When passing a car today with Wisconsin plates, I started to think how that standard issue plate has been around for at least 25 years -- I worked with a guy in 1992 with that same design.
My question is what 5 states have the oldest standard plate designs that you can still get today as new-issue?
I want to say that Delaware's gold-on-dark blue plates go back even further. Something tells me that the Hawaii "Rainbow" plate has been around for quite a while as well as the green-on-white New Hampshire plates There's my guess of 4 of the oldest. Others?
For New Jersey, the basic black on straw plate (tag) has been around for decades. I don't know when the state's outline replaced the hyphen.
Wisconsin started that plate design in 1986.
IIRC, the oldest 'valid with current renewal stickers' plates are from Delaware. Some very low number plates there date to the 1940s and are very valuable commodities.
The oldest valid plates in the current number series from California were issued in about 1964.
The oldest current regular plates in Wisconsin are from 2000. My car has one of them (the original 2000-issued front plate was destroyed in a minor traffic crash a couple of years ago).
As for oldest current artwork, Alaska just changed their basic design for the first time in decades (since statehood?). Aside from the current Wisconsin artwork (2000), Iowa and Minnesota both go back a ways, too.
Mike
Quote from: Big John on May 03, 2017, 10:38:50 PM
Wisconsin started that plate design in 1986.
It was modified in 2000 - the coloring and proportions of the artwork were adjusted and the registry letters and numbers changed from red to their current black.
Mike
15q.net (http://15q.net/curr.html) has a page for current US plates which states what year their current issue started. According to the website the 6 oldest US plates are:
- Delaware (1970)
- Vermont (1985)
- Oregon (1990)
- Idaho, Hawaii, New Mexico (1991)
Though of course, some states let you use older plates after a new issue has been released, so the above states are probably not the perfect top 5 you're looking for.
Quote from: 7/8 on May 03, 2017, 11:32:18 PM
15q.net (http://15q.net/curr.html) has a page for current US plates which states what year their current issue started. According to the website the 6 oldest US plates are:
- Delaware (1970)
- Vermont (1985)
- Oregon (1990)
- Idaho, Hawaii, New Mexico (1991)
Though of course, some states let you use older plates after a new issue has been released, so the above states are probably not the perfect top 5 you're looking for.
http://www.15q.net/nc.html
NC has been using some variation of the current plate since 1983, the only reason that it doesn't turn up in that list is because of slight modifications and the one year where it went to red font before it quickly switched back to blue.
Note that Delaware in 2002 actually switched the fabrication method from screen printing to digital printing. The 2002 issue plates are noticeable by their pseudo-condensed Arial font; over the following years after public backlash the Delaware DMV attempted to modify the font to get it to look like the old screen printed font until around 2006 when a close approximation of the font was achieved.
Yeah, Idaho ditched embossed plates in 2008 or so. It's a travesty - we went from having one of the best looking plates in the country to one of the worst - the classic plate just doesn't work with screened plates.
NJ has been using the same basic plate since 1959, just revising it. So technically the plate we have now is a 2014 flat approximation of a 2007 update (removal of sticker boxes) of a 1993 plate, that is really an updated version of a 1977 plate , that just added the full state name "New Jersey" versus "N.J." to the 1959 plate. Except for 1979-1992, when we issued a blue base plate version of the 1977 with a state outline
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.licenseplates.tv%2Fimages%2Fusanj59.gif&hash=63bed707e3a5a35f6000cd479356e87e4b6bb31e)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/1977_New_Jersey_License_Plate.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/1979_New_Jersey.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/1992_New_Jersey.jpg)
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/New_Jersey_2008.jpg)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.15q.net%2Fus3%2Fnj15.jpg&hash=e85ffffdcfbffefce6ac433a5bb9eda529ae197e)
It may depend in some cases on how finicky you want to get. 15q.net lists Washington as 1998, but the only differences between those and the ones starting in 1987 are that the WASHINGTON moved from upper center to upper left and switched from a curly serif font to a Helveticaesque block font, and the embossed outer border was removed.
It's a change, sure. But not the sort of change we usually talk about when talking about new license plate designs.
Quote from: 7/8 on May 03, 2017, 11:32:18 PM
Though of course, some states let you use older plates after a new issue has been released, so the above states are probably not the perfect top 5 you're looking for.
Virginia is definitely one of these...
They issued a special Bicentennial plate in 1976 which I have seen into the 21st century, though it's been a few years since I saw one.
Plate numbers with 3 letters followed by 4 numbers were in place by 1991 when I first registered a car in Virginia, but every couple months I still see on with just 3 numbers.
Quote from: 7/8 on May 03, 2017, 11:32:18 PM
Though of course, some states let you use older plates after a new isue has been released, so the above states are probably not the perfect top 5 you're looking for.
Yeah. For example in WV last called all the plates in and started over in 1996, but if you have an car made before 1971 (the year the current numbering system and use of annual stickers started) and can find a plate from the year of manufacture, you can use that plate, for a fee. I have seen plates from well before WWII. I think many states do this.
NC has had that same (really ugly, IMHO), plate since 1983, with only minor variations and the one year they used red numbers rather than blue. They are way past needing a change.
In pure terms, the winner is DE, which has not started over since 1942.
Quote from: The Nature Boy on May 03, 2017, 11:50:28 PMhttp://www.15q.net/nc.html
NC has been using some variation of the current plate since 1983, the only reason that it doesn't turn up in that list is because of slight modifications and the one year where it went to red font before it quickly switched back to blue.
I'm glad NC switched back to blue font. The red font sucked and made it downright fugly.
Quote from: 7/8 on May 03, 2017, 11:32:18 PM
some states let you use older plates after a new issue has been released
This is what complicates the matter, to the point that finding the answer would take a lot of research time.
Kansas, for example, allows vehicles at least 35 years old to bear a license plate from the same year as the model year of the car. What this means is that you can buy a 1955 license plate on eBay, complete the necessary paperwork with the state, and legally tag your '55 Chevy with it. The 1955 Kansas license plate design would then be "in active circulation."
Quote from: 7/8 on May 03, 2017, 11:32:18 PM
15q.net (http://15q.net/curr.html) has a page for current US plates which states what year their current issue started. According to the website the 6 oldest US plates are:
- Delaware (1970)
- Vermont (1985)
- Oregon (1990)
- Idaho, Hawaii, New Mexico (1991)
Though of course, some states let you use older plates after a new issue has been released, so the above states are probably not the perfect top 5 you're looking for.
The Massachusetts green-on-white plates are still legal to display (if in good condition) and that series dates to 1983. There were some green-on-white plates in the same style issued as early as 1977, but they were the only style issued between 1983 and 1987, when the "Spirit of America" series were introduced.
Quote from: SidS1045 on May 04, 2017, 02:39:42 PMThe Massachusetts green-on-white plates are still legal to display (if in good condition) and that series dates to 1983. There were some green-on-white plates in the same style issued as early as 1977, but they were the only style issued between 1983 and 1987, when the "Spirit of America" series were introduced.
Per the OP (
bold emphasis added):
Quote from: thenetwork on May 03, 2017, 09:53:51 PMMy question is what 5 states have the oldest standard plate designs that you can still get today as new-issue
Given what the OP is looking for, MA's green-on-white plate design doesn't fall under the
active circulation category and hasn't since 1993. My mother got one of those final greenies for her car back then; which was the only style in the Bay State that only required one plate (the rear) for standard passenger vehicle registrations.
Quote from: Mapmikey on May 04, 2017, 06:26:44 AM
Plate numbers with 3 letters followed by 4 numbers were in place by 1991 when I first registered a car in Virginia, but every couple months I still see on with just 3 numbers.
IMO those Virginia plates with three alphabetic characters and three numeric characters had a much nicer font than the serif font used for most Virginia tags now.
Quote from: PHLBOS on May 04, 2017, 03:39:52 PM
Quote from: SidS1045 on May 04, 2017, 02:39:42 PMThe Massachusetts green-on-white plates are still legal to display (if in good condition) and that series dates to 1983. There were some green-on-white plates in the same style issued as early as 1977, but they were the only style issued between 1983 and 1987, when the "Spirit of America" series were introduced.
Per the OP (bold emphasis added):
Quote from: thenetwork on May 03, 2017, 09:53:51 PMMy question is what 5 states have the oldest standard plate designs that you can still get today as new-issue
Given what the OP is looking for, MA's green-on-white plate design doesn't fall under the active circulation category and hasn't since 1993. My mother got one of those final greenies for her car back then; which was the only style in the Bay State that only required one plate (the rear) for standard passenger vehicle registrations.
Sorry, I didn't catch that qualifier in the OP. The answer, then, is Delaware. Delaware has had the same blue flat plate with golden serial and border since 1970. The only "change" since then has been the typeface (when production switched locations).
As for other states mentioned on this thread...
Alaska's current design dates to 1981.
Washington's current design dates to 1989 even if you don't count the modifications
Kacie Jane mentioned.
I was gonna say NC but it's already been said. They can't seem to let that airplane go :-D
Quote from: 7/8 on May 03, 2017, 11:32:18 PM
15q.net (http://15q.net/curr.html) has a page for current US plates which states what year their current issue started. According to the website the 6 oldest US plates are:
- Delaware (1970)
- Vermont (1985)
- Oregon (1990)
- Idaho, Hawaii, New Mexico (1991)
Though of course, some states let you use older plates after a new issue has been released, so the above states are probably not the perfect top 5 you're looking for.
I like Oregon's general issue, but it'd benefit from a new design.
Quote from: kphoger on May 05, 2017, 01:45:43 PM
Quote from: PHLBOS on May 04, 2017, 03:39:52 PM
Quote from: SidS1045 on May 04, 2017, 02:39:42 PMThe Massachusetts green-on-white plates are still legal to display (if in good condition) and that series dates to 1983. There were some green-on-white plates in the same style issued as early as 1977, but they were the only style issued between 1983 and 1987, when the "Spirit of America" series were introduced.
Per the OP (bold emphasis added):
Quote from: thenetwork on May 03, 2017, 09:53:51 PMMy question is what 5 states have the oldest standard plate designs that you can still get today as new-issue
Given what the OP is looking for, MA's green-on-white plate design doesn't fall under the active circulation category and hasn't since 1993. My mother got one of those final greenies for her car back then; which was the only style in the Bay State that only required one plate (the rear) for standard passenger vehicle registrations.
Sorry, I didn't catch that qualifier in the OP. The answer, then, is Delaware. Delaware has had the same blue flat plate with golden serial and border since 1970. The only "change" since then has been the typeface (when production switched locations).
As for other states mentioned on this thread...
Alaska's current design dates to 1981.
Washington's current design dates to 1989 even if you don't count the modifications Kacie Jane mentioned.
Didn't Alaska just change their design?
Mike
Quote from: cpzilliacus on May 05, 2017, 01:18:46 PM
Quote from: Mapmikey on May 04, 2017, 06:26:44 AM
Plate numbers with 3 letters followed by 4 numbers were in place by 1991 when I first registered a car in Virginia, but every couple months I still see on with just 3 numbers.
IMO those Virginia plates with three alphabetic characters and three numeric characters had a much nicer font than the serif font used for most Virginia tags now.
I agree with you and I also think the word "Virginia" at the top looked better when it wasn't in all-caps.
Quote from: mgk920 on May 05, 2017, 03:42:04 PM
Quote from: kphoger on May 05, 2017, 01:45:43 PM
Quote from: PHLBOS on May 04, 2017, 03:39:52 PM
Quote from: SidS1045 on May 04, 2017, 02:39:42 PMThe Massachusetts green-on-white plates are still legal to display (if in good condition) and that series dates to 1983. There were some green-on-white plates in the same style issued as early as 1977, but they were the only style issued between 1983 and 1987, when the "Spirit of America" series were introduced.
Per the OP (bold emphasis added):
Quote from: thenetwork on May 03, 2017, 09:53:51 PMMy question is what 5 states have the oldest standard plate designs that you can still get today as new-issue
Given what the OP is looking for, MA's green-on-white plate design doesn't fall under the active circulation category and hasn't since 1993. My mother got one of those final greenies for her car back then; which was the only style in the Bay State that only required one plate (the rear) for standard passenger vehicle registrations.
Sorry, I didn't catch that qualifier in the OP. The answer, then, is Delaware. Delaware has had the same blue flat plate with golden serial and border since 1970. The only "change" since then has been the typeface (when production switched locations).
As for other states mentioned on this thread...
Alaska's current design dates to 1981.
Washington's current design dates to 1989 even if you don't count the modifications Kacie Jane mentioned.
Didn't Alaska just change their design?
Mike
Alaska recently offered an
alternate license plate design (with the bear in the middle). The gold one is still the standard issue.
For Nevada, it might depend on how you look at it.
The white-on-blue plate design has been around since 1969. There has been slight modifications to it over time (removal of year designator, lengthening "Nev" to "Nevada" and the position of the word, changes to alphanumeric scheme, etc.). The blue design was standard issue until the early 1980s (1982 according to DMV website, but other sites say they were issued as late as 1984), as the bighorn sheep design was introduced as the new standard issue in 1983. Owners of blue plates were not required to surrender them, and plates in good condition were (and still) allowed to be used for active registrations if they remained in good condition.
Although no longer standard issue, residents can special order "Circa 1982 Replica" blue plates to replace their older blue plates, replace other standard issue plates, or as a new personalized plate. The design is substantially similar to that last issued in the 1980s (although they appear to be a darker blue). I believe this replica plate began issue in the early 2000s (possibly around or right after the time of the statewide standard issue design switch from bighorn sheep to sunset circa 2002). So there has been a gap in the issuance of blue plates, but it's an design that dates back to 1982 (or 1969, depending on how you look at it).
Random thought: The original blue plates were actually debossed. The switch from blue to bighorn sheep corresponded with plates changing to embossed characters. When the state switched from embossed plates to flat plates circa 2006-2007, the blue replicas did as well. Replicas from the flat plate era didn't really look like the originals, due to the flat design (differing font) and darker blue. I haven't yet seen any new replicas since Nevada switched back to embossing, and would be curious to see whether the replicas are embossed or debossed (like the originals).
7/9/17 EDIT: Saw a couple blue replica plates while out yesterday. They are embossed using the same character set as current plates in all other designs–however, I think the word "Nevada" is also embossed in a small font.
Maryland is sort of a current example, but let me explain. In 1984, Maryland used a 350th anniversary plate honoring its 1634 founding as a British colony. About 1987-ish, this design fully replaced the previous one as the standard-issue plate. It went almost unchanged, except for the addition of the state website and the temporary move of production to New Jersey (giving the characters an odd look for Maryland plates) until 2010, when the War of 1812 plates arrived. Just last fall, the 1812 plates were replaced by the "MD Proud" ones, which are something of a return to the 350th Anniversary-based design, but with "Maryland" printed in red, and the Maryland flag at the bottom of the plate. So that makes about a combined 27 years for what started out as the 350th Anniversary design.
Why all the hate for the NC design? It's timeless and we love it!
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi703.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww34%2Fslorydn1%2FMustang%2520Pics%2F20141011_165624_zpstyznsvjs.jpg&hash=18dd63d548f226d5eb087c3a07797e9de205aec7)
Quote from: slorydn1 on May 09, 2017, 04:07:30 AM
Why all the hate for the NC design? It's timeless and we love it!
[snip]
It's not timeless, it's ancient!
Quote from: epzik8 on May 08, 2017, 10:08:43 PM
Maryland is sort of a current example, but let me explain. In 1984, Maryland used a 350th anniversary plate honoring its 1634 founding as a British colony. About 1987-ish, this design fully replaced the previous one as the standard-issue plate. It went almost unchanged, except for the addition of the state website and the temporary move of production to New Jersey (giving the characters an odd look for Maryland plates) until 2010, when the War of 1812 plates arrived. Just last fall, the 1812 plates were replaced by the "MD Proud" ones, which are something of a return to the 350th Anniversary-based design, but with "Maryland" printed in red, and the Maryland flag at the bottom of the plate. So that makes about a combined 27 years for what started out as the 350th Anniversary design.
I was just reading about that before bed last night. You might be a roadgeek if...
Quote from: slorydn1 on May 09, 2017, 04:07:30 AM
Why all the hate for the NC design? It's timeless and we love it!
IMHO,
- As stated, it is not timeless, it is just old.
- NC is a big state, with a LOT of history. LOTS of great things have happened there. You have been stuck on "two guys from Ohio invented the airplane here" for 35 years. One, move on. Two, "two guys from Ohio invented the airplane here" is the kind of thing that a state like mine, a small, insignificant and, pretty much failed, state where not much has ever happened, would get hooked up on. Not a mega successful state like NC. Pick something else.
- The grass in the scene represents one part of NC. The vast majority of the state does not look like that.
- It is too busy. Too much going on in the background.
- Obviously there is a pissing contest going on between UNC (baby blue), Duke (sorry HB) (regular blue) and NC State (red). Compromise plates (with subtile changes over the years depending on who is governor) with all three colors is too many colors that don't go together naturally.
License plates aren't supposed to be advertisements from the Tourism Board or lessons in state history. Just the number in one color and the background in another color and the name of the state, please.
Florida used to tweak the plate design every 5 to 7 years, but we've been stuck with the hideous orange blossom design for more than 13 years. There was talk a few years ago of getting a totally new design but that got derailed.
California is now issuing new plates based on the 1963-design yellow-orange lettering on a black plate but with either current 7-character numbers (a particular sequence has been set aside for these plates) or personalized ID. More often than not these show up on vintage cars -- although I've seen more than one Tesla (at least in these parts) sporting these extra-cost plate options. This particular color combination appears to be widely viewed, at least in auto-enthusiast circles, as one of if not the most attractive or distinctive CA plate issued in the postwar years.
How long has Hawaii been issuing their current 'rainbow' design?
Mike
Quote from: RG407 on June 12, 2017, 12:19:54 AM
Florida used to tweak the plate design every 5 to 7 years, but we've been stuck with the hideous orange blossom design for more than 13 years. There was talk a few years ago of getting a totally new design but that got derailed.
I agree... I hate websites on tags as well. The myFlorida.com has to go.
I liked the red/orange lettering from the late 1980s/early 90s..
I also miss the county name. You can still get county name(except for Miami-Dade i think) but most people or dealers choose "Sunshine State" or "In God We Trust"
LGMS428