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Rick Kretschmer's License Plate Archives |
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Rick Kretschmer's License Plate Archives |
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My "Pictorial History" pages are intended to be a supplement to the information found in the ALPCA Archives. I am providing additional details and additional photos not found in the archives, and clarifying information when appropriate. When the ALPCA archives cover a subject in great detail, I do not repeat that detail here. I sincerely hope that you find this information useful.
If you find an error or have additional information, or can provide a plate or a photo of a plate that I'm missing, please send me an e-mail. There's a link to my e-mail address at the bottom of every page. Please note that all plates shown that are credited to another person are plates that I am still seeking for my own collection.
Latest noteworthy updates:
- Aug. 29, 2007 - A long overdue update! 22 new plate images! Added 1913 and 1924 plates. Replaced photos that were provided by others with my own plates for 1916, 1918, 1919, 1930, 1932, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1945, and 1947. Upgraded 1915, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1931, 1933, and 1936 plates. Added second versions of 1933 and 1952 plates.
- Feb. 12, 2008 - Upgraded 1938 plate.
On this page - Pennsylvania passsenger car plates dated 1906 to 1957
Introduction
Pennsylvania passenger car plates dated 1906-1909
Pennsylvania passenger car plates dated 1910-1915
Pennsylvania passenger car plates dated 1916-1919
Pennsylvania passenger car plates dated 1920-1929
Pennsylvania passenger car plates dated 1930-1936
Pennsylvania passenger car plates dated 1937-1957
Related links
From 1906 until 1979, Pennsylvania license plates displayed the year of issuance. However, plates dated from 1941 until 1979 actually expired on March 31 of the following year. Plates dated from 1941 through 1957 also showed the exact expiration date in addition to the year of issue. Pennsylvania passenger car plates were issued in pairs from 1906 to 1943, and from 1947 to 1951. From 1944 to 1946, and since 1952, single plates have been issued.
(1907 photo submitted by Dale Low. 1908 photo submitted by an individual who does not wish to be credited. Photos used with permission.)Pennsylvania state-issued license plates were first issued in 1906. The 1906 through 1909 license plates actually indicated that the driver, not the vehicle, was licensed. By law the serial number digits were 5 inches tall; the plates themselves were 6 1/2 inches high. Serial numbers were all numeric and started from 1. The plate width varied based on number of digits. These plates were made of iron coated with porcelain. The porcelain coating preserved the iron well and retained its shine, and many very nice examples may still be found. The down side is that porcelain chips very easily, and therefore it can be relatively difficult to find an unchipped plate from this era. These plates carried the state abbreviation "Penna" and the 4 digit year, as did all Pennsylvania passenger car plates through 1957. The "Penna" and the year were placed along the top of the plate, except for on 1 and 2 digit serials, where they were placed to the right of the serial number. Even the first year registrations exceeded 10,000.
| 1906 | - white on blue |
| 1907 | - white on red |
| 1908 | - black on yellow |
| 1909 | - black on white |
(1914 photo submitted by Bernard Volak and used with permission.)
Beginning in 1910, Pennsylvania license plates were assigned to the vehicle rather than the driver. To drive home that point, a metal tab in the shape of a keystone was rivited to the license plate; stamped on the tab are the words "Not Transferable" at the top and "Makers Number" [sic] at the bottom. Engraved on the center of the tab was the "maker's number", or the vehicle serial number, better known today as the VIN number. The keystone tab was attached to the left side of the plate; above it was the "Penna" state abbreviation, and below it was the 4 digit year. Plate height was reduced to 6 inches since the state name and year were no longer above the serial number; Pennsylvania plates have remained 6 inches high through the present day. Plate widths continued to vary based on the number of digits in the all numeric serial number. Plates from 1910-1915 were again made using a porcelain coating over iron.
During some years, there were minor variations in design. All plates from this time period were basically flat, except for some 1911 plates, which had beveled edges. The 1911 plate shown above is one of these. In 1914, registrations exceeded 100,000 for the first time, and so serial numbers could be up to 6 digits from that year through 1929.
| 1910 | - white on blue |
| 1911 | - black on yellow |
| 1912 | - white on woodgrain brown |
| 1913 | - white on green |
| 1914 | - white on black |
| 1915 | - white on medium blue |
The 1916 to 1919 plates were similar visually to the 1910-1915 plates, but actually had several important differences. The most obvious difference was the switch in materials from porcelain to the more familiar embossed steel. Also, the maker's number (VIN number) was enscribed directly onto the embossed keystone, rather than onto a tab riveted to the plate. However, the riveted-on keystones were still occassionally used, in cases where the owner transferred the plate from one vehicle to another during the registration year. For some unknown reason, the keystone, state abbreviation, and year were moved from the left side of the plate to the right side in 1919. 6 digit plates were 16 inches in length, while plates with fewer digits were shorter. These steel plates have not held up as well over time as did their porcelain predecessors.
A visitor to this page named Deni Corbett wrote to me and shared an interesting family story related to Pennsylvania's switch from porcelain to embossed license plates during the mid-1910s. Her grandfather, John Wilbur Powell, was a printer in western Pennsylvania at the time. Deni says that Mr. Powell invented the license plate embossing machine that the state first used to produce the 1916 plates. Of course, most of the 1916 plates would have been manufactured in 1915. Anyway, while making preparations for the state to use his machine, Mr. Powell found himself spending much time away from home, at such places as the state capital in Harrisburg, and the state prison in which the plate manufacturing facilty was being established. During one of these absences in 1914, Mr. Powell missed the birth of a daughter. This daughter, Deni's mother, was still going strong at age 92 when Deni wrote me in August 2006.
Deni is looking for more information about her grandfather and his involvement with Pennsylvania license plates. If anyone can supply any additional details, please contact me and I will forward the information to her.
| 1916 | - black on orange |
| 1917 | - white on brown |
| 1918 | - white on black |
| 1919 | - red on black |
Beginning with the 1920 issue, Pennsylvania ceased engraving the vehicle serial number onto the plate itself or onto a tab riveted to the plate. Thus, the large keystone emblem on which the vehicle serial number was engraved was no longer needed. The state abbreviation "Penna" and the four digit year were relocated to the bottom of the plate 1920-1926, and then the top of the plate 1927-1929. The state abbreviation and year were flanked by two small embossed keystones beginning 1921. Beginning 1923, plate colors were no longer random, but alternated between dark yellow on blue-black in odd years and blue-black on dark yellow in even years. Blue-black is an extremely dark blue that is nearly black; however, it seems that as these plates have aged, the blue-black paint has changed (faded?) so that it may now appear to be black.
Passenger car plates continued to be all numeric through 1923. During 1924, passenger registrations reached one million for the first time, and the 6 digit numeric serial format was exhausted. Rather than go to a 7 digit plate, an alpha prefix was introduced. Only letters A through F were used for passenger car plates during these years; other letters were used for various types of non-passenger plates. However, letter E was used for passenger plates only beginning in 1928; prior to that it was used for tractor plates. Presumably, if the growth in vehicle registrations was constant, about one new letter per year would have been introduced. Like the all-numeric plates, letter prefix plates could also have from one to six characters. A single character alpha prefix plate consisted of only the letter without any numbers.
During the years 1920-1929, a dash separator was used between the third and fourth digits counting from the right, for serials with 6 characters, and also in some years but not others for serials with 4 or 5 characters. Alpha characters were the same size as numeric digits in 1924 and 1925; from 1926 to the present day, serial letters have been noticeably smaller than numbers. Plate length again varied by number of serial digits. 6 character plates continued to be 16 inches long through mid-year 1923, and then 15 inches long from late-issue 1923 plates through 1929. My 5 character 1925 plate is 13 inches long, and my 4 character 1927 plate is 10 inches long.
| 1920 | - white on blue-black | - no keystones |
| 1921 | - black on yellow | - begin keystones flanking state name and date |
| 1922 | - brown on cream | |
| 1923 | - yellow on blue-black | - also subsequent odd years through 1935 |
| 1924 | - blue-black on yellow | - also subsequent even years through 1936 |
Both versions of the 1933 plate are shown; one with "Penna 1933" at the top, and the other with "1933 Penna".For 1930, Pennsylvania introduced a new passenger serial format scheme that had a maximum of five characters. No doubt part of their motivation for doing so was to avoid the cost of making extra-long plates capable of carrying six or even seven characters. The serial numbers could be anywhere from one to five characters, and could be all numeric, or contain one letter or two adjacent letters. One and two character plates could be all alphabetic. The dash separator was no longer used. Unlike the 1924-1929 plates, the location of the letters in the serial number varied. Letters I, O, Q, T, W, and X were not used on passenger car plates. Also, note that 1930 plates with serial format 000xx are truck plates. This format would reappear in about the late 1940s on passenger car plates.
Other than the serial format, these plates were similar to those of preceding years. Either at the top or the bottom of the plate were the four-digit year and the abbreviation "Penna", flanked by two small embossed keystones. The year could appear before or after the word "Penna". Colors alternated between blue-black on dark yellow in even years, and dark yellow on blue-black in odd years. Plates were issued in pairs. Five character plates meausred 12 inches long by 6 inches high, plates with four or fewer characters were 10 inches long by 6 inches high. In both cases the bolt holes were 8 1/2 inches apart horizontally on center, and 4 3/4 inches apart vertically on center.
There were two different versions of the 1933 plate, both of which are shown above. The more common version has the state abbreviation followed by the year. The second version had the year first, then the state abbreviation. The serial dies were changed for 1934; this is evident by comparing the number "5" on the 1933 vs. 1934 plates shown. The new dies were used through mid-year 1956. The 1936 plate was unique in that its embossed border was not painted in the contrasting color.
(1942 plate with a 1943 renewal tab photo submitted by Mark Myers, and used with permmission.)
Both versions of the 1952 plate are shown; the latter version is narrower than the earlier one. Look closely at the right edge of the state outline on the two plates to see the difference.The 1937 Pennsylvania plate was a significant departure visually from previous years. It featured an embossed border in the shape of the state map. Serial formats continued unchanged from 1930 with a maximum of five characters. The year and state name abbreviation were standardized in their location, now always appearing at the top of the plate, with the four digit year followed by the abbreviation "Penna". A few early-issue 1937 plates continued with keystones flanking the year and state abbeviation, but these were soon dropped on passenger plates. The blue color was also lightened from the extremely dark blue-black to a shade that was still dark but more obviously blue. The dark blue and dark yellow colors were used continuously from 1937 to 2000.
From 1937 to 1942, the plate colors alternated between dark yellow on dark blue in odd years, and dark blue on dark yellow in even years, and plates were issued in pairs. In 1943, new plates were not issued due to the metal shortage caused by World War II. Instead, motorists were issued pairs of black on red metal tabs to validate their 1942 plates for 1943. According to the accompanying instructions, these tabs were to be attached to the 1942 plate at the top left bolt hole; in practice, however, it seems that motorists attached the tabs at either upper bolt hole as they saw fit. The tab featured an embossed keystone outline with the year "43" inside, and a still smaller "3-31-44" expiration date and an engraved serial number. New plates were issued for 1944, and from then until 1958 the plate colors were dark yellow on dark blue in even years, and dark blue on dark yellow in odd years. Single plates were issued in 1944 through 1946, pairs were issued 1947 through 1951, and singles again beginning in 1952 through the present day.
Mark Myers sent me this photo
of his 1943 renewal tab.There were minor changes to the appearance of these plates throughout the 21 years in which they were used. The actual expiration date of the plate was added to the top border of the plate beginning with the 1941 issue. I'm assuming that this change coincided with a shifting of the expiration date from December 31 to March 31. The expiraition date was always the March 31 of the year following the issue year that continued to be displayed prominently on the main part of the plate. Thus, the dated 1941 plate also indicated on the top border "Exp. 3-31-42". The length of the plate was changed every few years, and with it the shape of the eastern border of the state outline. "Shorty" plates continued to be issued for serial numbers that were four characters or fewer until about the mid-1940s; starting then, all plates in a given year were the same length regardless of the number of serial digits. However, 1952 plates were made in two different lengths. Early issues were longer, the same size as 1951 plates; late issues were shorter, the same size as 1953 plates. Both versions are shown above.
Beginning about 1951, the serial format sequence introduced in 1930 was exhausted, and five character plates with two non-adjacent letters were introduced. However, this format, with the first letter A, B, and R through Z, was already used for non-passenger plates and so passenger car plates with split formats only used C through P as the first letter. Split-letter passenger formats were first issued in format x000x, then x00x0, then finally x0x00. These split-letter formats were exhausted in late 1956, and very late 1956 plates were issued with adjacent two letter combinations that had been previously skipped, with letters T and W used in the second postion. For 1957, all split-letter formats were discontinued on passenger plates; instead, all-numeric 6 digit serial numbers were re-introduced. This format had not been used since 1929. There was no space or separator on 6 character 1957 plates.
Late in 1956, in the middle of the x0x00 serial format, the dies used for the serial number were changed so that the thicknesss of the character strokes was reduced; during 1957, a second set of serial dies with narrower characters was introduced, allowing for a maximum of 6 characters rather than 5. 1957 plates with 5 or fewer characters used the wide, thin-stroke dies introduced in late 1956, while 6 character 1957 plates used the narrower thin-stroke dies. From 1958 through 1970, the narrower dies were used for all plates regardless of the number of serial characters.
The distance between the bolt holes was constant through 1955 at 8 1/2 inches horizontally and 4 3/4 inches vertically. In the mid-1950s, states voluntarily agreed to standardize their license plate dimensions. Pennsylvania adopted this standard beginning with their 1956 plates. The standard calls for the plates to measure 12 inches by 6 inches, with 7 inches between the bolt holes horizontally, and 4 3/4 inches between the bolt holes vertically. This standard size and bolt hole placement continues to be used today across most of the Western Hemisphere.
Continue to Pennysylvania passenger car plates dated 1958 to present
Related pages on this site
A Pictorial History of Maryland Passenger Car Plates, 1910-1953
A Pictorial History of Maryland Passenger Car Plates, 1954-present
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