Plates measure 6" x 11". The Archives lists 667R as the high, but in 1952 the series went to a 5 digit format at least as high as 17663. I would not be surprised if some 5 digit plates were issued late in 1951.
This is a 1942 R-Weight Class Truck plate with a '43 tag. The R weight class used 4 serial progressions that year including: R000A, R00A0, R0A00, R00AA. The photo gallery now has an image of each of the four serial progressions. Thanks to eBay user PA-Collector for the use of this photo.
This is a 1951 Y-Weight Class Truck plate. Unlike the '42 above, there was only a single serial progression for the Y-class — Y000A. All plates measured 6 inches by 11 inches. Thanks to eBay user j0hnnyo for the photo.
Posting 1/12/2020
Here's a new high Mario Lemieux Foundation plate recently spotted by Bruce Bufalini. This plate type dates back to 2006, then at or before 01680L/F the map outline was added. Then later between 01791L/F and 01813L/F, the logo received a facelift.
On the far left is the latest iteration of a PA Chiropractic Association plate. The near left plate is an example of the plates that have been in use since their beginning in 2006. The new sample plate image was provided by Paul Bagnarol. It is unknown if any plates have been issued with the new logo.
Here is a low number Pennsylvania Coal Alliance Inc. plate recently spotted by Bruce Bufalini. These plates have been on the street since 2016, and so far according to vanity check about 170 serial numbered plates have been issued. Bruce spotted several of these plates outside a mining company entrance in Armstrong County.
The Temple University Alumni Association has been in the license plate business since 1987 on the yellow on blue base. Then around 7/3/2001 the first generation plates were replaced by the www base as shown here on this low-number plate. Thanks to the LicensePlateKingCompany for the photo.
Here's a recent high Limousine plate. At first glance I didn't see the sticker well, but the photo shows that it's still there. According to a July report, a new batch of plates will start at LM-31000, and vanity check shows the current high as LM-30950.
For those who watch and track Truck plates, here's the latest high from Bruce Bufalini.
Here is a 1954 Format 4 Passenger plate. This series ran from 10A0 to 99Z99, so both 4 and 5-character plates made up this progression. All plates measured 6 inches by 10¼ inches regardless of the number of characters. This photo is also thanks to the LicensePlateKingCompany.
This is another one of those plates that looks just like another piece of rusty old steel from 1925. There is no legend or other marking except for the E-prefix, which in this case identifies it as a Tractor plate with the 'E' symbolizing Engine. 1925 was only the second year to use alpha-prefix letters on Passenger plates, but the run only extended into the B-series, so not to be confused with this plate. Thanks to Tim Gierschick for sharing this photo.
No question about this being a Tractor plate with that legend and '58 date embossed + a '63 sticker. This would have been a very early issue based on the series which started at 100-000. Note the presence of the tab slot which was never used and later removed somewhere between 131-000 and 132-000. Again my thanks to Tim Gierschick for sharing this photo.
This is a very nice 1953 Class S Weight Class Truck plate. Class S consisted of 5 serial progressions including: S000A, S00A0, S0A00, S00AA, S0AA0, with this plate being part of the first progression. All plates measure 6" x 10¼", and were issued as singles. This plate photo is thanks to eBay user Tper3750.
Here is a pair of 1964 Truck plates. On the far left is a low number T Weight Class plate with that class starting at T00-00A making this the 33rd or 34th plate made in this class. Thanks to Rob Baran for the photo. The near left YT plate is a 3-axle truck tractor which used both YT0-00A and YT0-0A0 serial progressions. Both the 1958 and 1964 truck series used separate weight classes for 3-axle truck tractors including WT, YT and ZT. There were also distinct classes for 3 and 4-axle straight trucks, which were not truck tractors. This image is from Worthpoint, a service I subscribed to for research purposes; however, if the owner of a plate wishes, I can acknowledge them as well.
Posting 1/5/2020
This is the latest image of an AFSCME Council 13 plate from Jordan Irazabal. This plate type dates back to 2008. Plate 00092A/U still had the sticker well, while 00103A/U and the plate shown here are without the sticker well. Some 109 serial-numbered plates have been issued.
Here is a nice low number Eureka Volunteer Fire and Ambulance plate thanks to Arthur Levine. Their plate program dates back to 2017, so from the beginning the white map outline was part of the plate. Vanity check indicates that so far about 13 serial numbered plates have been issued. They are located in York County.
We've seen this State Senator plate before, in fact the far left photo was taken on January 4, 2011 by Eric Conner, while the near left photo is from this past December by Jordan Irazabal. Note the 6-11 and 6-17 stickers. This State Senator plate was issued to the senator representing the first senatorial district located in Philadelphia.
This is one of those plates that at first glance you might simply pass it off as just another 5-digit Passenger plate. Upon further scrutiny, Passenger plates did use a 5-digit format but that series started at 10-000, while this plate actually starts with the letter 'O', not the number zero. The 'O' prefix makes this a 1926 Bus plate reading O6-875. After 1926 alpha characters were made smaller than numbers, thus the confusion about the first character of this plate. Need more confusion, there was also another class of Bus plates at the time with an H-prefix. Click the link to see more. Many thanks to Clayton Moore for the use of this and so many other plate images.
Needless to say this is a rare plate. It's a 1929 Format 1 Passenger plate. That series went from 2 to 9999 on a 6 inch by 10 inch base before adnancing to the 10-000 format and a 6 by 13 inch plate. Thanks to Clayton Moore for the use of this photo.
Here is another 1929 Format 4 Passenger plate, which ran from A-1 to F-99, then to F999, on 6" x 10". It should be noted that while Formats 4, 5 and 6 are shown as separate groups, the series actually progresses as one group with the alpha character being the last to advance, and the series progressing as A-1, A-2, etc. to A99-999, then B-1, etc. to F23-960. This image is from Worthpoint, a service I subscribed to for research purposes; however, if the owner of a plate wishes, I can acknowledge him or her as well.
Here is a pair of 1941 Passenger plates. The far left is a Format 3 which ran from 1A00 to 9Z999. So 4-character plates measured 6" x 10" and 5-character plates were 6" x 12". Thanks to eBay user Stationstuff for the photo. The near left photo is a Format 4 consisting of 10A0 to 99Z99. So again both sizes were used with this plate being 12". Thanks to eBay user Nekollena for the use of the photo.
This 1949 Passenger Sample plate photo came from Paul Bagnarol. I believe this is the last of these I have to post. This leaves only 1925, 1931 and 1944 samples needed. In addition to Paul, many thanks to Eric Tanner for all their help filling in the gaps.
Here
is a pair of 1941 Trailer
plates. The far left plate is a needed Format 2 plate using the A000
serial format, while the near left plate is a previously undocumented format for
1941, and will be referred to as Format 3 using 0A00 as the serial format. These image are from Worthpoint,
a service I subscribed to for research purposes; however, if the owner of a
plate wishes, I can acknowledge him or her as well.
Posting 12/29/2019
Happy New Year
Personally
I don't put a lot of effort into watching and tracking
Passenger and Truck
plates, but many plate enthusiasts do. Here is a pair of recent Passenger highs
spotted by
Jordan Irazabal on the far left and
Eric Conner on the near left. To see a comprehensive listing of all PA
highs, check out Tom Perri's
www.PAPlates.com.
Nick Tsilakis spotted this latest high
Person With Disability
plate. The use of the map outline is believed to have started at 72000PD.
For the past few years PD plates have also been available personalized. In
addition, a 2-plate option is available to vehicle owners who have a device on
the rear of the vehicle for carrying a wheelchair or personal assistive device.
These plates originally date back to 1965 and were called Handicapped or HP
plates.
This
Amateur Radio error plate was spotted
by Bruce Bufalini. Note the use of the number zero (0) as the next to the
last character. Bruce, who is a ham radio operator, points out that only
one number is used in any call sign. The format would be 1 or 2 letters to the left and 1 to 3 letters to the
right of the number, never more than 6 characters.
Here is a parking lot shot of a personalized Moravian College plate, now with the map outline. This is the the first photo of a Moravian plate with the map. It is unknown if standard issue plates have the map yet. Frequently personalized plates are the first to be spotted with formatting changes. Moravian's plate program dates back to 1990.
This is a Shippensburg University Alumni sample plate thanks to Pail Bagnarol. Shippensburg's plate program dates back to 1989 on the yellow on blue base. Sometime between 2013 and 2014 they switched to the graphic base as seen here. Their latest plates have been spotted with the map outline.
This is a 1933 Format 3 Passenger plate. This serial grouping ran from 0A to 9Z999, so 2, 3, 4 and 5 character plates were issued. The 2, 3 and 4 character plates would have been 6 inches by 10 inches, while the 5-character plates were 12 inch. Thanks to eBay user rqb507 for the use of this photo.
This 1935 Format 7 Passenger was also provided by eBay user rqb507. The serial number is part of AA to ZZ99 and AA100 to ZZ999 serial progression. This plate measures 6 inches by 10 inches, and of course the 5-character plates would be 12 inches.
Here
is another pair of Sample plates. The far left is a
1947 thanks to Paul
Bagnarol, while the near left
1948 is thanks to Eric
Eric Tanner and Worthpoint. Both of these plates
measure 6 inches by 11 inches. Next week I will have a couple more
samples.
In Older Truck Plate News: I received an interesting and insightful email from Eric Tanner concerning the use of RA000 and SA000 Truck series during 1935, 1936 and 1937. These series were listed in the 1935 BMV Design of Registration Plates document, however, none were ever seen. During this period approx 240,000 R and S plates would have been issued, yet not a single plates from these series has ever been seen. If my memory serves me correctly, Rick Kretschmer may have also brought up this issue, so at the time I listed these series as needing confirmation, and now we have it.
While we're talking trucks, here's a 1945 Class R Truck plate. This depicts the third of four serial formats which include R000A, R00A0, R0A00, R00AA. The plate gallery now shows one of each group. Thanks to Ebay user Our Favorite Things for the use of the photo.
Posting 12/22/2019
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays
In Legislative News: It appears that House Bill 1710, House Bill 1711 and House Bill 1712 are again under consideration in the House. If passed, House Bill 1710 would create a USA Semiquincentennial plate, similar to the Bicentennial Plate, with the phrase “Let Freedom Ring - 250 years”, for issue between 2021 and 2026. Bill 1711 would create Heritage plates, adding a limited edition 1956-like plate with a blue background inside a gold outline of the Commonwealth, and a 1960s plate with the opposite colors for motorists to choose from. Bill 1712 would authorize corporate logo fleet plates, similar to Indiana. It would be nice to see something not part of the family of plates.
Here is a new high Severely Disabled Veteran plate spotted at night by Jaska Börner. In addition to respect for the veteran, I also like the fact that this plate type has never switched to the visitPA family of plates look. To the best of my knowledge this is because the legislation that authorized the plate also spelled out the coloring.
This sample image was provided to Paul Bagnarol by Delaware Valley Triumphs Ltd. This organization has had plates on the street since 2009, and vanity check shows that currently only 27 serial numbered plates have been issued so far.
Here we have another sample image. This plate has been acquired by Paul Bagnarol from the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society. This group made their plate debut in 2015. The current series high according to Tom Perri's website (paplates.com) is 00160A/W.
Here is a pair of first generation National Guard plates with embossed graphics. These plates date back to 1984 which was the first year for modern National Guard plates. These were considered organizational plates rather than veteran or military plates. Note that on the near left plate the soldier and N/G, and the airplane, have a wider spacing than on the 0001 plate. Early National Guar plates were also issued between 1930 and 1935. The far left photo is believed to be from Drewski some years ago. The the other plate is unknown.
Here is a pair of 1932 Passenger plates. The far left is a Format 2 plate which ran from A to Z9999. So this grouping could have plate serials as short as a single letter, and progressing up to a letter + 4 numbers. This photo is thanks to from eBay user Mintcandy621. The other plate is part of Format 4 which ran from 00A to 99Z99. Again plates could be 3, 4 or 5 characters. This photo is from eBay user ipl8, aka Paul. Both of these plates are 6 inches by 10 inches, although 5-character plates were 12 inches.
This is a 1936 Format 9 Passenger plate. This series used the progression of 1AA0 to 9ZZ99. So both 4 and 5-character plates were issued, with the 4-character plates measuring 6 inches by 10 inches, as shown here. 5-character plates were 6 inches by 12 inches. Thanks to ebay user Bgibso29 for the use of the photo.
Here is another pair of Passenger Sample plates. The far left is from 1942 and the near left from 1946. PA began using the PA00 format for samples as far back as 1931 according to Eric Tanner. The plates shown here are both thanks to Paul Bagnarol. Stay tuned, sill have a few more samples to post. These are both 6" by 10" shorties.
Here's a very nice 1934 R-Weight Class Truck plate. Class R consisted of four serial progressions including: R000A, R00A0, R0A00 and RA000. With the addition of this image all four progressions are shown. All '34 truck plates measured 6 by 12 inches. Thanks to Clayton Moore for the use of the photo.
This is a 1935 S-Weight Class Truck plate. After the S-Class plates with 5 characters had maxed-out the available combinations, 6-character combinations were produced. Thanks to Platedog for the use of this plate. Within the R and S classes, there were supposed to be RA000 and SA000 series, but these, if they existed, have never been seen or documented. Anyone know anything about these series?
Posting 12/15/2019
In Plate-Related News: Click this Link to read the Philadelphia Inquirer's article with headline reading "Free Library’s $1M auto archives are moving to Philly’s world-famous car museum and to a Hershey attraction." The article is an interesting read. The Hershey attraction is the AACA Library in Hershey. Thanks to Larry Resnick for the information and link to the article. My interest of course is the license plate component, Larry thinks the material should be sorted out by mid-2020.
This is one plate we wish would never be issued, but nevertheless, here is a new high Gold Star Family. This photo is thanks to Matt Ceicka. This plate type was released in early November 2006 starting at G/S/F0001. Vanity check shows an issued high of G/S/F0796.
The plate frame completely hides the Distracted Driving Awareness legend, although the frame has its own safety message. These Special Fund plates were unveiled earlier this year, and this is the first personalized plate photographed thanks to Jordan Irazabal. There is also a motorcycle version of this plate with DA stacked + 3 digits.
Here is the latest letter series Permanent Trailer plate spotted by Matt Ciecka. The series prior to this was with the letter H. The letter I was skipped. Perm-Trailer plates were first issued back in 1987, using a PT-00000 format. Then in 2001 they were all replaced with the www series starting at PT-0000A. In 2015 that series maxed out and the new series began at PT-000A0. Click the link above to see more details and images.
Here is a Friends of Valley Forge Park sample plate. The image came from the organization, and Paul Bagnarol passed it on to me for posting. This plate program dates back to 2007. Plate check shows that the current high is 00102V/F.
If this looks familiar, I posted an earlier photo of a sample plate that was a much smaller image back in October. This is now a full size sample image of a Ridley School District organizational plate. At this time about 20 serial-numbered plates are in use. Thanks to Paul Bagnarol for his tireless efforts to pursue sample plates.
In response to my effort to fill in the sample plate gaps over the tears, Eric Tanner has sent me several needed images. First is this 1927 Sample using the typical 000 early serial format. This plate measured 6 inches by 10 inches. The image source was Worthpoint.
This is a 1931 Format 4 Passenger plate. That group ran from 00A to 99Z99. So 3, 4 and 5-character plates were issued. The 3 and 4-character plates would have measured 6 inches by 10 inches, such as the plate shown here. 5-character plates were 12 inches. Thanks to eBay seller alex-kollectibles-antiques for the use of the photo.
We are actually making very good progress on filling the sample plate gaps. This is a 1938 Sample from Paul Bagnarol. This sample measures 6 inches by 10 inches; however both 10 and 12-inch serial numbered plates were issued that year. Many other types of sample plates were made over the years, a few weeks ago I featured a 1938 Trailer sample.
Next up is this 1940 Sample from Eric Tanner. Again this sample is on a 6 inch by 10 inch base, and again issued plates consisted of about 10 different serial progressions, with many being 12-inch plates. I have a few more samples to post over the next couple weeks.
The
large photo is from an on-line Philadelphia Free Library photo collection
showing what appears to be a large truck, possibly a tank truck at a gas
station. The cropped and zoomed photo shows a
1935 Z-Weight Class Truck
plate. The series started at Z000A and ran to Z110C according to
Jordan Irazabal, ALPCA's PA Archivist.
With the final letter being the last character to advance, it's easy to see that
only about 2,110 Z-Class plates were issued.
Images and photos are always welcome. Please send to:
John McDevitt, Walnutport, PA
ALPCA #4376
