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reference-only website, no plate sales.
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We The People
. . . stepping up to America's toughest issues,
1787 - 2020.
You may have noticed that the number of
current plates displayed on this site is way down. This is largely the
result of the reduction in travel caused by the pandemic. This image
actually goes back to mid-February, and is the lowest Penn Alumni plate
spotted to date. Thanks to Jordan Irazabal
for the image.
This plate and photo are brand new.
Thanks to Rob Baran for sharing his new Passenger
Vanity plate which is now on his BMW M5.
This
WWW-issue is likely a re-make of a Bicentennial issue plate.
Nick Tsilakis points out that the letter 'U' is no longer used in serial
progressions. This plate was spotted by
Tom Perri.
Here is a very nice undated 1965 Amateur Radio
plate. This plate was eligible to be re-validated with stickers until
1970. Judging by the 1x2 call sign, this was likely an Extra Class
license. The owner of this plate requested that the credit for the
plate go to his father, Ron Allen.
If you don't recognize these plates, you're not alone.
Thanks to fellow ALPCA member Ned Flynn, who researched these plates, we have a better
understanding of Auto Wheel plates. Auto Wheel
plates were issued by the Auto Wheel Coaster Co. of Tonawanda, NY. for small
4-wheeled vehicles. The company made children's wagons, scooters, sleds
etc. These were not official plates and were not issued by PA in spite of
PENNA. or PA shown on some plates. Ned did quite a bit of research to help remove much
of the mystery surrounding these plates. His efforts culminated in an
article in the August issue of the ALPCA 2012 Plates Magazine. The
source of the '27 and '29 plates is unknown, the '30 plate is from Worthpoint.
Here are more seldom-seen plates.
Commercial
Motorcycle plates were issued for 12 years from 1938 until 1949,
except 1943 when metal tabs were issued. Formatting was essentially
the same from year to year. The 1942 is the only image I have for
that year, while the '48 is the first 2-digit plate. Both are from Worthpoint,
a service I subscribed to for research. If the owner of a
plate wishes, I can acknowledge them also.
This is a 1930 Format 2 Passenger
plate. 1925 saw the first use of alpha characters in passenger serial
progressions, and by 1930 plates were shortened to 5 characters, thereby
reducing the length of the plate as well. This reduction to 5
characters also necessitated the use of as many as eight serial
progressions. The 10-inch shorty shown here was part of the A to Z9999
series. This is a Worthpoint image.
This is a 1934 Tractor
plate from Tim Gierschick. After 1923 the word TRACTOR was not used as
part of the legend again until 1934. This year also saw the
elimination of TE as a serial prefix, as plates were all numeric. The
plate shown here, 5261, also raises the high.
This pair of 1926 Truck plates
represents the R weight class that ran from R1 to R99-999. There were
also overflow plates with the R in the suffix position. The R plate
shown here measures 6" by 13", and was one of four sizes used that year.
The U-weight class plate consists of 4 characters and measures 6" by 12".
These are both Worthpoint images. Still need T and Y class photos.
This is a 1927 R-weight class truck.
The picture was not good to begin with but it is a decent representation of
the R+4 digit plates. Like the plate above, the series ran from R1 to
R99-999. There were also overflow plates with the R in the suffix
position. This plate measures 6" by 13", and was one of three sizes
used that year. This is a Worthpoint image.
Here is an unused 1961 Passenger Validation
Sticker from Tom Firth. This sticker shows the sticker with
serial number. There were also stickers issued with PA0000.
Stickers with different color combinations were also issued for Suburban,
Truck and Trailer. Click the link to see the other types.
Posting 3/29/2020
Here is a Therapy
Dogs United plate recently acquired by Bruce Sakson. Not only
is this a new high, it is also the first one of these spotted without the
sticker well. Plate 00056T/D still had the sticker well. This
plate program has been around since 2010.
Here's a recent Person with Disability
traffic shot from Jaska Börner. I distinctly remember when the www
series of PD plates was nearing the end of the Y-suffix plates, and wondered
if the Z-series would be on the visitPA base, but it didn't happen that way.
After the Y-series was exhausted, the next plates seen were in the 00001PD
series, not PD0000Z. Then about 3 months later, the Z plates started
to appear. This all took place from May to August of 2007.
2018 Act 91authorized the issuing of
organizational plates in a motorcycle size and format, among other plate
related additions. It now appears that the
International Association of Fire Fighters is the first organization
to approve such a plate.
No picture or prototype yet, but there
are likely 9 plates in use with P/F0001
format. If you look at the
Honoring Our Veteran Motorcycle plates, my concern is that the wide
fonts leave little space for the organizational logo, which ends up being
the size of a postage stamp.
1925 was only the
second year for the use of alpha characters on passenger plates. The
series would have started at A or A1 and progressed to A99-999, then started
the B-series. While each letter series progressed as a group, plate
size depended on the number of characters. Shown here are the second
and third sizes used. A-223 measures 6" by 12', and the A8-696
measures 6" by 13'. There were also 6" by 10" and 6" by 15" depending
on the number of characters. These images are from Worthpoint,
a service I subscribed to for research purposes. If the owner of a
plate wishes, I can acknowledge them also.
This 1927 Passenger plate
also follows the same alpha-numeric rules where the numeric progression
advances from 1 to 99999 before moving to the next letter and starting over.
This is a 6" by 10". There were also 6" by 13" and 6" by 15" sizes
depending on the number of characters. This photo is from Worthpoint.
Here is a 1933 Passenger plate.
Like the plates above, the numeric portion of the plate advances to the end
of the sequence then the letter advances. By 1933 there were many
additional alpha-numeric combinations in use to accommodate the growing number
of cars on the street. 1 to 4 character plates measured 6" x 10", 5
character plates measured 6" x 12". This photo is from Worthpoint.
While a few 1953 Passenger plates
with only 3 characters are known to exist, this is the first one I've seen.
Such plates are considered be a non-standard issue. All standard plates
are 4 or 5 characters and measure 6" x 10¼", this plate included. This
plate belonged to Forrest Kauffman when I took the photo.
These are 1925 Truck plate photos.
The far left is a low number S-weight class plate. That series ran
from S-1 to S99-999, then went to an overflow series with the R in the
suffix position. The center is a U-weight class plate. Both of
these are 6" by 12" plates. The right hand plate represents
the V-class; however, the additional digit makes this a 6" by 13" plate.
These photos are from Worthpoint.
This is a 1928 T-weight class truck.
There was still no 'TRUCK' legend until 1934, so the alpha-numeric
configuration was the key to identifying the type. Some passenger
plates also used single letter prefixes, but for 1928 only A through E were
used, while truck plates used R through Z, except X. This plate
measures 6" by 13" and the photo is from Worthpoint.
Posting 3/22/2020
This Bus plate is actually
a low number for the group of plates without the sticker well. This
change is believed to have come about starting at BA-80900 and likely ran to
BA-81899. At BA-81900 the map outline was added. The
current high is in the BA-83000 series.
This
Sons of the American Legion plate was spotted by Bruce Bufalini.
This plate type has been around since 2014 and the only one I've seen on the
road so far was a vanity. Vanity check indicates that the serial
number high is 00073S/L. This plate definitely lacks the sticker well.
Here's the latest Seton Hill
University high number as recently spotted by Bruce Bufalini.
The plate now has the map outline. Bruce notes that plate S/H00112
also had the map. Seton Hill has been in the license plate business
since 2006. Seton Hill is located in Greensburg, PA
This is a new high U.S. Air Force
Veteran recently spotted by Bruce Bufalini.
This plate, and one previously spotted, 22932A/F,
now have the map outline. This plate is part of a series of veteran
plates that date back to 2009 with the starting point for Air Force plates
being 20000A/F.
I'm showing this Apportioned Bus
plate again as a point of discussion. After receiving additional
comments from John Anshant, I have now been persuaded that there was a yellow
on blue version of this plate. The plate would essentially look the
same but with the colors reversed, and the sticker well on the lower left.
Now . . . how to find one, or at least a picture. I have tried PennDOT
in the past by way of a Right to Know request, which was futile. So
I'm begging for help with this.
The far left image is the lowest
number I've seen on a 1910 Dealer
plate. 1910 was the first year for Dealer plates. The number progression is believed to have started at 1 on
a 6" by 8" base, whereas the plate shown here measures 6" by 10".
The center plate is from 1911, and
shows the introduction of the 'X'-prefix on this 6" by 12" plate.
Click that link to see an 'X'+single digit plate. In 1916 Dealer
plates were stamped steel. The plate shown here is 6" by 13", the
middle size between the 11" and 16" sizes. These images are from Worthpoint,
a service I subscribed to for research purposes. If the owner of a
plate wishes, I can acknowledge them also.
On the far left of this group of
1953 Truck plates is an R-weight class that completes the run of all six
serial progressions. Next the T-class shows the first of two
progressions, while the Y plate depicts one of the two series in that
weight class. The R and Y plates are from Worthpoint. The T
-late is thanks to Blasco38.
Here are a few more 1956 Truck plates.
The far left was the only remaining R-weight class progression needed.
The T-weight class plate was the second of two serial progressions used.
The U-weight class was the first of four serial progressions used in '56.
These photos are from Worthpoint.
For some reason, 1957 Truck plates seem not
to be as plentiful as other truck plates of the same era. All '57
truck plates were 6 characters. The addition of the 6th character
almost completely eliminated the need for multiple serial progressions
within each weight class. The plates shown here are the first T- and
V-weight class plates shown for that year. These photos are from Worthpoint.
Posting 3/15/2020
The Teen Driver plate
program has been around since 2013 and yet plate sales have so far not
passed the 100 mark. Apparently not many teens find them
appealing. It appears that many of these plates are being
purchased as part of a plate collection. The unused 87 plate photo
is from Tom Firth, the 88 and 89 plate photos were snapped by Jordan Irazabal.
T/D00089 is also the new high.
Here is a recently spotted Antique Vehicle
plate from Bill Stephens. It represents the end of the progression
for this run, which would end at 99Z9. The next sequence will be
A0AA. The numerical character will advance first, followed by the
final letter. So after the series hits A9AA, it will advance to
A0AB, etc. This series is already in use.
Here's the first personalized plate
photo of an Indiana
University of PA Alumni Association, or just IUP for short.
IUP has been in the plate business since 1985. The color graphic
design dates back to 2012. This traffic shot was taken by Bruce Bufalini. Can't discern the presence or absence of a sticker well,
but surely no map.
At a central PA collectors' meet in
early February, I brought up the subject of first generation, blue on
yellow,
Apportioned Bus plates. I already knew that no such plates
were believed to have made it into the hands of collectors, but John
Anshant stated that he had a photo of one. I wanted that
picture and here it is! The series began in 1982, apparently
at the same time as
Apportioned
Truck plates. The series began at BL-10000, and progressed to
at least BL-10501. Several attempts to contact and visit bus
companies proved futile. A respected ALPCA collector has stated in
the past that this plate was also issued on the yellow-on-blue base.
I personally have no recollection of such an edition. I do know
for certain that there never was a BM prefix, plates went directly from
BL to BN when the www base was issued.
Here is a pair of 1925 Bus
plates. Since there is no identifying legend, the letter 'O' as
the first character is the distinguishing feature. Bus plates at
the time used the same size alpha and numeric characters until 1927 when
the 'O' became smaller. 4 character plates were 6" x 12", 5
character plates were 6" x 13". These images are from Worthpoint,
a service I subscribed to for research purposes. If the owner of a
plate wishes, I can acknowledge them also.
This group of motorcycle tag photos
are nice examples of 1920s-era plates. The 1923 is a Format 1, yellow on
blue tag which measures
4½" by 6". The center
tag is a 1924, also measuring 4½" by 6" but blue on yellow. The
1925 5-digit tag is the more familiar size of 4½" by 8". This
plate is also yellow
on blue. These photos are from Worthpoint.
More 1955 Truck plates.
The far left and center plates represent the two remaining U-weight
class serial progressions. The V-weight class plate is one of three
serial progressions used that year. The far left plate is from Worthpoint. The center plate is thanks to eBay user Securityautoparts, and the
right-hand plate photo is thanks to Tper3750.
These 1956 Truck plates show
a marked evolution in plate formatting and design. Let us look at this group of R-weight class
plates. For starters, 1956 saw the standardization of plate sizes
to 6" by 12", previously plates were 6" by 10¼". Next, beginning
with the center plate, new dies are apparent. I'm going to call
the dies on the center plate '57 5-character dies, and
there was another new set of dies which I'm describing as '57 6-character
dies. Compare the 'R' on the three plates. There were
also three map bases, again compare the plates above. The far left
plate was from Bob Connison and was previously posted, the center and
right plates are from Worthpoint.
Posting 3/8/2020
This is a U.S. Navy
(Active Duty) plate, thus the AD suffix. The active duty
series dates back to 2017, and have not been easy to spot. This
photo was taken by Tom Perri and
edited by Jordan Irazabal.
(Editing generally consist of cropping, rotating, skewing, etc. to yield a
truer image. It does not include altering the content of the
plate.) There are also a
U.S. Navy
Veteran plate and a
U.S. Navy Reserve organizational plate.
See anything strange about the
far left plate? It has the graphic background of the
center owl plate and the serial formatting of the right-hand
tiger plate. The image was provided by Paul Bagnarol and is
believed to be a prototype or test plate.
Here are three of the four faces of the Penn State Nittany Lion. These vanity plates
were recently spotted by Bruce Bufalini
on his travels through University Park. The SUSIE plate and the
TEXAS plate are both Penn State Alumni
Association plates of different vintages. The SNO17 is a Penn State
University plate which is another option. So which face of the Nittany Lion is missing? It's the original
Pozniak Lion dating back to 1985 and issued up through the
2004-2005 changeover.
Here's a recent shot of a
Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue plate from Jordan Irazabal.
Their plate program dates back to 2013, and so far this is the highest
plate spotted. Vanity check shows an issued high of 00229G/R.
Note the removal of the validation sticker.
Here
is a new high
National Ski Patrol plate traffic shot from Jaska Börner.
Jaska reports that this plate still has the sticker well. A vanity
check of this plate type shows that the issued serial number high is
00285S/P. This organizational
plate type dates back to 2011.
Bruce Bufalini
also snapped this low-number Passenger
vanity plate. At one time plates from 3 to 23 were
reserved for cabinet members, and 24 to 999 were reserved for state
officials and dignitaries. While those designations have been
extinct for a number of years, don't expect to walk into the DMV, plunk
down your cash and walk out with such a plate. It is my
understanding that the lowest numbered plates are still tightly
controlled.
Here is a trio of 1936 Truck plates.
The far left and center T-weight class have provided examples of the
serial progressions of T000A and T0A00, with a T00A0 plate having been
previously posted. The finish is gone from the U-weight class
plate; however, it is a solid representation of the class which has only
one serial progression. The far left plate is thanks to eBay user
Blasco38, the other two are from Worthpoint,
a service I subscribed to for research purposes. If the owner of a
plate wishes, I can acknowledge them also.
We continuing with this trio of 1954 Truck plates.
The R-weight class plate is part of R0A00 format which is one of six
serial progressions that year. Thanks to eBay user Blasco38 for
that plate. The center S-weight class plate is part of S00AA
format, which is one of five serial progressions. The T-class is
part of T00A0 format which is one of two serial progressions for 1954.
The S and T plates were from Worthpoint.
Next is this 3-plate series of 1955 Truck plates.
The S9U73 plate on the far left completes the display all five S-class
serial progressions used that year. Thanks to eBay user Blasco38
for that plate. The center image is the first T-class plate shown
here
and is the second of two serial progressions used in '55. The
U-class is the first of first of four serial progressions used in '55.
The T and U plates were from Worthpoint.
Images and photos are always welcome.
Please send to:
.jpg)
Here
is a new high
National Ski Patrol plate traffic shot from Jaska Börner.
Jaska reports that this plate still has the sticker well. A vanity
check of this plate type shows that the issued serial number high is
00285S/P. This organizational
plate type dates back to 2011.
