A mix of old and new

[US71]

This is subtle: on the right is 1960's era MO Shield; on the left is 1990's era complete with outer white border



86 is also a steel sign and 13 is aluminum

[Central Avenue]

Wow, that is subtle. I wouldn't have even noticed the white border in that particular photo if you hadn't pointed it out.

[US71]

Wow, that is subtle. I wouldn't have even noticed the white border in that particular photo if you hadn't pointed it out.

The silhouette is also slightly smaller on the 60's sign and uses smaller numbers.

[CL]

If we're comparing shields, then here's this:



The left is a late-1980s spec state highway shield, the right a mid or late 1960s spec.

[vdeane]

Got a similar one from Vermont; both old and new shield designs are plainly obvious:

[Dr Frankenstein]

Unless that stretch of VT-36 is a locally-maintained road... right?

[shadyjay]

Correct.   That's why new signs on I-91 at Exit 5 and I-89 at Exit 2 show both the circle and the green oval shields.

[hbelkins]

If we're comparing shields, then here's this:



The left is a late-1980s spec state highway shield, the right a mid or late 1960s spec.

The stenciled numbers caught my eye. District 11 in Kentucky used to stencil numbers onto signs years ago but few examples are left out in the field.

[cjk374]

Which of the VT signs is old and which is new...I think I know, but I just want to make sure.

[agentsteel53]

Which of the VT signs is old and which is new...I think I know, but I just want to make sure.

none are particularly old.  the circle is a style introduced earlier (~1973 or so) but both are currently in vogue.  the green shield (about a mid-90s invention, I think) is state-maintaned routes, while the circle is now used only for town-maintained roads, but was used for both classifications from 1973 to the mid-90s.

I do not know if 36 is a town-maintained road there*, the sign may be old and therefore rendered inaccurate by the 1990s changes... or it may be modern and accurate.

(* and frankly, I don't think the general driving public cares - making me wonder why Vermont bothers with two different shield standards.)

[Dr Frankenstein]

Probably because they don't want to slap their name on routes they are not responsible for the maintenance of.