PApl8s.com - 2012 Archives

As another year comes to a close I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for the many, many photo contributions to this website. Thank you to everyone who has contributed.

It's not a high or a low, just a decent photo op of an NRA Foundation plate. What is unique about this plate type is the use of a 3-letter suffix, which then limits the serial number to 4 digits. I think this is the only specialty plate with such formatting, the only exception being the NASCAR series which used 3-character prefixes throughout. The Gold Star Family plate also uses a 3-letter stacked prefix but this is not a specialty plate.

Brendan Sherry passed along this U.S. Army Veteran plate image. It's the current high in that series.

This Lima Fire Company image has been in the pending/proposed section for a long time. Chris Blowitski points out that Lima is undergoing a merger into what's been named the Rocky Run Fire Co, so chances are this plate will never be produced.

Bill Ceravola sent this picture-perfect image of a low number Ducks Unlimited plate.

Ryan Battin spotted this high number Temporary Intransit plate. (My spell checker does not recognize intransit as a word, and neither do I, but that's what's on the plate.)

UPDATE: Jordan Irazabal just sent me an image with the number 2297-086. I'll try to get the photo edited for display next week.

The Blue Knights Int'l Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club will be hosting a plate program for their organization. This will be a full-size plate as there are no motorcycle-size specialty plates. Unfortunately all of PA's specialty plate are full size plates.

• It appears that the first two Navy Cross plates have been issued. Keep those cameras handy, they won't be easy to find.

Here's a prototype of a new specialty plate — Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, an organization dedicated to fighting childhood cancer. No plates of this type are in use yet and may not be available yet.

The PA Consortium of Education Foundations is the last in this group of three new specialty plates. No plates of this type are in use yet and may not be available yet.

Here's the current high commercial version Official Use plate. The commercial version is for single-issue plates such as for trucks, while the plates issued for automobiles are issued in pairs. Click the link to see both formatting variations.

Paul Nutter sent this image of an '84 base Amateur Radio plate. This helps to fill one of the needed format variations. Still needed to complete the run are a '57, '77 base (blue on yellow), and an '87 base (yellow on blue) with Keystone State on top.

Nick Tsilakis spotted this obsolete Keystone State base Passenger Vanity recently.

Here is the first image of a Bronze Star plate. The image came from a presentation featured on the republicanherald.com website. There are now about 18 of these plates in use, and about 6 Bronze Stars for Valor, and 3 Silver Star plates currently in use.

This all-zeros West Point Alumni plate image was provided by Eric Conner. Click the link to see several others including WP0001.

This Retired State Senator plate was recently photographed by Tom Perri. This is not the first Retired State Senator plate to be spotted but it is the first with the number to the left of the PA within a keystone. Numbers 1 thru 50 are reserved for active senators while numbers 51 to 99 were made available to retired senators. These plates were available with the state website legend or they were available with the embossed SENATOR legend. It should be noted that in 2009 an actual Retired Senator plate was released. Click the link above to see all known variations.

This '77 base Governor plate was recently auctioned on eBay. It appears to be a variation in the format from other Governors' plates of that era where the word Governor and the state are reversed.

Honoring Our Veterans Plate — The law providing for the new Honoring Our Veterans plate is now in effect and the plates should be available as of 11/23/12. This plate will be listed as a Special Fund plate since it provides for contributions to the Veterans' Trust Fund. The plates have a one time cost of $35 with $15 going to the fund, after that the only cost is the annual registration renewal. PennDOT Form MV-914 will get you a plate if you have a vehicle registered in PA. Sorry, no photo yet. To read the details of the bill click this link Senate Bill 1531. The senate bill is now Act 194 but it has not yet been posted as such. As a side note, this is the first new Special Fund plate since the Conserve Wild Resources - Otter plate was introduced in 2000. The other special fund plates include Conserve Wild Resources - Owl (no longer issued but still in use), DARE, Flagship Niagara (no longer issued but still in use), Preserve Our Heritage - Railroad, and Save Wild Animals - Tiger / Zoo plate.

Here's a very nice example of the current plate from LaSalle University on the visitPA base. The photo was provided by Tom Perri.

I didn't think I'd ever see another one of these, but Tom Perri's watchful eye caught this Fleet Transporter plate in his neighborhood. You just never know what you're going to see. It is believed that there are fewer than 75 of these plates in use, making this a very rare plate. Great find!

Here is another new specialty plate. This one is from the Michigan State Alumni, and it appears that there may already be about 34 of these plates on the road.

Here's the current high number Antique Vehicle plate. Image courtesy of Ryan Battin.

Here are more of the newest plate prototypes to recognize highly decorated veterans. This first one is for the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross.

As of 11/9 it appears that there may be a couple of Silver Star plates on the road. No other new veteran's plates are in use yet, however, all seven are available to qualified applicants.

If you have been following the postings over the past couple weeks you likely saw that PA was about to unveil a group of 7 new plates honoring the recipients of some of the highest military awards. Four of the seven are pictured in today's posting. The first plate pictured here depicts the Bronze Star for Valor. It appears that none of these plates are on the road yet.

And these new plates are the result of passage of House Bill 1269 which subsequently became Act No. 103. Pictured here is the Silver Star plate.

I have done my best to try to group these in descending order on the Veterans Plates Page. Unfortunately the sources that I have referenced seem to conflict with each other or or do not include all of the medals. The plate prototype on the left is the Distinguished Flying Cross.

The Bronze Star is the final prototype image for this week. The remaining plates will be featured next week. These will include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, and the Air Force Cross.

Here's a new high Classic Car plate image. This image was provided courtesy of Ryan Battin.

This first issue, but now defunct, Gettysburg College plate was spotted, still in use, by Bill Ceravola.

Here's a first, a new Moped plate starting with C. Every plate issued since the www base was released started with B. The B series is now exhausted so on to the C series. This plate has probably not been registered to a vehicle yet, so it is technically not the current high. Ryan Battin was kind enough to share this image.

Here's a pair of recent arrivals. The Antique Vehicle on the far left is from Vern Kreckel of Kreckel Enterprises, while the plate on the near left, which is the current high, is from Ryan Battin.

Here's another high from Ryan Battin. This is the current high Vietnam War Veteran plate.

Here's a strange combination of new and old. The Antique Motorcycle plate on the far left was just issued, image courtesy of Ryan Battin. The plate on the near left was likely a part of the first group of Antique Motorcycle plates issued back between 1967 and '71, and was auctioned back in 2008. It appears that the A0A to Z9Z series has been exhausted, and now plates are coming out with old numbers, or possibly the plate is a re-make. Since these plates are permanent registrations they do not expire. Note the difference between the two plates: hole spacing, location of the words MOTORCYCLE and PENNA.

• House Bill 2627, this bill is currently tabled, but if enacted would terminate the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) Fund at the end of the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

• Act No. 103 (House Bill 1269) — Watch for something from PennDOT or the bill sponsor very soon. Provides for a special license plate for recipients of the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Bronze Star for Valor, Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy Cross and Air Force Cross. Plates should be available on or around November 2.

• House Bill 1830 has now been signed by the Governor as Act 158 on October 24 and should make it effective on April 22, 2013. It authorizes license plates for members of the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II, and for veterans and members of United States military airborne units.

• Senate Bill 1531 has now also been signed by the Governor as Act 194 on October 24 and should make it effective on November 23. It authorizes a special registration plate designating the vehicle as belonging to a person who is honoring veterans of the armed forces of the United States.

• House Bill 1269, which is now Act 103, provides for a special license plate for recipients of the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Bronze Star for Valor and for special plates for recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy Cross or Air Force Cross. Approved by the Governor, July 5, the act takes effect in 120 days which would be November 2, 2012.

• House Bill 1830 was passed by the House and Senate and presented to the Governor on October 18, 2012. It authorizes license plates for members of the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II, and for veterans and members of United States military airborne units. Once signed by the Governor, the act takes effect in 180 days which will likely be mid-April, 2013. Tip received from Steve Noll.

• Senate Bill 1531 allows for the following: Upon application of any person, accompanied by a fee of $35, which shall be in addition to the annual registration fee and by such documentation as the department shall require, the department shall issue to the person a special registration plate designating the vehicle as belonging to a person who is honoring veterans of the armed forces of the United States. It was presented to the Governor, Oct. 17, 2012 for his signature, then takes effect in 30 days once signed.

Here is a 1-18 Validation Sticker from Vern Kreckel of Kreckel Enterprises. This sticker is used on a trailer plate with a 5-year registration option.

And speaking of Trailer plates, here is the plate and sticker mentioned above, again from Vern Kreckel / Kreckel Enterprises. This is also the current high on Trailer plates.

This Gettysburg College plate is not a new image, but it is one of only a handful of types that uses a 4-digit rather than a 5-digit serial number. The only other college known to use it is West Point. The other groups using this format includes the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine and Navy Reserve plates.

The Twin Valley Fire Department also joins the ever-growing list of fire service organizations with plates. With PA having close to 2500 fire companies/departments, there is every indication that the number of organizations with plates will continue to grow.

This is only partially plate related. The vehicle is more of a curiosity than the plate. This pint-size mail (male?) vehicle runs on 3 wheels and as such apparently qualifies to be registered as a Motorcycle, thus the plate. Not sure of the make, maybe Cushman.

Recently spotted this older generation Combat Wounded Veteran / Purple Heart plate (far left) with a current sticker. This plate should have been replaced back in late 2004. The near left Combat Wounded Veteran image was provided by Jordan Irazabal and is the current high. This image has been skewed to square it up, so if it looks a little odd blame me. Old or new I salute the owners of the plates for their sacrifice.

New stuff. PA has authorized the Gilbertsville Fire & Rescue Company (Montgomery County) to have their own specialty license plate. No plates are in use yet.

Two other fire service organizations will also be getting into the plate business. These include the Oreland Volunteer Fire Company also Montgomery County, and the Twin Valley Fire Department of Chester County. Images coming soon.

More new plates. The Rosedale Technical Institute has the go-ahead to move forward with a plate program. Rosedale is located in Pittsburgh.

These Format 2 (far left) and Format 3 (near left) Antique Motorcycle plates are not new finds. I'm adding them to provide some additional image variety. The F23 plate was courtesy of Vman.

Fellow ALPCA member Dave Lincoln gave permission to use this beautiful 1914 Tractor image.

Here is a pair of Vietnam Vets (Veterans of Vietnam War, Inc.) Nothing special about the plate on the far left. The plate on the near left is from Tom Perri and it is the current reported high number.

These are fakes. There are no such plates in PA. I have talked about this tripe a few times over the years. These are computer generated images, the product of someone's fertile imagination. These and other computer generated or modified images have been posted on Wikipedia and Wikimedia. Some have even been attributed to this website. I have never posted an image on either of those sites. Pennsylvania does not use or issue any of the plates pictured. I believe the posting of fictitious information, including images, does a disservice to the hobby by inviting skepticism and distrust.

Someone is also posting images of brand new specialty plates. Some of these are also fake. The images look real but I pose this question. Unless you work in the plate factory, how can you post images of plates that have not yet been released?

Surprise, surprise! After all the years of searching for the elusive Syria AAONMS plate, two of them showed up in my inbox. Well at least the images did, thanks to Brendan Sherry. Of course this organization is based near Pittsburgh and I am on the other end of the state, but Tom Perri and Jordan Irazabal have actually gone there, more than once I think, and came away empty. If you're wondering what AAONMS stands for (I had to look it up), it's the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Great find — thanks Brendan.

Bruce Bufalini spotted this first image of an Action for Animals Humane Society plate at a red light in Mount Pleasant. He didn’t have his regular digital camera along, so he used his phone to get the image.

This low number World War II Veteran image was sent by Matt Ciecka. These plates date back to 1995 which is probably when this plate was issued.

Saving paint? How do all the embossed features on the plate get painted but the keystone separator gets missed? This unusual Passenger plate image was provided by Nick Tsilakis. An earlier image of an inversion error plate also came thru with an unpainted keystone. I'm putting this plate in with the Passenger Error plates.

Clayton Moore provides this nicely repainted 1920 Tractor plate. At the time the E prefix stood for Engine, which is short for traction engine, a term which eventually gave way to tractor. Click the link to see the history section on Tractor plates from their introduction in 1914 to their discontinuation and replacement with Special Mobile (SME) and Implement of Husbandry (IMP) in the 1980s.

Clayton Moore also provides these two ATV Class 1 group snapshots. It is easy to see the number progression. The numbers to the left of the letter advance first, then probably the number to the right of the alpha character, then finally the alpha character. A Class 1 ATV is a motorized off-highway vehicle, which travels on three or more inflatable tires and has a maximum width of 50 inches and a maximum dry weight of 1000 pounds.

And finally from Clayton is this pair of ATV Class 2 plates. The ATV Class 2 plates are much scarcer than the Class 1. They are generally formatted the same but it appears that the letters X, Y and probably Z are reserved for Class 2. The reason I say probably is because I have never seen a Class 2 plate with a Z. A Class 2 ATV is a motorized off-highway vehicle, which travels on three or more inflatable tires and has a width which exceeds 50 inches or a dry weight which exceeds 1000 pounds.

Old plate — new sticker. The old Bucknell University plate on the far left was spotted way back in December of 2004, and spotted again a few days ago by Jim McDevitt with a 12-12 sticker. Of course the plate should have been replaced by mid-2002.

Not a new type, but spotted this nice Lycoming College plate, begging to have its picture taken.

Tom Perri provided this Barbershopper image and reports these plates ran up to the mid-300s then jumped to 1000 where a batch of about 38 were issued. Sounds to me like an error of some sort, not the first unexplained jump in numbers that we've seen.

This Commercial Implement of Husbandry plate was spotted on the road recently. The picture was taken thru my windshield so it is not a great image. It shows a relatively low number plate since these second generation plates started at CI1500H on the www base. It also shows the use of the letter I next to the numeral 1 — a rare combination in PA. Another PA feature to minimize confusion is that the numerals are always taller than the letters.

Not a great image, but it does show the current high Vietnam War Veteran plate.

Concerning this Amateur Radio plate with a -1 suffix, contributor Jay Hughs offers the following comment: Radio call signs are available as reissue through [the FCC's] vanity call sign program. Once a call is inactive for 2 years, anyone can apply for that combination. My theory is, the original owner of the call sign (let's use my call, K3JLT, as an example) had a PA license plate with that call sign. That person gives up the plate, gives up the call sign, and that call sign is reissued some time later through the vanity call program. Now the second person, being reissued K3JLT, wants a PA plate with his call sign, so since it's a different registrant, they can't issue the same K3JLT tag, so they issue K3JLT-1. They wouldn't issue -2 or -3 to someone unless the amateur radio license and the registration names match.

The low number Fire Fighter plate on the far left came from my photo archives, while the new current high plate image on the near left is from Jordan Irazabal. The series started at FF25000 on the www base, and the current high is the other plate shown.

Here's a YOM plate from Clayton Moore. It's a 68 Commercial base with a '70 sticker on what appears to be a nice '70 Chevy pickup truck. PA recently enacted legislation to permit the use of YOM (year of manufacture) or vintage registration plates.

Here's an image of an unusual remake from Bruce Bufalini. Most PA plate enthusiasts have seen remakes before, but this is the first remake of a truck plate I recall seeing. The alpha-numeric combination, CJ-22555,was probably from a '77 base truck plate.

Clayton Moore helps to fill in the gaps of the Amateur Radio section of the Plate History Page. If anyone can provide pictures of a '57, '77, '84 or '87 base ham radio tag, they would be much appreciated.

This final grouping of Amateur Radio plates going on the Plate History Page and all are on the visitPA base. These again show the use of A, K and N as prefixes, only the W is missing. The last plate shows a -1 suffix. Normally this is seen as a -2 or -3 to allow registration of more then one vehicle with the same call sign. That really does not explain the -1. The far left plate is courtesy of Jordan Irazabal and the K3BUF plate is from Bruce Bufalini.

This exceedingly rare Retired Senator plate was photographed by Tom Perri and Jordan Irazabal. What an amazing find! I would describe this as a Plate of the Year. There are probably only three of these plates in the whole state. Note that all of the features of this plate are screen printed except for the 003 serial number.

There is an interesting section in the PA Vehicle Code (§ 1339) which states that for a "retired member of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth or the Congress of the United States, the department may issue special registration plates indicating that the vehicle is owned by a member or retired member of the Pennsylvania or United States Senate or House of Representatives." This suggests that there could also be plates issued to retired U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators. A retired U.S. Representative plate would be much more likely than a retired U.S. Senator.

The two images on the far left are of the same plate. It is a Format 2 NASCAR 6 Mark Martin plate which was spotted a few days ago. The image on the near left, which is not new, is Format 1. The difference is the color of the outline of the logo. This change is believed to have taken place for the 2006 season, the last year of production for the Martin plate. This variation in the plate was due to some changes within the Roush Racing organization for 2006. All together (both formats) it is believed that 173 plates were marketed.

The plate image on the far left is a second example of a hybrid version of a Fraternal Order of Police plate. The hybrid was part of a short run between the www version (center left, image from Bruce Bufalini) and the visitPA version on the near left. It's a little hard to see on the far left image but while it is on the visitPA base, it retains the embossed logo, FP prefix, and plate legend from the www version.

This 1971 thru 1976 Bicentennial State Amateur Radio plate image has been provided courtesy of Mike Sells.

Amateur Radio images are still needed of '57, 58 base, 77 base, 84 base, and 87 base.

This grouping of Amateur Radio plate images are are all on the www base. Note the use of all four prefix letters — A, K, N & W. The second plate also employs the -2 suffix to indicate multiple plates. The 3rd and 4th plates use out of district 3 call signs or they may be vanity call signs. These images are not new to this website but were copied from the Miscellaneous Plate Page and have been added to the Plate History Page.

Here is another grouping of Amateur Radio plates. The plate on the far left came out around 1988 and is believed to be the first issue with the words AMATEUR RADIO on it, and the only issue with the word OPERATOR. All subsequent issues were shortened to AMATEUR RADIO. The center left plate was provided courtesy of Bruce Bufalini. Note the use of the -2 which is used to indicate that this is the second plate used by the same driver. The first plate would use N3RLJ. This issue came out around 1990 and was issued until the plate changeover around 2000, although somehow this plate is still in use and has a current sticker. The final plate is a sample showing the slash zero (Ø). The Ø should be used on plates with a 0 zone number but according to Dave Heller, who provided the image, it must be requested. Watch for more plates next week.

I have been photographing and studying Antique Motorcycle plates for many years, having accumulated well over 100 images. Along the way I have tried to categorize plates in the order in which they were produced. I have always believed that there must be 1, 2, and 3-digit numerical tags similar to the first run of Antique Historic Car plates; however, I have never seen one except for the # 18 tag belonging to Michael Wiener. If you look at the 18 tag you will notice that it has wide hole spacing indicating that it is of recent vintage rather than being part of the older plates that use narrow hole spacing. I have concluded that there never was a run of Antique Motorcycle plates from 1 to 999. The '0' image above is a sample. The C8 tag is believed to be part of the first run. I have also noticed that on two Bureau of Motor Vehicles publications for 1965 and 66 there was no mention of Antique Motorcycle plates, while it does appear on a 71 publication. I have concluded that the Antique Motorcycle series probably began between 1967 and 1971. The Antique, Classic, Collectible Page has been adjusted to reflect these findings.

The Classic Car image on the far left is new. (The image is new, the plates is not.) It also points out that the the changeover point from Format 4 to Format 5 did not occur at 50000 as previously listed, but, let me go out on a limb here and suggest 50500. The other image is for comparison. Note the placement of the top and bottom legends on the tags is reversed. This may seem trivial but to me it's part of what keeps the hobby interesting and makes it a challenge.

It appears that PennDOT is going to treat YOM plates as vanity plates. On one of their webpages they are suggesting using the vanity checker to see if a certain combination of characters is available. This will limit some potential YOM plates.

Q How do I know if the vintage registration plate I have can be issued to my antique or classic vehicle?

A PennDOT recommends that applicants verify if the configuration of the vintage plate can be issued by checking the configuration on PennDOT's website. The customer can check the plate availability at www.dmv.state.pa.us by selecting the Online Driver and Vehicle Services link on the left-hand side navigation bar and click on the Personalized Vanity Plate Availability link under Vehicle Registration Services. By checking the plate availability, it does not approve your configuration. It is only used as a tool to identify whether another license plate with the same configuration is used.

I'm starting a new section in the Plate History Page dealing with Amateur Radio plates. These plates were first introduced in 1956. Plates display the FCC Call Sign, beginning with A, K, N, or W. In the early years W and K calls signs were common, in later years the use of N and A came into use. Most PA Amateur Radio plates use the number 3 to designate the region which also includes DE, MD and DC; however ham radio vanity plates may display a different number from 0 to 9, also out of region licenses can be used, as well as foreign call signs when someone moves to PA. Some plates with a 0 (zero) in the call sign may display a Ø (slash zero) so as not to be confused with the letter O. Thanks to ALPCA members and Ham Radio operators Bruce Bufalini and Dave Heller for providing much of the information above.

● The plate on the far left is a 1956 and the first year issued. The image was provided courtesy of fellow ALPCA member Ross Day.

● The center plate is an Amateur Radio call sign on a Suburban base. If you are not familiar, the Suburban was a legend used on station wagons and the like. The Suburban base was only issued from 1960 thru '64.

Watch for additional images over the next several weeks. If anyone can provide pictures of a '57, a '58 (thru '64) base, '71 thru '76 Bicentennial base, '77 base, they would be much appreciated.

This low number California University (of PA) plate image was provided by Tom Perri. By the way take a look at Tom's website for complete coverage of PA highs.

Here's another low number on the far left, this one being Villanova University, and also from Tom Perri. On the near left is an example of the previous edition before switching to the visitPA base and graphics, etc. What's odd about the two plates is that one has the VU identifier in the suffix position while the other has it in the prefix position. This appears to be a format change rather than an error. Both plate formats are currently in use.

Here's another image of a plate that does not exist. Tom Perri discovered this plate type on the street last month, now here is another image of another Penn Wynn Overbrook Hills Fire Company plate. Even though this plate type has been on the street for a while, it is not listed among the many plates on the PennDOT list of Specialty plates / Special Organization plates. In early May I brought it to PennDOT's attention that there were four (4) duplications on that page. They thanked me for bring the matter to their attention, then did nothing to correct it.

Weekly Posting 8/12/2012

YOM Plates in PA now legal

Back on April 12 Governor Corbett signed Act 25 into law. This legislation allows the use of vintage registration plates in PA. The more common term is YOM or year-of-manufacturer. In other words a vehicle (car, motorcycle, truck, bus, etc.) can use a PA registration plate of the same year as the vehicle. After a 120-days waiting period the legislation is now in effect. PennDOT has posted the necessary forms to allow the registration process to begin. In order to qualify the vehicle must have been manufactured between 1906 and 1975. It looks like it can cost up to $150 to do a YOM registration. Below are links to several items. There are still a number of questions / issues to be resolved.

Bruce Bufalini points out that this image is actually of a '65 Oldsmobile 442 with a '64 plate. Posted 8/13.

● Vintage Registration Plates (webpage)

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/license_plates/vintage-registration-plates.shtml

● Fact Sheet - Antique And Classic Vehicles And Vintage Registration Plates

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/fact_sheets/fs-ant.pdf

● Application to Display a Vintage Registration Plate

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/mv_forms/mv-11V.pdf

Recently I took notice to the fact that the NASCAR logo along the bottom of the NASCAR 3 Dale Earnhardt Legacy plate is a black-and-white graphic on the earliest and latest plates (far left & near left) and the center plate has a colored NASCAR graphic. The NASCAR 3 Dale Earnhardt Legacy plate is the only plate in the NASACAR series on which this inconsistency is seen. All other known NASCAR plates have a colored legend. The black-and-white graphic is also seen on the prototype and sample.

On the far left is an image of a redesigned Susquehanna University (Selinsgrove, PA) plate now on the visitPA base. The sample image on the near left shows the more familiar design on the www base. Thanks to Tom Perri for bringing this and the next two plates to my attention.

Not sure if this Mercedes Benz Club of America plate is a sample or a favor. It does not appear to be a registered plate. The image came from their website.

This Motorcycle plate helps to narrow down the changeover point from the LiveFreeRideAlive.com series back to the standard plate design. Bruce Bufalini also helped identify a related typo in the Motorcycle section.

Here is an image of the current Motorcycle high plate. This plate and the one above were seen at the Lehighton Bike Nite.

The plate image on the far left shows a variation on the first generation Repossessor plates that I have not seen before. The plate on the near left was part of the initial run of plates, and like the Repair/Towing, Salvage Yard and Transporter plates, the early run used a screened legend at the top of the plate. Also note the difference in the Pennsylvania font with the early plates using all caps block letters, while the later edition used the "You've got a friend . . ." font. The image came form a recent auction. If the new owner of the plate sees this, please contact me.

These are the oldest surviving state-issued Pennsylvania plates known to exist. I did an article on this pair of gems some years ago. It all started off by getting an email from the then-owner of this plate pair in Florida. Unfortunately I no longer have his name. The story he related to me at the time was that many years ago his father picked up these plates at an antique dealer in Quakertown (PA). I don't know what he paid for them. Eventually the plates went to the son in Florida who decided he wanted to sell or auction them. He contacted me to see if there was a way to look up who the original owner was. Thru the help if fellow ALPCA member Jake Eckenrode, it was determined that the plates were issues to a Charles Henry Nadig of Allentown. The Nadig family were Swiss immigrants with a flare for creating some of the earliest horseless carriages. In fact Henry Nadig is credited in a Wiki article that one of his vehicles may be the oldest America-made gasoline-powered automobile that still exists. There were other Nadig generations in this family such as Henry Charles Nadig. So the plates were auctioned and as I recall fetched $21,000 thru an auction run by ALPCA member Jeff Minard. Since that time the plates have been separated. I recall seeing one of these plates in person at the ALPCA convention in Erie in 2009.

This current high West Virginia Alumni plate was submitted by a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous.

This motorcycle-size Temporary Intransit plate image was recently taken by Tiger Joe Sallmen. (Temporary Intransit plates are used on vehicles purchased in PA but will be titled in another state.) This is the first motorcycle-size plate I've seen. The number series seems possible, but a visit to a local Harley dealer and a local tag service suggested that there are only full size Temporary Intransit plates available. So maybe the owner of this plate made a photocopy-reduction of the original. For now I'm not going to list this as a new type. Anyone have a different take on this?

Long time contributor Nick Tsilakis sends this 'reserve issue' Operation Enduring Freedom plate image. Standard issue plates began at serial number 00100, while reserve issue plate started at 00001. If a plate was purchased over the counter it was a standard issue, apparently some level of distinction would qualify for the reserve issue. In any case this is the first image of a reserve issue. I have inquired about this in the past but received no answer.

Here a new Expeditionary Forces high. Image provided courtesy of Tom Perri. If you are interested in PA license plates, you need to visit Tom's website. He tracks highs which I don't, but we both seek to photograph the rarest and most elusive of PA's plates, along with Delaware photographer, collector and historian, Jordan Irazabal.

This West Point Alumni image was also recently captured by Tom Perri. This type is somewhat unique in that it one of only a handful of specialty/special organization plates that utilize a 4-digit serial number rather the much more common 5-digit layout.

This Penn Wynn Overbrook Hills Fire Company license plate was spotted by Tom Perri. Great find Tom — especially considering the fact that the plate type doesn't even appear on PennDOT's special organization / specialty plate list. Wonder how many other surprise plate types are on the street?

These two Passenger vanity plate images on a '71 base and '77 base came from Eric Conner. Eric has it on good authority that these plates were made for former Governor Milton Shapp, but he has no proof of this. Shapp was governor from 1971 to 1979.

Spotted this old Truck plate in a parking lot with a 6/13 validation sticker. I looked for the owner but no luck. I was curious to see if the registration card agreed with the plate.

This group of Municipal plates does not show any new type variations. It just adds some additional images to the Plate History Page and the Official Plates Page. For anyone not familiar, this group depicts all the formats since the inception of Municipal plates back in 1971. The plate image on the far left was provided by Matt Ciecka and the image on the far right was provided by Jordan Irazabal.

Brendan Sherry sends this combo of images showing the current high on the upper number series of Emergency Vehicle(s). It also shows a nice new Pierce fire truck. The upper number series plates (starting at EV-50000) are assigned to volunteer organizations and do not require an annual registration fee, while the lower series (starting between EV-30131 and EV-30309) are generally used by private ambulance services, or a fire chief's personal vehicle, or whenever a registration fee is required.

From Clayton Moore comes this image of a nice new Presque Isle Partnership plate. It is also the current high.

This nice National MS Society plate image is courtesy of Tom Perri, and while the plate type is not new, it is a better image than what was previously posted.

The U.S. Air Force Veteran plate on the far left is missing the words Air Force at the bottom of the logo. This is the second image missing such and it appears that plates above 21000 have this anomaly. The other plate is for comparison. The plate image was provided by Tom Perri.

YOM Tractor? Spotted this old Quincy Gasoline Tractor with a 1914 Tractor plate at the Blue Mountain Antique Gas & Steam Engine Assoc Inc. show in Jacktown, near Bangor PA. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the mid-70s instead of the recent mid-90s. Click the link below to see this tractor running.

Here's a trio of sequential plates ending at ZZZ-999. This was at the point where the sequence switched from a 6-character format to a 7-character format. The 6-character design actually dates back to the '77 (blue on yellow) base when the sequence shown above started at AAA-000 in 1979. The sequence then continued on the '83 base with the starting point being HAA-000 which ran until the series was exhausted. These images were provided by Eric Conner. These 3 images have been placed on the History Page under Passenger Plates.

After the ZZZ-999 plate (above) came the 7-character AAA-0000 on the far left. This alpha-numeric series is still in use today. Again these images were provided by Eric Conner. These 3 images have been placed on the History Page under Passenger Plates.

Here is the first image of a Harleysville Community Fire Co. plate. Since there are only two of these plates in use, it has not been an easy task to find one to photograph. Anyway, out of the blue this image was provided by Jared Landis. While this image does provide photo-documentation, a better image would of course be most welcome.

These next three images were taken at the Boyertown Bike Night, including this new Motorcycle high. If you missed the 6/24 posting, the old Motorcycle plate series ended at 9999Z, then changed to a new format — A0000, again with the alpha character being the last to advance.

Here is another high number. We have not seen a new high Motorcycle Dealer (MCD) plates in a while, but they are now well into the 'D' series, again with the alpha character being the last to advance.

And finally this Classic Motorcycle plate finishes out the trip to Boyertown. This plate type is not all that common, even at bike events. PennDOT statistics show only 380 of these in use at the end of 2011, while there were 8,852 Antique Motorcycle plates in use. The most elusive Motorcycle plate by far is the Collectible M/C, which has never been photographed and only a couple plates are believed be be in use. Worthy of note is the fact that the Antique, Classic and Collectible Motorcycle plates still use the state map outline on the plate border, a feature that was dropped on full size plate many years ago.

These are the last of the NASCAR sample plate images from Paul Bagnarol. The N97 Kurt Busch sample is on the far left, next is the N99 Carl Edwards sample, which is actually the third N99 format variation used by Edwards, and finally the N00 Victory Junction sample plate which represents the sponsoring agency for the NASCAR plate program. The NASCAR program began in late 2004, and ended the last of April 2010. Many of these plates are still in use.

Here is a new high for East Allen Twp. Vol. Fire Dept. The plastic cover and lighting made a bad combination for picture taking.

Several months ago Tom Perri sent me this first image of a Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ) plate, and somehow I missed getting it onto the College Page.

Here are a few more Tractor plate images to help fill in some of the gaps. On the far left is a 1937, last year before the map outline base came into use. Center left is a '45 with the year on the upper left, the legend TRACTOR flanked by two keystones, and PA on the upper right, now with the expiration date embossed in the upper border of the map. The last plate is a 1950 essentially formatted like the 1945 but with the colors reversed.

Back in 2007 Transporter plates switched to the visitPA base with the keystone separator, etc. Then in 2010 there was a run of plates that used the dash in place of the keystone, and then in 2011 the next run uses the keystones again. This picture was taken on-the-fly by Tom Perri, and while not perfect it does show the return of the keystone.

Here's a Harleysville Community Fire Co. sample plate. Unfortunately the real plates, of which there are only 2, are presenting quite a challenge to locate and photograph.

Here are more Tractor images beginning with this 1914 beauty. This was also the first year for such plates. You may recall the E stood for Engine, short for Traction Engine. Also this plate would have been part of a pair, which were only issued in 1914. After that year all plates were issued as singles. This plate was recently auctioned on eBay. The owner at the time gave me permission to use the image but preferred to remain anonymous.

This 1922 Tractor plate was recently acquired by Clayton Moore. The plate legend still says PENNA TRACTOR and the year 1922. It now uses a dash separator and is on a wide steel base.

This next Tractor plate is out of my own collection. It's a 1939 with the year, the word TRACTOR flanked by two keystones, and PA. Also note the use of the map outline which began in 1938 and continued till about 1970.

And finally from Clayton Moore is this 65 Tractor base with '69 and '70 stickers. This would have been the last Tractor base to use the map outline.

As Motorcycle plates progressed thru the series with the alpha character in the last position finally ending up at 9999Z, there was speculation as the the next series. Here is an image of latest plates with a leading alpha character followed by 4 numbers. The previous run from 0000A to 9999Z took about 3 years. The picture is from Ryan Battin.

Here is a new high on the Antique Motorcycle series. The 'Y' is the last character to advance so this series will end at Z9Z within a few months. This series, which began at A0A, has lasted about 4 years. This picture is also from Ryan Battin.

Eastern University (Philadelphia) will be in the plate business offering this new colorful issue.

Tom Perri supplied this Fraternal Order of Police image which changes the transition point from Format 1 to Format 2. Previously I had suggested the changeover occurred at ^F/_P14000, this picture indicates that it took place slightly later, possibly at ^F/_P14250. The format 2 plates are on the visitPA base but with same formatting as Format 1, while the Format 3 plates are also on the visitPA base but with color logo, flat screened prefix and tag line.

And last but not least is another group of Tractor plate images. Beginning with the 1957 plate we see a new format using narrower number dies and six characters. The small keystones that flank the word TRACTOR on the '57 plate are missing from the '58 version and have been replaced by a keystone separator in the middle of the serial number. Also the '57 was the last single-year plate, with the '58 being the first multi-year release. Note the use of the tab slot on the first '58 which was never used, instead validation stickers were used on this base up thru '64. The other '58 with a validation sticker does not have the slot. Only early versions of the '58 base had the slot. The plate to the far right is on a '65 base and was used until replaced by the '71 base.

This # 1 Hartsville Fire Company plate is believed to be one of a kind — the only plate for this organization. The image was captured and provided by Jordan Irazabal & Tom Perri after much effort on their part. Fantastic find!

Here's the first image of a Format 3 Preserve Our Heritage - Railroad plate. The previous series ended at R/R 99Z9, and after reaching that point the alpha character shifted one position to the left. The image was provided by Jordan Irazabal & Tom Perri.

What's with the plate on the far left? It has the coding of a DARE plate, but without the legend and graphics, and the placement of the D/A27H5 is centered and high while on the DARE plate it is aligned to the left. It also uses two sticker wells one the lower left and right. I can't think of another PA plate with two lower sticker wells. My best guess is that it is some kind of DARE test plate that got released, or something someone had made up. The image was provided by Jordan Irazabal & Tom Perri.

A few weeks ago the 'AF' Apportioned Truck plate series finally rolled over into the 'AG' series. I saw AG-00006 but was unable to get a picture. Hard to believe these plates started about 30 years ago in 1982 with 'AA' as the prefix and are now in the 'AG' series, the 'AC' series having been skipped. These plates all use 5-yy validation stickers with PA APPORTIONED on the top of the sticker. Thanks to Jordan Irazabal for the image.

Here's a new organizational plate expected to be coming out soon, this one belonging to Lancaster Twp. Fire Dept., Lancaster County, PA

Here's the next group of Tractor plates. This group spans the years from 1952 to 1956 inclusive. Note these plates employ the same colors as passenger plates of that year. The serial numbers are all 4-character, however some plates even back into the mid-1940 used an alpha-character in the first position as part of the 4 characters. This allowed the number of available combinations to be extended well beyond 9999. Again these images have been kindly provided by Clayton Moore. Watch for additional plates with the 6/24 update.

These images were provided by Clayton Moore, with comments by him and by Eric Conner. This is a fairly long read, so it has been placed on another page. Click here to read full article. The plate image has been placed in the Passenger section of the History Page.

Implement of Husbandry Discovered. After 10 years of looking, I wasn't sure I'd ever find this plate type. This is a significant find and completes the last remaining hole in the Miscellaneous Plate Category. More importantly it provides photo-documentation of the history of this type. At the end of 2011, there were 216 Implement of Husbandry plates in use. Also see the History section for the first issue of this plate type.

While we are on Implement of Husbandry plates, here is the current high on the Commercial Implement of Husbandry plate series. There were only 47 of these plates in use at the end of 2011. This image was provided by Jordan Irazabal.

And continuing with the agricultural theme, here's an image of the current high Farm Truck plate. The picture was sent by Ryan Battin, who just received this new plate. Ryan is a first time contributor — thanks Ryan. Obviously from this image there has been no switch to the visitPA base, maybe D series.

There is nothing like a license plate mystery, well at least for plate collectors and enthusiasts. Here are two very rare NASCAR sample plates The plate on the far left is a Mark Martin with a blue-outlined 6, the other plate is also a Mark Martin with a red-outlined 6. I have several pictures of actual Mark Martin plates ranging from ^N/C_/60101 to ^N/C_/60147, all with the blue-outlined 6, but no images of the other type. Plates were issued up to ^N/C_/60273, from 2004 to 2006. Did he change sponsors at some point? Were the last of these plates issued using the red-outlined variation? If so, how did the number system progress from one variation to the other? Anybody have one?

I want to thank Paul Bagnarol for sending about 2 dozen images of NASCAR samples.

The same mystery appears to be present with two different examples of Dale Jarrett plates. Dale Jarrett plates were also issued from 2004 to 2006 but I have no images of the plates using the same logo as the plate on the near left. Again was there a sponsorship change that may have lead to a logo with a new color? Can any of our NASCAR friends shed any light on these questions?

Here is another group of NASCAR sample plate images also from Paul Bagnarol. Beginning on the far left below are the NC1 plate of Joe Nemecheck, the NC2 plate of Rusty Wallace, the NC5 plate of Terry Labonte, the NC9 plate of Kasey Kahne, and the N14 plate of Tony Stewart. Note the use of '1' following the prefix on the NC9 and N14 plates. This was to differentiate between an earlier NC9 Kasey Kahne plate under a different sponsor with different graphics, and an earlier N14 plates under the name of Sterling Marlin. Confusing — a little.

What's nice about these samples is that in a number of cases they help to provide better photo documentation than prototype images of plate types that so far have not been photographed on the street, or for some types no plates were purchased. In any case I am doing my best to provide a text and photo record of every NASCAR variation, and I'm not even a NASCAR fan. For the record my NASCAR page has 56 plate formats. Check over the next couple weeks for more NASCAR sample.

For this week's Tractor plate update, all from Clayton Moore, we have a 1938, a 1942 with the '43 validation tag, a '43 Validation Tag by itself, a 1944, a '46 and a '47. On the 1943 validation tag note the TR prefix on the stamped serial number. Also note that these all use the state outline, have the year on the upper left and the word TRACTOR flanked by 2 small keystones, and the state abbreviated PA on the right, in fact from 1938 thru 1957 they were pretty much formatted alike. The expiration date on the plates is embossed into the upper map border. Stay tuned, there are more coming next week.

Plate images don't get any nicer, and plate types don't get any more elusive. This Fort Mifflin on the Delaware plate was found by Jordan Irazabal in his home state of Delaware. What is so unique about this plate is that there are only six (6) of them in existence, and for whatever reason they are never seen at Fort Mifflin. This was a great find for Jordan and a great image to enhance the license plate hobby and one more step in recording the history of Pennsylvania license plates.

This PA State Representative plate image on the visitPA base was provided by Tom Perri. These are not as common as they once were as many politicians at this level choose not to advertise the fact. The 160 in this case stands for the legislative district, not the order of issue. Soon a number of these plats may be reissued as PA is in the process of redrawing legislative districts. Still needed are images of State Representative plates with the number first and the HR symbol last such as 160 HR.

Here is the first image of a Harmonville Fire Company plate. The picture was provided by Tom Perri. This plate not only has a frame, it also has a fence, but it's a start.

This is not the first Neumann University image but it is a perfect photo without a fame, dirt, shadow, etc. Tom Perri kindly provided the image.

As can be seen by this plate, the Motorcycle number progression starting at 0000A and going to 9999Z is reaching the end of the series, if it has not already. It is suspected that the next series will be 000A0. Jordan Irazabal provided the image.

After I posted the first batch of Tractor plates last week, Clayton Moore was kind enough to send images of his whole tractor plate collection. I'm starting with the oldest and will work forward adding plates for the next several weeks.

— The oldest plate shown here is a 1915 porcelain issue using the E prefix for engine with the word TRACTOR, and the same colors as passenger plates, but without the aluminum keystone makers seal. The tractor plate series actually began in 1914.

— The next image is a 1918, using embossed steel in place of porcelain. The original color was white on black.

— The next image is a 1919, using embossed steel. The color was red on black. The length of plate was somewhat dependent upon the number of characters, in this case a shorty.

— The next image is a 1931, gone is the E having been replaced with TE for Traction Engine. Also missing is the word Tractor. PENNA and 1931 are now flanked by small keystones. The color was yellow or orange on black. Note also the use of the dash separator.

— The last plate for this week is a 1934. The year and PENNA are now stacked vertically on either side of the plate, with TRACTOR along the bottom flanked by keystones. Colors are black or dark blue on yellow or orange.

This picture perfect image of a NASCAR 88 Dale Jr. plate was provided by Jordan Irazabal. The NASCAR plate series was discontinued in May of 2010, and this particular type was only issued for the 2008 and 2009 racing seasons. Approximately 125 of these NASCAR 88 Dale Jr. plates were issued.

I have begun to add plate images to the Tractor section on the Plate History Page. While this plate type is no longer in use, it does have a long history. Tractor plates were first issued in 1914 and were eventually replaced with either Special Mobile (SME) plates or Implement of Husbandry (IMP) plates around 1984. Read more history in the Tractor section, or go to Rick Kretschmer's Farm Tractor and Mobile Equipment Page for another look at PA tractor plates. Additional tractor plate images are welcome.

Here we have an image the first Point Park University plate. This was provided courtesy of Bruce Sakson.

The plate on the far left, which is the current U.S. Air Force Veteran high number, is missing the words Air Force at the bottom of the logo. The other plate is for comparison. The plate image was sent to me by someone who did not provide a name, but angel kisses was a part of the person's email address.

This high number Taxi plate image was spotted and photographed by Brendan Sherry.

Bruce Bufalini and Richard Sills share these first images of a new series of Antique Vehicle plates. The previous series ran from A00A to Z99Z, then rolled over to 0AA0. Based on the progression seen in these two plates, it appears that the first alpha-character, in this case A, is the last to advance, while second alpha-character, the C on the near left plate, is next to the last. The numeric characters advance first. The progression appears to be 0AA0, 0AA1, then after 9AA9 would come 0AB0, etc.

First image of a Passenger plate in the J-series. Series recently started at JBA-0000. A short time ago the H-series rolled over into the J series. The 'I' series was skipped as PA does not normally use the letter I, at least not in the more common series.

Here are several Handicapped Person / Person with Disability sample plate images that have been added to that section on the Plate History Page. The image on the far left, with the '68 validation sticker, was provided by Sarge of Klassy Karz. If anyone has other versions of HP/PD samples, I would be happy to include them.

I spotted this high number Motorcycle plate at the Spring Thaw Rendezvous in Northampton.

This Malvern Retreat House is a new addition to the ever-growing list of specialty plates.

This first generation York College plate helps to complete the plate history page dealing with the Special Organization Plates. At this point there is either an actual plate, a sample plate, or both pictured for all 75 types of the first generation of these plates, plus the Steel Worker plate, which is also pictured with this group. The Steel Worker plate, while formatted like a special organization plate, has its own designation within the vehicle code. While this section has at least one image per type, there are still many images needed.

High Plate News — One thing about current license plates, they are constantly undergoing a serial number progression. This Z95Z plate image from Bill Ceravola shows a plate only 4 numbers away from the end of this series. Antique Vehicle plates, which began a new series in early 2005 with the A00A series, have now gone past the Z99Z point and have started a new alpha-numeric format. The new format is believed to be 0AA0. Similarly it appears that the AF Apportioned Truck plates have run their course and are now in the AG series, with the current high being close to AG-00250. Sorry no pictures of either yet.

Check out Tom Perri's website for the the most authoritative look at PA highs.

Grant MacKenzie sent this Antique Vehicle plate image. Since the design of this plate already shows an antique vehicle, some enthusiasts have chosen to cover the original image with a picture of the vehicle on which the plate is mounted.

Jordan Irazabal spotted this same-number Passenger plate combination on the road recently. Can you pick the real plate, since PA does not issue two passenger plates? The upper plate is genuine, while the lower one is not. The owner probably did this in case the items on the cargo carrier block the upper plate.

This Veterans of Foreign Wars plate is also the current high, and also sent in by Jordan Irazabal. This plate type also continues to be issued on the www base.

Finally this week is the addition of this Wilkes University Alumni image to the Special Organizational Plate History Page. Unfortunately samples were not always formatted correctly. Such is the case with this plate which should more correctly have a leading 2 in the serial number such as W/U20000. Widener University uses W/U00000.

This alleged New York Press plate has reared its head again. There are two schools of thought on this: Those who insist that it is the real thing and those who believe it's just a vanity. I happen to be of the opinion that a small group of Pennsylvanians working in the New York press decided to get together and order similar vanity plates. These plates may even be recognized by NYPD as having parking rights normally associated with members of the press. That alone does not legitimize the plate. This alleged plate type does not appear in the PA Vehicle Code, nor does it appear in any PennDOT plate application document. A call to PennDOT some time ago went unreturned. The above plate image was sent by Paul Bradley.

This image from back in November of 2011 first came to my attention by Jordan Irazabal then later by a contributor wanting to be credited as Triborough.

This very nice motorcycle image was provided by Jordan Irazabal, and happens to be the current high Motorcycle plate.

Here are two 'first images' of Enterprise Fire Company plates from Hatboro, Montgomery County. These plate are recent arrivals. These images were provided courtesy of Tom Perri. I find it interesting that the owner of the # 1 plate chose to completely cover up the name of the organization with a frame.

This plate type has been in the Pending / Proposed section for a number of years. Then out of the blue I received an email from Jim Binkley the Web Master of Blue Moon Cruisers Rod & Custom Association informing me that that proposal "died" some time ago, but has been revived recently by the current club administrators. So watch for more on this in the future. Their website is www.bluemooncruisers.com.

Antique Historic Car data revision — Based upon some information from ALPCA member Richard Sills, and after referencing a couple of old publications, it appears that Format 2 (A000 to Z999) of the Antique Historic Car plates needed to be revised. It appears that Format 2 may have begun closer to 1965 I previously had the date as being circa 1971. Anyone have additional information or corrections? Your input is always welcome.

Clayton Moore provides these images of the old style and new style Permanent Fleet Sticker. The image with the PenDOT logo is a new find. Permanent fleet stickers can be used on passenger and truck plates.

The PA legislature has finally passed the PA YOM law, known as House Bill 1203. The vote was unanimous in the house and senate. It is now on the Governor’s desk as of April 4 awaiting his signature. When signed, the act will take effect in 120 days. The link above will take you to the act. This bill would provide for Vintage Registration Plates, better known to vehicle and plate enthusiasts as Year of Manufacture or YOM plates.

Brendan Sherry sends along this current high number St. Vincent Alumni (Latrobe, PA) plate image.

Waynesburg University has gotten the go-ahead with their plate program. The facility is located in Waynesburg, Green County, which is on the southwest corner of PA.

Here's what appears to be a Press Photographer validation sticker for 1966. The image was provided by Shawn Bergan. I do have one PP plate image with one of these stickers. It appears that they were used between 1965 and 1970, or there about. I've also seen PP plates from that era with standard stickers.

This 6-17 validation sticker is likely for a trailer plate as there is a provision for a 5-year registration option. The image was provided by Clayton Moore.

Here is one of PA's rarest dealer types — the Farm Equipment Dealer. The image on the near left was the first plate produced on the www base, and was captured by Tom Perri & Jordan Irazabal some time ago. The images on the center left and far left represent the current high. Those images were also thanks to Tom & Jordan. At the end of 2010 there were only 54 of these tags in use by 39 dealers. The 2011 stats have not been released yet. By comparison, other unusual dealer types include Fleet Transporter with only about 70 plates, and Repossessor with 381 plates in use at the end of 2010. Some of the other Dealer types such as Moper Dealer have very limited numbers. Trailer Dealer and Watercraft Trailer Dealer are believed to have only a few hundred each in use.

While on the subject of dealer types, I've decided to place some additional images onto the Dealer Page where only one image was previously displayed. These aren't new images. Shown are a Repossessor on the far left, Trailer Dealer, center left and Watercraft Trailer Dealer, near left.

Every once in a while one of these Fire Fighter Vanities is spotted. Fire Fighter plates were the first special organization plates to be issued. They made their debut in 1983 on the '77 base. These were the only special organization plates to be issued on the '77 base; however, they remained on that base until reissued on the www base. When first issued, they could be gotten as vanities for a short while. Many of those vanities continued to be re-validated, and eventually reissued on the www base. See a couple of the first vintage vanity plates.

This 2-digit Press Photographer plate was courtesy of Tom Perri & Jordan Irazabal. The 2-digit plates of this series are quite scarce. Press Photographer plates are not organizational plates, but a class of plate all by itself under the PA vehicle code.

Tom Perri made a trip across PA recently and managed to capture a few 'western' plate images. This is not the first image of a Point Park University plate but a nice addition. The facility is located in Pittsburgh.

Tom Perri also successfully captured the first image of a Pennsylvania Resources Council 'Don't be a LitterBug' license plate. I have many more images to post but

Here's the first look at a K-prefix Dealer plate, from Bill Ceravola. The previous series would have ended with J99-999J. These plate have been on the visitPA base since J38-000J.

Bad Day in the Big House? Maybe. It does tend to make one wonder how such a plate escapes everyone's scrutiny. In this case it's a Passenger Error plate, and not the first inversion error seen. Plate image has been placed on the Oddball Page. Image courtesy of Bruce Bufalini.

And here's another DeSales University plate — this one being the # 1 plate. Image courtesy of Tom Perri.

And finally this week is this PSU oddball. I'm guessing that the PSU stands for Penn State University, and while the coat of arms may make it look official to the casual observer, the use of PENNA for the state name does not. My guess is that this was some kind of favor or courtesy plate. Other plates with similar characteristics have been seen. Image courtesy of Tom Perri.

Tom Perri also provides this # 1 U.S. Naval Academy plate image. While some may think of this as a military plate, PA lists it as an special organizational plate, therefore not a military plate.

Clayton Moore provides this Municipal plate image on a 77 base, which is still a current base. See anything unusual about it? The plate prefix, MG, is reversed. This would be considered an error plate but it is also part of a run. I also have a picture of GM-17014. This plate is also in the Municipal History section

On the far left is another image of a Philadelphia University plate from Tom Perri. On the near left is a better prototype than the one shown on 2/26, which again features the updated design. As previously stated, this is the only example I can think of where a plate already on the visitPA base has been redesigned. It does give the plate a bolder look.

Here is a first generation St. James Alumni plate that is still in use, note the stickers. It will make a nice addition to the Special Organization Plate History Page. The image was provided by Tom Perri. St James was a Catholic High School in Chester, which is now closed but apparently still has a thriving alumni association.

This remarkable 1929 Governor's plate was recently auctioned on eBay. I asked the previous owner for permission to use the image and he preferred to wait for the new owner. I was hoping to have contact with or from the new owner but so far nothing. I also posted a request to get the name of the new owner on two plate lists without success. I don't particularly like to use eBay pictures, but this plate is too historically important not to include it in the Governors' Plate Page. If anyone knows who the new owner is, please let me know.

In any case this is the first and only know example of a PA Governors' plate in the 1920s. And while is not the oldest Governor plate (first was 1912), it is the first known example to have the word Governor spelled out on it.

For unknown reasons, this School Vehicle plate type seems to change its appearance regularly. These aren't major changes, mainly about using or not using the keystone separator. See the complete current series by going to the above link. By the way this is also the current reported high and was provided by Nick Tsilakis.

There was an interesting news article in the Harrisburg Patriot News and also on line at www.PennLive.com about PA's license plate program in the 'Big House' at the State Correctional Institution at Fayette, PA. There were also a number of pictures showing the production process, passenger plates well into the J series, etc., and what looks like a possible change in Vietnam War Veteran plates.

Spotted this NASCAR 91 Bill Elliott plate. This is not the first of this plate type, but it does remind me that there are quite a few NASCAR types with plates likely to be still in use, of which there is no photograph. In other words there are NASCAR plate varieties out there, but no pictures to provide confirmation. See the Images Needed page for a complete list.

Last, but certainly not least, is this pair of U.S. Congress plates. The difference in the formatting allows two vehicles to be registered to the same owner. These pictures were taken in the dark which explains the image quality — not bad considering. My grateful appreciation goes out to Tom Perri and Jordan Irazabal for these pictures.

It would appear that Philadelphia University has changed the design of their plate. This plate type has only been out since late 2008, more likely no plates were on the street till 2009. Now just a few years later the design has changed. Actually this is the only example I can think of where a plate already on the visitPA base has been redesigned. I don't consider some of the annual changes seen on NASCAR plates to be the same thing. Those were the result of changes in sponsorship, cars, drivers, etc.

Clayton Moore provided these 2-12 validation sticker images with a PA0000 serial. Many years ago (1959 thru about 1974) these were used to indicate a 'natural' plate — a plate during it's first year of issue. These stickers are still in use but their purpose or significance today is unclear. Could it be a replacement sticker?

Clayton Moore sends along an Antique Vehicle image from a recent car show. This plate in the Z series is the current high and suggests that the A00A series has just about run out of combinations and a new series should be on the horizon if not already in use. Clayton suggests it may be 0AA0, which I would agree is very possible.

We also have this high number Collectible Vehicle plate image from Clayton Moore. Considering that this plate type dates back to 1996 and probably began at CV0100, not that many have been issued in 15 years. The Collectible Motorcycle counterpart is so rare that it has never been photographed.

I have mentioned this once several years ago that the website Wikipedia has license plate pages and that from time to time fake, made-up plate types appear. The first two plates are supposed to be livery plates, the NX is supposed to be for a rental vehicle. Pennsylvania does not use or issue any such plates. I believe the posting of fictitious information does a disservice to the hobby by inviting skepticism and distrust.

This U.S. Armed Forced Retired sample image is also being added to the Special Organization Plate History Page. This is one of only a few organizational plates that are no longer available. This plate (on the www base) was discontinued around 2006, but is still in wide use and renewable.

And finally here's a very nice Zem Zem Temple sample plate image from George Kunsman.

Saw a yellow on blue Farm Truck plate on eBay which suggests that the run of 'Version 3' (Plate History Page) plates went at least as high as FM-58999. Previously the high was believed to be somewhere above FM-56999.

McDonald Volunteer Fire Company joins the ever-growing list of specialty plates. These plates have been especially popular among volunteer fire companies / departments, and with PA having almost 2500 such groups, I see the number continuing to grow. They are more popular in the southeastern part of the state for now, but as time goes on there will probably more of an expansion into other areas, such as the McDonald Fire Company, a suburb of Pittsburgh. Another factor that helps is the elimination of a minimum order of plates.

This very nice Pitt Bicentennial plate image is courtesy of George Kunsman and dates back to 1988. Later after the switch to the www plates the name was changed to the University of Pittsburgh.

Another very nice image, also courtesy of George Kunsman, is this St. Joseph’s University plate. This plate type dates back to1985.

And finally from George this week is this West Catholic High School plate on the far left. This school is located in Philadelphia. Also shown is the companion sample image. This plate type dates back to 1997.

Jordan Irazabal provided this Temporary Intransit cardboard plate image. This is the current reported high; however, there are counterfeit plates out there with much higher numbers.

Jordan Irazabal has also provided this Motorcycle high. I'm guessing that during 2012 this series will hit the 9999Z mark and advance to the next series which is likely to be 000A0.

And finally for this week is this School Vehicle high plate image from Brendan Sherry.

On the far left is the first image of LaSalle University's new graphic plate. The image was provided by Tom Perri. On the near left is an image of the much more familiar version. Henceforth only the new style will be issued, but it is not known if both varieties will coexist, or whether the new will completely replace the old.

Also note on today's posting below is an image of the first generation LaSalle University plate from George Kunsman.

This Marshall University Alumni plate image was provided by Brendan Sherry. Marshall is located in Huntington, West Virginia.

Enterprise Fire Company is one of the newest group of fire companies to launch their own plate program.

As promised, here's the next group of plate images from George Kunsman. This first picture is of a very nice Ducks Unlimited plate with a 6-91 validation sticker.

Here's the first generation LaSalle University plate mentioned above. This very nice plate with a 6-89 sticker is well preserved.

And the final image in the group for this week is a Lehigh University Alumni plate with a 1-90 sticker.

I appreciate the opportunity to photograph so many of George's plates. Watch for more next week.

Lincoln University will soon have a specialty tag available for students, faculty, staff, etc. For years Lincoln University has also had an official plate as one of PA's four state affiliated universities. The others include Penn State, Pitt and Temple. These are different from the 14 state-owned universities.

In addition to the two new issues above, the following fire companies now have plate programs. At this time none of the organizations has plates on the street yet. Images will be coming soon.

PA's Specialty Organization list now shows 285 groups or organizations. Exactly 5 years ago there were 160 organizations, and 10 years ago there were only 83. The real proliferation came in 2005 with the advent of the specialty plate program allowing color graphics and allowing fewer than 300 plates to qualify as a minimum order.

Here a nice looking pair of what Temple University Alumni plates should not look like. These Temple University Alumni plates appear to have been put on the "You've Got a Friend . . ." base, I'm guessing by mistake. This pair is also from George Kunsman. Watch for more of George's plates in the next week or two.

Here's the first image of a DeSales University plate. These just hit the streets a few weeks back, and there are only about 6 plates in use so far.

Two images were needed to complete the history section on Handicapped Person / Person with Disability plates, and fellow ALPCA member Geroge Kunsman offered to help by allowing me to photograph these plates. Based on a discussion with George, I also reversed the order of Version 4 and 5 with the ^HP96110 being issued prior to ^HP3342. Read the description of the versions for a better understanding of how the alpha-numeric progression evolved.

Here's another gem from George Kunsman. I've been searching for an image of a Version 1 Salvage Yard, with silk screened Salvage Yard plate legend. This feature was replaced with an embossed plate legend in later plates.

It is unknown if there was a yellow on blue base after Version 2 which used the standard font for the state name in place of the "You've got a Friend" Pennsylvania font. If so, it would likely have been above WL-10000, such a change was seen in Version 3 of Rep / Ser Towing plates. Anyone have a Salvage Yard plate above WL-10000?

And the same for this well-preserved Lafayette College plate image with a 12/92 sticker, also from George Kunsman.

Last but not least is this undated first issue Purple Heart plate image, again courtesy of George Kunsman.

Weekly Posting 1/15/2012

Steve Noll sent details about House Bill 2101 introduced in the PA House on 12/20/11. (You may recall back in August Steve provided information on an effort to address funding and look at future transportation funding.) This bill extends the registration period to every other year and eliminates registration stickers. It also grants a two-year exemption from inspection for current model-year vehicles newly registered in PA with under 5,000 miles on the odometer, stating that a certificate of exemption will be affixed to the windshield. Driver license renewals go from every four to every eight years.

HB 2099 is of interest as well — it has the proposed structure of fees for various registrations. Passenger goes from $36/year to $49… so $98 every two years. The one-time vanity charge goes from $20 to $30.

Brendan Sherry provides this Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. image.

Shawn Bergan provides this nice grouping of high resolution validation stickers. Note that they are all PA0000 stickers except the 72 SAMPLE image. Between 1959 and 74 these were used on newly issued plates. The PA0000 would indicate that the plate was a "natural". Renewal stickers had a serial number. Today they still seem to be in limited use but I can’t explain their current use.

While we're on the subject of stickers, here is a pair of Snowmobile registrations and validations for 2009 and 2012.

Here's grouping of historic Tractor Dealer plate images. While this plate type dates back to 1916, I have no early images. The 1935 is really a BMV artist's depiction or design of what that plate was to look like. The colors should be yellow on dark blue. The '64 plate was borrowed from eBay and uses a TX prefix with a keystone separator after the 3rd character. The 1966 plate image was taken from an old BMV document, as was the 1971 plate image. These last two are likely samples. Note each plate uses a different format. Actually a total of six images was added. Unfortunately several are from non-traditional sources. If anyone has images they would be willing to share, they would be very welcome.

I spent Saturday afternoon at Temple University for a basketball game with my son Jim. (His alma mater (Dayton) had a game with Temple and a great win.) It was also a good day for plate spotting. We parked near the Temple Police Dept. so their cars made great photo ops. This first grouping of Temple University Official plates show a nice low number plate. Actually there is an image of the # 1 plate in the ALPCA Archives (members only).

This next group of images shows the front and rear combination. Temple University Official is one of only a handful of PA plate types issued in pairs. Very few vehicles actually had two plates.

And finally a new Temple University Official high. I actually saw T0219U but was unable photograph it. I also noticed that Temple has quite a few vehicles without official plates. Many were using standard passenger or truck plates. I can’t explain this. Could Temple have discontinued using official plates or could PennDOT have stopped issuing them?

Sticker Shock — the image on the far left was provided by Jordan Irazabal, and has the most stickers I've seen. The other plate is a close second.

Here is another, but only the second image of an NRA Foundation plate. Image was taken at night and provided by Tom Perri.

This unusual looking Flagship Niagara plate image was provided by Jerry McCoy. There seems to be a number of these 5-digit (4-digit is normal) Flagship plates in collections but not on the street. I’ve also seen F/N00052, 00053 and 00285. None have wear marks around the bolt holes, so it would appear that none were ever registered. This plate has a sticker but since the sticker date is 3-04 and these plates were discontinued in 1997, there should be evidence of more stickers. This is likely some kind of test plate.

Here's an example of the first version of Municipal plates. This first series dates back to 1971 and is on the Plate History Page. Plate image was provided by Tom Perri.

Here's another pair of Person with Disability plates that depicts the spacing variations on some of the latest plates. Tom Perri provides these images. It is Tom's opinion (and I would agree) that the change happened at 23000 PD. In his photo archives he has 24258^PD, 24672^PD, 24777^PD, 25886^PD, 26559^PD, and 27491^PD, all confirming the shift to the left.