Rick Kretschmer's License Plate Archives 

Maryland  Tercentenary 1634-1934

As far as I know, Maryland was the first state to promote their anniversary on vehicle license plates.  The colony of Maryland was established in 1634 at St. Mary's City.  Before the mid-1950s, North American plate sizes were not standardized; this one is 15 inches across, rather than the 12 inch width used today. 

Minnesota  Centennial 1849-1949

The plate shown is half of a stunning pair of mint condition plates that a visitor to this site donated to my collection.  Thank you, Twyla!  The 1949 Minnesota plates were made from thin, unpainted aluminum.  The waffle pattern made the plate sturdier, but the paint on the numbers didn't stick to it very well in actual use.  These plates recognized the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Minnesota as a territory.  This is another odd-sized plate, measuring 6 1/2 inches high, rather than the 6 inch height that's standard today. 

Ohio  1803-1953

Ohio's 1953 plate announced its 150th anniversary of statehood without any slogans or graphics.  Back then, different serial formats were issued in various parts of the state.  This format identified the motorist as being from the northwestern portion of Ohio, near Toledo. 

Kansas  Centennial 1961

Kansas was admitted to the Union in 1861.  Both its 1960 and 1961 plates commemorated the centennial of that event.  The two-letter codes on the left side of these plates indicate that the 1960 plate is from Riley County, while the 1961 plate is from Lane County. 

West Virginia  Centennial 1863-1963

West Virginia was created during the midst of the Civil War from the Virginia counties that had remained loyal to the union.  Like Kansas, West Virginia celebrated its 100th anniversary on its plates for two years.  The 1963 plate is shown at left; the 1964 plate also acknowledged the statehood centennial.  The 1963 plate is unusual in that it is debossed – the plate number, state name, etc. are lower than the blue background. 

Florida  400th Anniversary 1965

This plate celebrates the founding of St. Augustine by Spain in 1565.  St. Augustine was the first permanent European settlement in what is now the United States.  The gold on red colors are the school colors of Florida State University.  The "4" means this plate was issued to a resident of Pinellas County. 

Indiana  150th Year '66

1966 Indiana plates proclaimed the 150th anniversary of statehood.  The number(s) to the left of the little letter indicate the county; in this case, "35" is for Huntington County.  This serial number format began in 1963 and continued until 2008. 

Nebraska  Centennial

Nebraska's 100th anniversary of statehood was actually in 1967, but the state issued these centennial plates with only the year "66" stamped on them.  The plate was then kept current with stickers for 1967 and 1968.  The "76" serial prefix indicates this plate was issued in Dundy County.  This is another plate in need of an upgrade. 

Alaska  1867-1967

The U.S. bought the land that is now the state of Alaska from Russia in 1867 for the sum of $7.2 million.  At the time, this transaction was ridiculed as being a huge waste of money.  This base was issued in 1966 and renewed in 1967 with a sticker. 

Illinois  1818-1968

Illinois achieved statehood in the year 1818, and this plate recognizes the sesquicentennial of that event.  Illinois was apparently very modest about announcing this milestone; the sole indication that this is an anniversary plate are the numbers "18" in each of the upper corners, which together make up the year 1818. 

South Carolina  300 Years 1670-1970

This plate commemorates the first permanent colonial settlement in what is now South Carolina in 1670.  The first two serial characters are letters, and the last four are numbers; you can readily see that the letter O and the number 0 are indistinguishable with these serial dies. 

Colorado  Centennial '76

Colorado became a state in 1876, so the red, white, and blue plate with the graphic "76" separator actually celebrates the statehood centennial, rather than the U.S. Bicentennial as you might assume.  The graphic base plate is dated 1975, and this example has a "76" sticker covering the "75".  This plate was issued in Jefferson County, based on the serial prefix. 

Towards the end of 1976, the state ran out of the sheeting for the graphic Centennial plates, and so they chose to issue plates for new registrations in this all-embossed design instead.  This one is from Chaffee County. 

Maryland  350th Anniversary 1634-1984

Maryland again celebrated their anniversary through license plates during the mid-1980s.  This commemorative plate was an extra-cost optional issue in 1983 and 1984, and could be renewed through September 1987.  This particular plate once adorned my 1980 Datsun 210.  You can tell from the low registration number that I was one of the early motorists to get this plate. 

Texas  Sesquicentennial 1836-1986

These plates celebrate the 150th anniversary of Texas' independence from Mexico.  In 1836, the Republic of Texas became an independent country, and remained so until 1845 when it joined the U.S. and became a state. 

There were two versions of passenger car plates made:  the earlier version with Sesquicentennial at the bottom edge, as shown at top left, and the later version with the word Sesquicentennial at the top, as shown at bottom left.  I presume that the legend was moved due to it frequently being hidden by license plate frames.  There were also a few other versions of the background sheeting used on vanity and non-passenger plates; these are shown further down this page. 

North Dakota  Centennial 1889-1989

North Dakota and South Dakota were both admitted to the Union on the same day in 1889, but no one knows which was first.  President Harrison deliberately shuffled the papers before signing them.  This plate was the standard issue in North Dakota from 1987 to 1992, and was replaced upon expiration in 1993. 

South Dakota  1889-1989

This plate was the standard South Dakota plate for several years starting in 1987.  The "19" in the upper left corner has a matching "87" under the stickers in the upper right corner.  The "63" serial prefix indicates the motorist resided in Walworth County.  There's a second version of this plate which has a sticker with the legend Celebrate the Century affixed to the top center. 

Montana  100 Years 1889-1989

Montana was admitted to the Union in 1889.  This was an optional-issue plate to commemorate the statehood centennial.  It's no longer issued, but can still be renewed.  The "5" preceding the letters in the serial number identifies this plate as being from Lewis and Clark County. 

Washington  Centennial Celebration

Although this plate leaves you guessing as to when the centennial actually might be, in fact the state of Washington was also admitted to the Union in 1889.  This base was introduced in 1986, and was issued with the centennial legend until about 1991. 

Idaho  Centennial 1890-1990

Idaho introduced this extra-cost optional plate in 1987.  Similar to Maryland's 350th Anniversary plate, it was so well-received that it became the basis for the design of the subsequent general issue plate. 

There were several versions of this centennial plate, with various serial dies and formats.  They were first issued in format 00000C, then C00000.  Starting at about serial C28000, the plates were made with narrower serial dies and space separators in format C 00 000.  As these C-suffix and C-prefix centennial plates expired in 1992, they were replaced with centennial plates with serial format 000 xxx.  Apparently, this last version remains in use today. 

Wyoming  Centennial 1890-1990

Wyoming's centennial plate was used from 1988 to 1992.  With the white mountains in the background, it could almost be mistaken for a Colorado plate, but the traditional Wyoming cowboy and bronco silhouette clears up any possible confusion.  The number to the left of the bronco identifies the county where the plate was issued; county "3" is Sheridan County. 

Texas  150 Years of Statehood

This undated plate acknowledges Texas' 150th anniversary of statehood, which was celebrated in 1995.  This was a general issue plate, but it was only issued for a few months in late 1995 and early 1996.  Texas stopped using plate stickers in 1994. 

Tennessee  Bicentennial 1796-1996

Tennessee was admitted to the Union in 1796.  This plate commemorates the 200th anniversary of statehood with a clever play on the letters "tenn" in Bicentennial also being the abbreviation for Tennessee.  The "95" expiration sticker appears to have been placed in the sticker well during the manufacturing process. 

Iowa  Sesquicentennial 1846-1996

Iowa issued two completely different optional plates to celebrate its 150th anniversary – a rather plain red, white, and blue design, and a more colorful graphic plate featuring a city skyline in the background and a tree in the foreground.  Either plate cost $15 above the normal registraiton fees.  What prompted Iowa to offer both designs, I don't know. 

Utah  Centennial 1896-1996

This optional-issue plate commemorated Utah's admission to the Union in 1896.  The plate proved to be very popular with Utah motorists, and it was available to new registrants until 2007.  Now a plate with a similar design, but without the centennial legend, has taken its place.  On very early versions of the anniversary plate, the state name was white, outlined in navy blue, as shown at top left.  It was soon changed to solid navy, as shown at bottom left, to improve legibility. 

Wisconsin  Sesquicentennial 1848-1998

Wisconsin also issued an optional graphic plate to celebrate the 150th anniversary of statehood, depicting a lake scene.  The month and year stickers actually belong in the opposite positions on this plate. 

California  Sesquicentennial – 150 Years

The legend on this plate redundantly proclaims Sesquicentennial – 150 Years without specifying the date or the event being celebrated.  Since it was issued to all new registrants from January 1998 to November 2000, the plate would seem to recognize the 150th anniversary of two events in California history – its acquisition by the U.S. from Mexico in 1848, and its statehood in 1850.  Not to mention the gold rush of 1849.  This particular plate was issued to my 1998 Chevy Malibu. 

Louisiana  Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial 1803-2003

The Louisiana Purchase was actually a vast portion of land covering about the middle third of the continental U.S. that we bought from France in 1803.  Its namesake state occupies just a small portion of this area. 

Ohio  Bicentennial 1803-2003

This plate was issued to celebrate Ohio's entry to the Union in 1803.  It was the standard-issue plate from October 2001 through February 2004, but it and other discontinued base plates continue to be renewed today.  Incidentally, the Wright Brothers' first flight, alluded to by the Birthplate of Aviation slogan, occurred in 1903, Ohio's centennial year, but in North Carolina. 

Virginia  400th Anniversary 1607-2007

Virginia got an early start celebrating the anniversary of the first English settlement in the new world, which occured in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.  In 2002, 400th anniversary plates with the small red ship logo became the state's standard-issue plate.  During the first few months of issuance, some plates were made from the leftover previous standard plate blanks with the blue state name.  These all had the red text at the bottom either painted on, as in the case of the plate shown at top left, or added as a decal applied to the plate.  Subsequently, these anniversary plates were consistently made using the new blanks with the red state name and screened text at the bottom, as shown at the middle left. 

In May 2006, a more elaborate and colorful 400th anniversary plate was introduced with the revised slogan Jamestown, America's 400th Anniversary, as shown at bottom left.  Again, these were standard-issue plates, and were issued to all new registrants until early in 2008. 

Alaska  Celebrating Statehood 1959-2009

Like me, Alaska celebrated its 50th birthday in 2009.  This plate has been the standard-issue passenger car plate since January 2008.