Arkansas Error-prototype - Illinois made, with Arkansas spelled ARKANSNS
OHIO 1968 error plate - misprinted "7"
MASSACHUSETTS - Disabled Vets from 1924 - anyone know what
the heck this is? About 5 x 5 in size - odd little plate, black on
steel.
Colorado "PRISONER" plate - this was found in a collection
of odd prototypes and sample Colorado plates, and was marked as a
"prisoner's joke plate" - the word HELP was scrawled onto the plate
with the prisoner's finger, dipped in the original Colorado green paint.
Roy Carson's personal plate - this is one of my favorites...
this is the plate that was used on Roy Carson's (ALPCA #17) Land Rover in
1966-1967. The hand written note on the back says "THIS PLATE WAS USED ON
MY LAND ROVER IN" and then has hand written ISO "ovals" indicating the countries
in which Roy travelled with his Land Rover, as well as this plate.
The plate is also signed by Roy, "Roy Carson #17" - Roy passed
away some years ago, but was one of the outstanding characters
in license plate collecting, and one of the first really serious "world"
plate collectors. The ISO ovals/countries listed: GB (Great Britain),
CDN (Canada), IS (Iceland), D (Germany), F (France), H (Hungary), CH
(Switzerland), NL (Netherlands), N (Norway), S (Sweden), SF (Former Finland
code), I (Italy), FL (Liechtenstein), L (Luxembourg), B (Belgium), A (Austria),
PL (Poland), CS (Former Czechoslovakia code), YU (Yugoslavia), R (Former
Russian code), MA (Morocco), and DZ (Algeria).
SOUTH CAROLINA - This is a prototype of an "updated" version
of the gold on black SC Antique issue. Clearly, the white scotchlite wasn't
a good idea.
ALABAMA COKE and COAL error - This is an unusual type,
but in this case, it looks like a prisoner in the plate shop was
a little unclear on the concept of an "ampersand" - this one
has the "&" inverted.
1970 Salesman's Sample - a neat plate - used to show
an example of a plate. Very heavy steel, with black
on yellow glassbeaded background.
ILLINOIS - Undated prototype,with hand written notation on face of
plate.
TENNESSEE - 1977 prototype, unpainted numbers.
ILLINOIS - 1973 test plate, unpainted characters.
LOUISIANA - 1974/75 prototye die test.
Alaska 4th Infantry sample, with 3rd Infantry logo - error.
ILLINOIS - Alphanumeric test plate - these plates hung on the
wall in the manufacturing facility, to show how the dies were supposed to
look.
ILLINOIS - Alphanumeric test plate
ILLINOIS - Alphanumeric test plate
ILLINOIS - Alphanumeric test plate
ILLINOIS - Alphanumeric test plate
ILLINOIS - Alphanumeric test plate
ILLINOIS - Alphanumeric test plate
ILLINOIS - Alphanumeric test plate
FLORIDA - 1935 Locking "citrus" issue, original paint - orange in
left corner, grapefruit in right.
NEVADA - 1948 truck plate - plate has sixteen 22 caliber bullet holes, that
were neatly flattened - all original!
1927 Michigan MILLION plate - a unique design, with the roman number
M (with line on top) inside of diamond - original paint.
PUNTA ARENAS, CHILE - 1962 truck, from the southernmost city in the
world.
SOVIET FORCES IN GRENADA - nice original truck plate, brought
back after the Grenada Invasion - this plate is available for trade for a
Soviet/Grenada MOTORCYCLE plate.
IRAQ MILITARY - I've seen a lot of thse plates, but
this one is NICE, and original - it
also has three "zeroes" in a row (the little diamond
shaped dots), which sort of adds to the look.
NATIONAL RECOVERY ACT - Nice original issue
- only issued in 1934 and 1935.
PENNSYLVANIA - If the devil drove a tractor... well, you get the idea.
WISCONSIN - A great license plate meet issue - back
before meet plates were commonplace, and the design on this plate
is top-notch. All embossed!
BURMA - A neat rickshaw plate, from the time of
British occupation - porcelain, and red and
green colors to boot!
1953 Wheaties Cereal plate error - Kentucky issue is a full invert,
with the lithographed portion printed the wrong way.
1986 World's Fair issue - this is an actual Pavilion Vehicle
plate, from the Northwest Territories pavilion. Sample versions numbered
"EXPO86" are the more common variety - but the actual official Fair vehicles
used low numbered plates like this. I believe number EXPO1, EXPO3 and
EXPO7 are also known to exist.
1953 Wheaties Cereal plate error - Prince Edward Island issue
has the lithographed image printed too low on the plate, as well as
double-stamped bolt holes.
1953 Wheaties Cereal plate error - This Kansas plate is missing
the "cut out" corner found on the Kansas map issues.
PENNSYLVANIA - recent series Press plate. This plate was on
the front of my van when I totaled it running into a drunk who ran a light
- amazingly, the plate came through unscathed!
LICENSE PLATE BLOTTER CARD - Not the rarest, but a nice
colorful plate-related collectible. I have a few of these
- left card is 1947, right one is 1957.
PENNSYLVANIA 1966 - Special plate for the Exalted Ruler of Elks
Lodge number 213 - nicely mounted. Basically a VIP/pre-vanity plate,
but an interesting item!
KANSAS 1957 Farm Truck - how many plates
make up one plate? Here's a 1957 Kansas Farm
Truck, with the farm attachment, as well as the weight class
- eight thousand pounds, presumably. Nice original condition.
CASTROL OIL TAGS - Ever see these little guys? This is
a set of European made
license plates - a little bigger than keychain
tags, and EMBOSSED plastic - various international issues, and very
accurate! Problem is - I'm missing some.... if you have any of
these, drop me a line! TAP THE PHOTO to go to a HUGE version of
this photo with a lot more detail.
PENNSYLVANIA - Ever see a REFLECTIVE Bicentennial issue?
Probably not - they weren't reflective until 1977 - this is
an experimental School Bus sample, with reflective background,
and full slogan.
"JOE FOSS" license plate - this plate was found in a auction
lot of Foss family items - the plate seems to be a Farm issue,
with a coincidental number - the two fives apparently represent the
"SS" in Foss. It's unclear if this was a special issue for the Foss
family, or just a Farm plate issue, from the capital city (code number 1),
plate number 55, that was issued/presented to the Foss's It DID come
from the estate of Joe Foss, who was a former State Governor, as well
as a WWII war hero. Also shown is an Inaugural Ball button from
the same year.
LONG ISLAND YACHT/SHORE CLUB plates - Two neat little
plates, probably dating to the 1920's... original background color
was probably blue or black. Note the different spelling
beteween the two of the town name!
California "NEVER FORGET" vanity - this plate was given to me
by the author of the book shown, Kevin Kellerman, who is also a good
friend. The plate is an unusual type, and is also the plate shown
on the cover of his book, Auto Registration Guidebook.
The second set is of another one of Kevin's books, the 1998 version
of the book on the left, complete with the original plate. Thanks Kevin!
MOVIE PROP plates from the John Waters film "Desperate
Living" - I believe the Mortville
plate is from this film, the second plate is from a
difrerent Waters film.
3-D "stickers" - A nice half-gross mint box - haven't
opened these up, but if I get a few more boxes, we'll see what they
look like!
KENTUCKY - 1937 Wagon plate - nice original cream on red.
GEORGIA - Interesting set of error plates -
both on the same base! Top plate has an upside
down "W" for an "M", bottom plate has an upside down "M"
for a "W"!
NEW YORK - 1960's steel license plate stamping die. A ton of
these were made, but you never see them surface in collections all that often.
OHIO - Here's a great plate from an old collection
- spot the error? This 1917 plate had the "OHIO"
stencil applied upside down, resulting in a strange looking
state name.
MONTANA - I've seen a
lot of misprinted plates, but this Exempt issue
from Montana wasn't even close! The reverse side has the
reflective white surface.
COLORADO - OK, not really a "license plate", but I'm a Broncos fan,
and a friend of mine picked this up for me while in Colorado. Thanks, Pugs!
TOWN OF HEMPSTEAD - If you're an ALPCA member, you
know the joke with this plate.... there are hundreds of
these plates floating around, all turned up years
ago. They're usually misidentified as "Territory of Hawaii"
plates, or some other oddity - in actuality, they're just a little
add-on from New York - probably from garbage trucks.
KENTUCKY - A neat error plate - Juciciary legend,
but ham operatore call sign for the plate number.
ALLENTOWN, PA - A city issue, from my home town
- I've seen a few of these, but they are BUGGERS to find with paint,
and this one is nice and all original.
DUTCH CHOCOLATE - I have a few sets of these, here's
a nice complete set in top condition.
DELAWARE - Why yes, the first state
IS Delaware... thanks for asking!
NEW YORK - Ever seen one of these? All original green on cream,
with some mounting twine still intact on one bolt hole!
MARYLAND DIPLOMATIC - Foreign diplo plates are tough,
US issues are tougher - nothing fancy, but a very hard
type to find!
NEW YORK - 1972 oddball prototype/test plate - a weird one, with a floating
hyphen, and blue and silver paint.
Idaho prototype, variant design bluebird plate.
NEW YORK/NEW HAMPSHIRE - passenger car, with rare original NH Visitor
tag still attached - was used by NY residents going over the border into
New Hampshire.
Wyoming Police plates - not the rarest set around, but a nice condition
set of Police plate, complete with a patch from the police deparment
in question, and a photo of the plate on the car.
SEYCHELLES - Porcelain bicycle license plate - only one I've ever
seen from this tiny Indian Ocean nation.
WYOMING - Special early 1980's Yellowstone Park Vehicle plate - these
were used on official vehicles, withing the boundaries of the National Park.
PENNSYLVANIA - 1943 Dealer - since I live in Pennsylvania, I've had
a ton of plates come and go, but have never had a true '43 Dealer - note
the "X" prefix Dealer tab, which is far rarer than the '42 X base!
COLORADO - Special Bob Hope Desert Classic issue plate, number 20.
Not sure what the use of this plate ever would be, and I don't remember
a Desert Classic being held in Colorado, but still a sharp issue.
QUEBEC - 1979 prototype, with ALCAN-1, the aluminum
industry name as the plate number.
I'm interested in many types
of oddities - error plates, prototypes,
weird-numbers, celebrity plates,
odd colors, crazy types - what do
you have?