I'm looking for the Highway Gothic font used in the '50s, '60s and '70s which had the F and E with a shorter second horizontal line, 9s that don't make a half circle at the bottom (same for 6s but upside down), 5s that don't curve upwards at the bottom, and a very thin variants used on shields. There are many other differences, but these are the ones I can think of at the moment. Does anyone know where and if I can download this as a font file?
The closest I can find is Saa, which has Series A-F. However, I believe it was intended for usage on license plates.
Series A:
(https://i.imgur.com/iF4GRjL.png)
Series E:
(https://i.imgur.com/2Z51CSC.png)
Series F:
(https://i.imgur.com/TMiwfji.png)
I can provide you a copy if this is what you are looking for.
Based on the time period you mention it's pretty likely you might be looking for a state-specific custom font variant. Most of these have been lost to time because they were never recorded in any sort of standard document (they were deviations from the standard alphabet in the MUTCD, which more or less looked the same then as it did now).
How many different state variations were there? The two I'm most familiar with are what's called the LeHay font for Maine, and the PennDOT font for numbers in route markers.
Speaking of which, I saw a US 20 sign in West Yellowstone, Montana, that looks very much like a LeHay sign.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 14, 2021, 10:59:09 AM
How many different state variations were there? The two I'm most familiar with are what's called the LeHay font for Maine, and the PennDOT font for numbers in route markers.
Speaking of which, I saw a US 20 sign in West Yellowstone, Montana, that looks very much like a LeHay sign.
Massachusetts had its own almost-LeHay.