Pennsylvania High Plates |
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| Type | Plate | Notes | Reporter | |
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| Passenger | HPE-5785 |
FKA-FKZ was not used. Bruce Bufalini notes that vowels (A and E are the only ones used in general issue plates) have not been used in the second position on plates in the Exx series, nor was E used in the second position of the Fxx series, but A was used in the second position of the Fxx series. No repeating first and second letters been used in the Exx or Fxx series, but they were in the Gxx series. This has been a departure from the Dxx series since DAA-DAZ and DDA-DDZ plates were issued.
Issuance of the updated visitPA design started on 22 DEC 04. FYC-9994 is the current high in the series before the change, which began at GBA. The current series advanced from GZZ to HBA since the letter A is not used in the second position on regular issue plates. Ed Angiolillo reports JBP-0441 on 2008-07-18. It was probably a vanity that was made in error with the keystone instead of a hyphen. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that permits vanities to be issued in the normal sequence, but they should appear with a hyphen where the keystone would normally be placed between the letters and numbers, to differentiate them from the normal series. |
Tom Perri 8/23/10 |
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| Non-passenger Plates | ||||
| Antique | V40K |
This is a new series (Antique Vehicle) that replaces the Antique Historic Car plate. Antique Historic Car plates were produced as high as 00ZW in that format, but it is not known if they went all the way to 99ZZ before the change was made.
Note: The first letter is the series letter. |
Bruce Bufalini 8/10/10 |
|
| Antique Motorcycle | P9L |
After reaching 99Z, the format changed to AA0. After reaching ZZ9, the format changed to A0A.
The middle character in the current high is a zero. |
John McDevitt 8/15/10 |
|
| Apportioned | AF-77337 | Now on visitPA base, starting at AF-50000. |
Jay Embee 8/11/10 |
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| Bus | BA-65608 |
No dash on the newer plates, at least as high as BA57627, which was reported by Eric Butler. Now Bus plates are appearing with it again, and they are now on the VisitPA.com base. Bird Man reports BA-59591 with the dash.
Apportioned Bus high BN-01713 2010-05-21 from John McDevitt. Still on www base. |
Bill Stephens 3/08/10 |
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| Classic Car | C19710 | Original series was 5 digit numeric with New Jersey dies (except for the 20000-21000 range) with room for only 5 digits. |
Bruce Bufalini 7/05/10 |
|
| Classic Motorcycle |
C 0456 L |
purple on white |
John McDevitt 8/12/06 |
|
| Collectible Vehicle | CV1455 | Yellow on black base. These plates are not dated and carry no stickers. Steve Ondik observes that these plates appear mainly on modified (such as drag type) vehicles mostly 20 years old and older. |
Bruce Bufalini 7/17/10 |
|
| Dealer | J87-766J | Dealers are now on the visitPA.com base. |
John McDevitt 7/17/10 |
|
| Dealer - Multi Purpose | MP4381D | Still on www base. |
John McDevitt 12/01/09 |
|
| Emergency Vehicle | EV-66586 |
Plates issued to Fire Departments and EMS services. Descendent of the Fire Dept. Plate, which was retired in the early 70s.
After being white on red since the 80s, this plate is now on the visitpa.com base with red embossed lettering. Earlier plates in the red on white format have been replaced by the new version, which also serves as a replacement for the former Fire Department plate. The new style seems to have started at EV-50000. The high on the previous type was only around EV-30011, however, EV-31053 was reported on the new format. The lower series is reserved for non-fire department apparatus, such as private ambulance companies. The higher series is for municipal departments. |
Jay Hughes 6/01/10 |
|
| Farm Truck | FM-5267C | Still on www base. |
Jay Embee 8/22/10 |
|
| Fire Department | FD-29401 | Fire Department plates have been recalled by PennDOT and have been replaced by the newer style Emergency Vehicle plates. |
John McDevitt 9/19/06 |
|
| Limousine | LM-26886 | Still on www base |
Bill Stephens 6/11/10 |
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| Mass Transit |
M 43436 T |
Now on the visitPA base. Changeover happened at M/T 40000. Also this marks the return of the stacked MT prefix which was absent in the series between MT-36000 and MT-39999. |
Tom Perri 8/03/10 |
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| Moped | BV456 | The series on www base started at BA000, switched to visitPA base at BN000. |
John McDevitt 9/12/09 |
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| Motor Home | HH-27142 |
Now on visitPA base with keystone separator in place of dash separator.
|
Steve Ondik 6/23/10 |
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| Motorcycle | 8038L |
After ZZZ99, 0000A.
John McDevitt reports PennDOT just released a redesigned regular motorcycle series to promote safety with the wording "LiveFreeRideAlive.com" along the bottom. It appears to have started at 8000L. Many of the original style plates are yet to be issued, and they will be issued until they run out. |
John McDevitt 5/07/10 |
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| Motorcycle - Dealer | 190C |
MCD at bottom
The alpha character is the last to advance, i.e., 000A-999A, 000B-999B, etc. |
John McDevitt 5/02/09 |
|
| Municipal | MG-3529F |
Issued to police cars and municipal vehicles.
Bill Jester advises that the series progressed from MG-00000 to MG-0000A. The 00000-MG series is for municipal trucks and trailers only. Both types are issued as singles. |
Bill Stephens 6/02/10 |
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| Municipal - Motorcycle | MG81B | These plates are usually found on police motorcycles. |
Bruce Bufalini 3/25/09 |
|
| Official | 31359-PA |
"Official Use" is the legend on the plate.
Used on vehicles owned by the Commonwealth. Bill Jester advises that Official Use plates on state cars have numbers first 00000-PA and are front and back. PA-00000 are on state trucks and trailers, and have progressed to PA-0000A. Truck/Trailer series - PA-1416A 2010-02-18 Bill Stephens |
Bill Stephens 3/09/10 |
|
| Omnibus | OB-75776 |
On the new visitPA base. John McDevitt speculates a changeover at OB-69000.
|
Mike Demes 7/14/10 |
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| Penn State (Official Use) | A39-66P | Official Plate issued to Penn State University owned vehicles. Plate looks similar to standard PA Official plates with a dark blue base and white characters. These plates are issued in pairs. Penn State official plates use the large "outline" keystone separator that was used on the 1977 passenger base. |
Bill Stephens 3/05/10 |
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| Permanent Trailer | PT-2957R |
Changed to the visitPA base at PT-0000L.
PT-1953A reported as a low by Jordan Irazabal. |
Jordan Irazabal 6/09/10 |
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| Person with Disability |
16463 P D |
Now on the visitPA base. Before all of the P/D nnnnZ series were issued, the format changed to the reversed numeric series with the P/D suffix for a short time (Nick Tsilakis reports 00022 P/D from the short period when a few of these were first seen), but the P/D prefix in the Z series returned until it was used up.
Bruce Bufalini reports a low of P/D 0045A. Disabled Person Motorcycle - PD-P71D |
Jay Embee 8/21/10 |
|
| Press Photographer | PP774 | Press Photographer license plates are issued to full-time newspaper, newsreel and television photographers. "PP" appears in small letters inside a "Keystone" to the left of the numbers. Still on the www base. Front and rear plates issued for this type. |
Bill Stephens 10/21/08 |
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| Repair Towing | RT-56351 |
Issued to mechanics and towing companies. On the visitPA.com base.
|
Mike Demes 8/09/10 |
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| Repossessor | RE-06120 |
Steve Ondik 8/23/08 |
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| Salvage Yard | WL-24078 | Now on the VisitPA base, probably starting at WL-23000. |
Bruce Bufalini 5/24/10 |
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| School Bus | SC-56432 | Now on the VisitPA base |
Heather Butera-Howell 5/19/10 |
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| School Vehicle | SV20624 |
Now on the VisitPA base
The Keystone separator was not used earlier, but it is back. SV19468 did not have it, but since about SV-19750 does have it. School Vehicle plate issued to private school bus companies for use on small passenger vehicles (like vans, etc.) for the use of transporting school children. Public school districts put municipal tags on vehicles they own that meet this criteria. |
Bill Stephens 4/30/10 |
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| Special Mobile | SME-798W |
Not yet on the VisitPA base.
Used mainly for heavy construction equipment that doesn't fall in the "Truck" category. |
Heather Butera-Howell 7/02/10 |
|
| Taxi | TX-47191 | Now on the VisitPA base. Change suspected at TX-46000. |
Heather Butera-Howell 7/09/10 |
|
|
Temple University (Official Use) |
T0246U | Official Plate issued to Temple University owned vehicles. Plate has a dark red base with white characters. |
Eric Butler 11/04/06 |
|
| Trailer | XGA-4113 | Upon reaching XZ-99999, a new series began at XBA-0000. The XA- series will not be used. Bill Stephens reports that the VisitPA base on trailer plates started at XCA-0000. Following the practice of not using vowels in the center position, the XE- series was skipped. |
Heather Butera-Howell 8/04/10 |
|
| Transporter | DT-10880 | Plate used for transporting vehicles between dealers and customers and other dealers. Now on VisitPA base. |
Mike Demes 8/24/10 |
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| Truck | YZK-9771 |
Bill Stephens 8/22/10 |
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| Specialty Plates | ||||
| Blue Lodge |
M 12308 B |
Now on visitPA base. Bruce Bufalini spotted the lowest, M/B 00001. |
Heather Butera-Howell 7/31/10 |
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| Breast Cancer |
B 03172 C |
Pa Breast Cancer Coalition
|
Tom Perri 4/21/10 |
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| Carnegie Mellon Univ. |
C 00326 M |
C/M 00002 is the low seen by Kit. |
Bruce Bufalini 3/17/08 |
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| Choose Life |
00863 C L |
Bruce Bufalini 4/24/10 |
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| Civil Air Patrol |
00019 C P |
Heather Butera-Howell 5/22/10 |
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| Coast Guard Auxiliary |
00069 A X |
Steve Ondik 12/31/08 |
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| D.A.R.E. |
D 3G98 A |
The format 0A00 series follows the 00A0 through 99Z9 series. The current high is the new style for this type. |
Heather Butera-Howell 5/19/10 |
|
| Disabled Veteran | DV-90456 |
Bluish purple on white. There are two types. The first type is unstacked, currently in the DV-30000 range.
High - DV-35217 2010-05-07 Bill Stephens The second type is for severe disability, and has the D/V stacked, as well as a handicapped symbol. This type is currently in the D/V 90000 range. High -D/V90456 2010-06-17 Bill Stephens |
Bill Stephens 8/10/10 |
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| Donate Life |
D 01135 N |
Steve Ondik 3/27/10 |
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| Drexel University |
D 40705 U |
www base |
Steve Ondik 6/09/07 |
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| Ducks Unlimited |
D 01800 U |
www base |
Steve Ondik 4/04/10 |
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| Duquesne University |
D 22090 U |
Number series probably started at 20000 on the www base |
Bruce Sakson 9/19/09 |
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| Elizabethtown College |
E 01105 C |
Heather Butera-Howell 5/17/10 |
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| Emergency Medical Services |
E 06541 M |
Jay Hughes 5/27/10 |
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| Fire Fighter | ff 38572 |
"FF" prefix is inside a Maltese cross. FF 35976 is the highest reported on the www base. The change to visitPA came at FF 360nn.
FF 00032 reported as a low by Jordan Irazabal. |
Eric Butler 10/14/06 |
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| Flagship Niagara |
F 958V N |
Progression: 0000 - 9999, 000A - 999A,
000B - 999B, etc. Plate was discontinued in 2/97 due to visibility issues. |
John McDevitt 1/05/06 |
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| Flyers' Wives Charities |
F 00961 L |
This is the only plate that features the logo of a Pennsylvania sports team. (Philadelphia Flyers) |
Tom Perri 5/19/10 |
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| Franklin and Marshall College |
00120 F M |
On the newest base |
Steve Ondik 12/17/06 |
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| Fraternal Order of Police |
F 18000 P |
Now on the visitpa.com base |
John McDevitt 3/30/10 |
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| Friends of Valley Forge Park |
00027 V F |
Specialty tag to support Valley Forge National Park.
Low - 00001 V/F |
Ed Angiolillo 4/09/09 |
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| Gold Star Family |
G 0450 S F |
These plates are issued to desiring families of those killed in combat.
|
Steve Noll 8/05/09 |
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| Hearing Impaired | HE-03055 | Seen on PAPL8S.com |
license 1834 2/06/10 |
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| Korean War Veteran |
K 02317 V |
Steve Ondik 3/30/10 |
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| LaSalle University |
L 00283 U |
LaSalle University and Lehigh University (listed below) both use L/U, but LaSalle has it in the prefix position, while Lehigh has it in the suffix position. |
John McDevitt 11/06/07 |
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| Lebanon Valley College |
L 01156 V |
Series started at L/V 00000. Still on www base. |
Bill Stephens 5/08/10 |
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| Legislator (RET) |
P 186 A |
Heather Butera-Howell 5/22/10 |
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| Lehigh University |
02150 L U |
On VisitPA base. |
Luke Roman 5/22/09 |
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| Lions International |
L 00427 I |
Steve Ondik 7/12/09 |
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| Mansfield University |
M 40224 U |
Now on the VisitPA base
Numbers appeared to begin at 40000 on the current base. |
Tom Perri 8/14/10 |
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| National Greyhound Adopt. Prog. |
G 01630 H |
Eric Butler reported the first plate of this type, G/H 00000. |
John McDevitt 10/23/09 |
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| National Guard |
N 3357 G |
Steve Ondik 6/26/09 |
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| Notre Dame Alumni Association |
02351 N D |
Bruce Sakson 7/31/09 |
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| Order of Elks |
O 20142 E |
Heather Butera-Howell 5/22/10 |
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| Otter |
R 7H76 C |
Progression for DARE, Otter, and Railroad plates: 0000 - 9999, 000A - 999A, 000B - 999B, etc. and up to 999Z, then 00A0 - 999A9, 00B0 - 99B9, etc. and up to 99Z9, after which the format will be 0A00. |
Bill Stephens 3/06/10 |
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| Owl |
W 7188R R |
Progression: 00000 - 99999, 0000A - 9999A, 0000B - 9999B, etc. and now up to the R suffix. O suffix was not used. Owl plates are no longer being issued, but they are still being renewed.
Jordan Irazabal reports W/R 00016 as a low. |
Bob “Vanity Bob” Brawley 5/28/01 |
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| PA State Nurses Association |
R 00106 N |
Steve Ondik 5/17/09 |
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| Pearl Harbor Survivor |
P S0339 H |
Embossed
White background with "DECEMBER 7, 1941" in red at top, state name at red at bottom, "PEARL HARBOR SURVIVOR" in three stacked horizontal lines at the left in blue, and the stacked "P/H" followed by a small vertically centered "S" and then the registration number in blue. |
Bill Stephens 5/01/10 |
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| Penn State Alumni |
P 27671 S |
PSU Alumni Assoc. plates changed to visitpa.com base around PS250nn; new plates have Penn State shield in blue. |
Jordan Irazabal 6/22/10 |
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| Penn State University |
10014 P S |
Started at 10000 P/S.
The bottom reads PENN STATE UNIVERSITY, and has the Nittany Lion logo. Not to be confused with the PENN STATE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION plate which has the Penn State shield logo, this one directly benefits the university. The one-time fee is $179, compared to a standard special-fund plate at $35 one-time or a vanity at $20 one-time. |
Bill Stephens 5/09/10 |
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| Prisoner Of War | POW-T80 |
The POW plate is another type that uses the large 1977 "outline" keystone separator.
|
Steve Ondik 6/23/10 |
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| Professional Firefighter |
P 05266 F |
Current base
There are two different blocks of numbers for these plates. The lower block of numbers has the legend "INTL ASSN FIRE FIGHTERS" in the yellow bar across the bottom, and the IAFF logo in red with black letters to the left of the P/F serial. The second block of numbers, apparently starting at P/F 20000, is similar in design, but the legend across the bottom is "PHILA FIRE FIGHTERS' UNION" with a similar logo to the other plate in the same position, but with "22" (for Local 22) in the center, and "LOCAL, PHILA, IAFF, and FIRE" appearing in the Maltese Cross logo. The stacked P/F on both types is screened, but the numbers are embossed. Our thanks to Bill Stephens for this information. Local 22 series high - P/F 23097 |
Steve Ondik 2/24/10 |
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| Purdue University |
00057 P C |
Newest base |
Steve Ondik 6/04/07 |
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| Purple Heart |
P 08673 H |
Steve Ondik 4/05/10 |
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| Railroad |
R 63X6 R |
Bill Stephens 5/09/10 |
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| Seton Hall University |
12/31/69 |
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| Shriners |
S 00191 P |
Jay Embee 7/29/10 |
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| St. Joseph's University |
S 01585 J |
www base |
Steve Ondik 6/14/09 |
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| Steel Worker | ||||
| Street Rod |
5903 S R |
John McDevitt 7/17/10 |
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| Temple University |
T 03358 U |
Now on the VisitPA base |
Heather Butera-Howell 5/27/10 |
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| Tiger |
P Z811A Z |
Progression: 0000 - 9999, 000A - 999Z, 00A0 - 99Z9, 0A00 - 9Z99, A000A - A999Z, B000A - B999Z, etc.
Very rare O used on this plate (was not mistaken for a 0 being that PA dies have the letters slightly smaller than numbers) Low - PZ0002 spotted by Tom Perri |
Bill Stephens 9/16/09 |
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| U.S. Armed Forces Retired |
D 03451 D |
Heather Butera-Howell 5/22/10 |
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| Univ Mich Alumni |
U 00290 M |
Joey Hurd 7/13/07 |
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| University of Delaware |
U 00316 D |
Heather Butera-Howell 7/31/10 |
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| University of Pennsylvania |
U 04323 P |
Issued to Penn alumni as a special-fund plate. |
Bill Stephens 2/14/10 |
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| University of Pittsburgh |
U 04329 P |
Newest base |
Steve Ondik 1/01/10 |
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| Veteran |
01603 U S |
New plate series on visitpa.com base; full color US Flag to left of plate, with "US" stacked to the right of the numbers. |
Jordan Irazabal 8/02/10 |
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| Veterans of Foreign Wars |
F 02357 W |
Steve Ondik 6/02/09 |
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| Vietnam Veterans of America |
V 06889 N |
Newest base |
Steve Ondik 1/21/10 |
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| Vietnam War Veteran |
V 06887 W |
Jordan Irazabal 3/20/10 |
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| Villanova University |
00254 V U |
Jordan Irazabal 4/19/10 |
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| Virginia Tech |
00274 V T |
00001 V/T reported as a low. |
Brendan S. 11/23/09 |
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| We The People |
U 04628 S |
Special issue from 1987 commemorating the bicentennial of the US Constitution. |
Bill Stephens 11/11/09 |
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| West Chester University |
W 20345 C |
Appears number series started at 20000, on visitPA base
|
Tom Perri 7/09/10 |
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| West Point Alumni |
W 1035 P |
Jay Embee 6/20/10 |
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| World War II Vet |
W 02886 W |
Steve Ondik 9/02/09 |
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| WVU Alumni Association |
W 01475 V |
West Virginia University Alumni Association, on visitPA base |
Bruce Bufalini 1/12/10 |
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| York College |
01116 Y C |
Steve Ondik 5/21/10 |
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| Inactive Series | ||||
| Passenger - 7-digit blue | CEG-3865 |
Bruce Bufalini 4/01/00 |
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| Passenger - You've Got A Friend | RWP-255 |
Jeff Ellis 8/27/00 |
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