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Rick Kretschmer's License Plate Archives
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Rick's Clicks
Recommended links to other excellent license plate web sites
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This page consists of links to other web sites related to license plates, or otherwise of interest to
license plate collectors.
Latest noteworthy updates to this page
- January 5, 2010 – Restored a couple of links that I had deleted a
few days ago with updated web addresses.
- January 1, 2010 – Added a couple of new links and updated the
web address of an existing link. Removed links to dead and mostly dead GeoCities.com web
sites. Removed a link to a site that had become pornographic.
- October 22, 2009 – Added several new links. Organizaed the
General sites for plate collectors links by subcategories. Verified all links,
updated web addresses when possible, and removed dead links.
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There are many hundreds, if not thousands, of license plate related web sites out there. Sad to say, but a
good number of them probably are of little interest to anyone but possibly their owners. Some haven't been
updated in years and have become badly out of date. Because of this, links pages that attempt to catalog
every single plate web site frustrate me, as do the many links pages that link to ten or twenty other sites merely
on the basis of reciprocity, or some other arbitrary criteria, rather than the quality or usefulness of each
site.
Because of this, I decided to create a really helpful license plate links page, one that (well, for the most part)
only lists the really great sites, the kind you will want to use as reference sites and visit repeatedly.
Even these are categorized according to the specific plates that may be found on each site, so that you can
readily find the sites that have what you're looking for. I've included links to the relevant sections of
my own site, in case you came to this page directly and didn't see the site menu on my home page.
Even being listed in one of the the "recommened" sections of this page means that the site is among the best out
there. Links with a 
blue ribbon symbol next to them are
Top Pick Clicks! They are especially recommended for their excellent
content and presentation. These sites are the best of the best.
Note that the 
"Updated!" notation doesn't
necessarily mean that the linked site has been updated; rather, it means that the link itself has been updated
with a new web address; in other words, the site has moved to a new address, and the link reflects that.
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Many license plate collectors specialize in plates from one or two U.S. states, countries, or other issuing
jurisdictions. These sites are among the best in their coverage of a specific jurisdiction.
Worldwide
United States
- 15q.net
Dave Nicholson provides a wealth of information and pictures of U.S. passenger car plates from 1969 to
present.
- The Plate Shack
Extensive site with thousands of pictures, run by Marc Welby and Mike Sells.
Alabama
- BamaPlates.com
A partially-complete site by an anonomous collector. What's there is pretty good, though.
Alaska
Arizona
- Arizona License Plates
Lots of good photos of most years and types of Arizona license plates, presented by Gary Fox.
California
- CALPL8S
Dave Haber has information about all types of California plates from 1956 to the present. Excellent
photos.
- Dave's California License Plates
Dave Hindman displays photos of mostly passenger California license plates from 1914 to 1962.
Connecticut
Delaware
- The Delaware 3000
Plate spotter Jordan Irazabal has an impressive photo collection of the lowest-numbered Delaware plates in use.
District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.)
- DCplates.net
A professional-quality site that chronicles the history of license plates in the U.S. capital city.
- Andrew Pang's License Plate Home Page
Pics of current D.C. plates in actual use, an Inaugural plate run, and 1907-1918 D.C. plates.
- Erik's Photos
Erik has an impressive collection of D.C. plates, even if they're in a photo album format.
Florida
Hawaii
Idaho
- Idaho License Plates
The Idaho State Historical Society has a section of their web site devetoted to, well, you guessed it.
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
- Whit's Plates
Extensive photo gallery of all types and ages of Michigan plates, by Bill "Whit" Whitworth. Many 1910-1914
Michigan plates.
- Plates by the Year
The Michigan Historical Museum has an online display of mostly passenger car Michigan license plates.
New Hampshire
New Jersey
- Jim Moini's License Plates
Nobody covers New Jersey like Jim. Great photo gallery and detailed information.
- JFAZEKAS.NET
Jeff Fazekas has lots of nice photos of New Jersey plates from 1959 to the present.
New York
- NYplates.net
Scott Smith presents photos of New York passenger car plates from the early 1900s to the present.
North Carolina
Oklahoma
- Whit's Plates
Bill "Whit" Whitworth is well known for his Michigan plates, but he also collects Oklahoma.
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Texas
- The Bolthole
Nick DiFonzo devotes much of his site to the history of Texas license plates.
- License Plate Info .com
This is the old "Remlap" site. Jim Palmer has good info about determining the age of 1975-present Texas plates.
Vermont
- JFAZEKAS.NET
Jeff Fazekas has lots of photos of current Vermont plates, issued from 1985 to present.
Virginia
Washington (state)
Washington, D.C.
- See District of Columbia, above.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Canada
- Canadian License Plates
"Tiger" Joe Sallmen thoroughly documents plates from all provinces and territories.
- 15q.net
Dave Nicholson provides information and pictures of Canadian passenger car plates from 1969 to present.
British Columbia
- BCpl8s.ca
An award-winning history of British Columbia license plates, by Christopher Garrish.
Manitoba
- Manitoba license plates
Manny Jacob has photos and information about various Manitoba plates types from 1983 to present.
Northwest Territories and Nunavut
Saskatchewan
- Paul's License Plates
Paul focuses on plates from the province of Saskatchewan. Plates from 1912 to 1967 are pictured.
Elsewhere
(Be sure to also see the Worldwide plate sites, above.)
Europe
- Dutch Numberplate Archives
Plates from around the world, with especially good coverage of Europe, by Herman Hallo.
- Plates in Rome
Michele Berionne covers Italy and also the tiny nations located within Italy, such as Vatican City and San
Marino.
Japan
Mexico
- Jim Moini's License Plates
Jim provides extensive coverage of Mexican plates from the 1920s to the present.
- 15q.net
Dave Nicholson provides information and pictures of Mexican passenger car plates from 1969 to present.
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These sites, for the most part, address specific categories of U.S. and/or Canadian license plates.
Antique and historic vehicle license plates
Commercial vehicle plates
- Jim Moini's License Plates
Jim devotes a corner of his site to apportioned plates and a few other types of truck, bus, and trailer
plates.
- Manitoba license plates
Manny Jacob has photos of PRP (apportioned) plates from all participating Canadian jurisdictions.
Firefighting-related license plates
Law enforcement-related license plates
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Statetrooperplates.com
An awesome site by Norm Ratcliffe and Allan "Coop" Cooper covering state police license plates.
- Ward17219468
This anonymous collector shows off his state trooper license plates and related memorabilia in an online photo
album.
Motorcycle license plates
Porcelain license plates
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PorcelainPlates.net
Eric Taylor's comprehesive porcelain plate site is nothing less than amazing.
Sample license plates
Year 1976 license plates
- 76 License Plates
Mike Sells displays his huge collection of all types of U.S and Canadian plates from 1976.
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These are sites of general interest, or that provide useful resources for license plate collectors.
License plate collecting organizations (based in North America)
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ALPCA
ALPCA is the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association, far and away the largest license plate collectors'
organization in the world. This site contains a very comprehensive license plate archive section
(available to members only), but there are also useful pages accessible to the general public.
Several ALPCA regions also have their own web sites:
- Michigan License Plate Collectors Association
(This group is not affiliated with ALPCA.)
License plate collecting meets and other events
Independent plate collecting publications
- Frog Hollow Tag Trader
Info about how to subscribe to this bi-monthly license plate collectors' newsletter.
- License Plate Values
On this site you can order the License Plate Values price guide book by Bob and
Chuck Crisler. An excellent resource.
Independent plate collecting online discussion groups
- Plateshed
This plate collector's forum has a little bit of everything – discussion boards, photo galleries, you name
it. Heavily oriented towards Australian plates.
- Yahoo! PLATES group
Probably the biggest license plate online discussion group out there. Numerous messages posted
daily.
License plate collecting supplies
- bestplates.com
Michael Wiener sells clear plastic sleeves to protect your valuable plates.
Digital license plate images
- ACME License Maker
This is a fun site where you can make and save license plate images with whatever plate numbers you
want.
- License Plates Plus
Professional-quality, high-resolution blank license plate images for sale.
- R.T.'s Blank Plates
ACME uses blank plate images from this site. You can too, for free, but you'll have to add the plate
numbers using your own graphics software.
Other plate collecting resources
- LicensePlates.cc
The license plate collector's portal for news, galleries, and events. Not updated very often any more,
but there's still lots of useful info.
- Old License Plates
This site provides a free service to help you find license plates listed on eBay in obscure or completely
wrong categories.
- YAHOOPL8S alpca-discuss Photo Gallery
Jim Moini maintains this rogues' gallery of plate collectors who are active on the Yahoo! PLATES and/or
ALPCA online discussion groups. A good place to put faces with names.
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Many individual collectors offer plates for trade or sale on their web sites, and there are lots of great plates
to be found on these sites. Of course, I would prefer that you visit and find plates on my own site before
looking elsewhere.
Online auction sites
Online license plate stores (arranged alphabetically)
Non-store web sites offering extensive or specialized inventories of plates for sale (arranged alphabetically)
- BPRlicenseplates.com
Run by Brian P. Reback.
- DAZ.PL8.com
A no-frills site with lots of plates for sale, by collector Dave Zubal.
- Steven Gaj
This collector specializes in selling porcelain license plates from the early 1900s, as well as other older
plates.
- License Plate Store
Lots of hard-to-find, current graphic plates here, but bring plenty of money – this guy knows how bad you want
them.
- msplates.com
Greg Tomes offers a wide variety of plates from all over. Lots of older plates to be found here.
- PL8S.com
Collector Drew Steitz offers a very extensive selection of license plates for sale.
Antique car shows known for having numerous license plate vendors
- Hershey Region AACA Fall Meet The mother of all
antique car shows, held annually each October in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
- Charlotte Auto Fair Held twice a year in
April and September, at the Lowe's Motor Speedway NASCAR track in Concord, North Carolina.
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I periodically am asked for recommendations for where to get an old license plate professionally restored and/or
repainted. I've only dealt with getting a plate repainted on one occasion, which hardly qualifies me as an
authority. However, I can at least point you to a few I know about and let you choose.
- Darryl's License Plate Restoration
Darryl both restores and repaints old license plates.
- Finishyourplate!
Brian Mabry repaints all types of metal plates, and also does some light restoration.
- MoJo ArtWorks
Bill McCoy does light restoration and repainting of old license plates.
- The Old License Farm
Bjorn and Nancy Larsen specialize in restoring and repainting Washington plates, but also do other
states.
- Oregon License Plates
Don and Tamara Brown deal only with old Oregon plates. I'm not sure if they actually restore, or just
repaint.
- Tag Dr.
Rod Pearman is the Tag Doctor. He offers both restoration and repainting services.
- License Plate Restorers
Here is a list of some additional plate restorers and repainters who do not have web sites.
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Since I own the RicksPlates.com web address, I suppose the least I can do for the other
license plate collectors also named Rick is to provide links to their plate sites.
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There are some good plate sites out there that don't get much attention or traffic, mostly because they're not listed
on the prominent link pages. So, as a public service to my fellow plate collectors, below are some license plate
web sites that I've discovered, or been made aware of, that are a bit off the beaten path. I've set the standards
for quality of content and presentation a bit lower for these links than the other links on this page, but these are all
worthwhile places to visit, in my opinion.
- Alabama Tin Man's House of Plates
David Mandola has put a site up that features plates from his collection.
- David's License plates
Photos of David's collection, displayed on the inside walls of his home.
DBL License Plates
David Lester shows off his collection, with emphasis on Florida but including plates from all over.
He's got trade plates, too. - FLPL8S.COM
Howard Hinz offers old Florida plates for sale.
- Johnny's License Plates
Johnny Andresen from Norway collects U.S. and Canadian plates in addition to European plates.
- License Plate Collection of Chuck Westphal
Chuck shows off his porcelain plates, mostly pre-state city issues from the early 1900s.
- License Plates
Robert Bechtold of the Netherlands displays his U.S. license plate collection. A rather unimaginitive
site name, I'm afraid.
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License Plates and Other Collectibles
David Doernberg has photos and descriptions of some of his collection, actually just license plates at the moment.
- License Plates of South Carolina
Besides the obvious, there's Georgia county code and weight code info, plates for sale, and a want list.
- Mr. Cohen's Pl8s
Mr. Cohen displays his collections of plates related to kids and education, and current New Jersey
types.
- Our License Plate Collection
Ken Snyder has a web page with some good information about Kansas plates.
- Plates for Sale
So far, this web site by Eric Getchell consists of a page of, well, you guessed it.
- Plate-Planet
Hans Stedehouder of the Netherlands presents his impressive worldwide plate collection.
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rcplates
Ross shows off his collection and his trade plates. Like me, he specializes in Maryland and Pennsylvania
plates.
- Spencer's License Plates
Spencer shows off his collection of Michigan plates and his 50 state set.
- 2GAT123 Presents License Plates
This anonymous collector displays his mostly North American plate collection.
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Here are some links to sites that aren't license plate related, yet I thought they might be of interest to plate
collectors or people in general.
- ACME Label Maker
This is a great place to easily make and save .gif text files in a variety of fonts and colors. I used this
site to make the RicksPlates.com graphic at the top of the page.
- The Extra Miler Club
This is a group of people with the common goal of visiting every county in the U.S. Many members of this
club are also ALPCA members.
- SignMaker Central
A fun site where you can make your own highway sign images. They're a little tricky to save,
though.
- Why do you think they call them counties?
A site where you can track all of the U.S. counties you have visited. There are over 3,100 counties and
county equivalents in the U.S.; how many have you been to?
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I welcome suggestions for new web site links to be added to this page, either for your own site or someone else's site
that you particularly like. There are a few of categories of links on this page, and any links that are added must
qualify for one of the categories listed below.
- Worthwhile, but obscure license plate sites that are not listed on the more prominent links pages.
If you've got a license plate related web site that's brand new or otherwise not listed on the ALPCA members' sites links
page, the LicensePlates.cc links page, etc., or if you stumble across a good plate site that's not listed on one of these
links pages, I'll consider including a link to the site on this page. For this link category only, the site
doesn't have to be a world class plate site, but if it bombards visitors with numerous pop-up ads, I'm not going to link
to it.
- License plate sites by other guys named Rick. After all, this is
RicksPlates.com.
In the remaining categories, I'm just not going to add every link that comes along. Only the best sites will
make the cut and be listed on this page. If you want to put a link to my site on your links page, you're more
than welcome to, but doing so will not give your site preferential treatment to be included here. I'm sorry if
this adversely affects you, but this policy is necessary to keep this links page manageable and useful.
- Web sites that contain detailed information about, and/or lots of high quality pictures of, license plates
from a specific locale or of a specific type. These sites must be of such a quality that you and other collectors
would use them as a reference again and again. If your site just shows pictures of your collection of random
plates, I'm most likely not going to list it here. I also don't want any sites that are primarily offering to sell,
trade, or buy plates in this category. Also, sites that generate pop-up ads or have other annoying quirks need not
apply.
- Web sites whose primary purpose is to offer license plates for sale or trade to collectors. These
sites must have quality photos and either extensive inventories – numerous plates available from nearly every state
– or must specialize in some hard-to-find plate category. Most individual collectors' sites won't
qualify. Sites with plate prices geared toward one-time YOM buyers (that is, outrageous) will not be
listed.
- Other general sites of interest to license plate collectors. These must be worthwhile sites that have some
type of information that would be interesting or useful to most collectors.
To submit a suggestion for a new link, or to report a broken link or a new address for an existing site, please
send me an e-mail with the pertinent information. Be sure to include the
current URL (the web site address) of the site you are suggesting or correcting.
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This section deserves some explanation, considering that this entire page consists of links to related sites.
Listed below are links to other links pages, which have links to still more license plate related sites.
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This page is
W3C valid
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