马里兰的乘客car license plate

Rick Kretschmer's License Plate Archives

马里兰的乘客car license plate

A Pictorial History of Maryland License Plates

Passenger car plates dated 1910 to 1975
(plus pre-state plates from 1904 to 1910)

This page presents the history of Maryland passenger car license plates from 1904 through those expiring in March 1975.

Latest noteworthy updates to this page
  • September 2, 2023 –Replaced photo of someone else's 1910 plate with a photo of a different person's 1910 plate that's in better condition.
  • August 16, 2022 –Added a version 2 1955 plate, which has no slots flanking the year. Replaced photo of someone else's 1914 plate with that of one I've added to my collection. Minor text updates.

Introduction

From 1910 until 1937, Maryland license plates displayed the year of issuance. During most or all of that period, plates were valid during the calendar year and expired on December 31 of the year indicated. Plates issued in 1938 indicated the expiration date of March 31, 1939 on the plate. Thus, there was no dated 1938 plate. From no later than 1939 until 1986, all passenger car plates expired annually on March 31, and indicate on the plates themselves, or via metal tabs or stickers, the year in which they expire. In some years, the expiration month, or month and day were indicated, at other times only the expiration year was shown. I consistently refer to plates by the year that is shown on the plate, tab, or sticker, regardless of when the plate was actually issued.

从1910年到194年所有马里兰乘用车板块4 were issued in pairs. 1945 to 1947 plates were issued as singles; 1948 to 1953 plates were issued in pairs; 1954 and 1955 plates were issued singly. All Maryland passenger car plates since those expiring in 1956 have been issued in pairs. All Maryland passenger car plate numbers from 1910 to 1953 were all-numeric, but not all all-numeric plates were for passenger cars. The 1957 expiration plates were the first to conform to the North American standard dimensions of 12 inches wide by 6 inches high.

This page addresses sequentially-numbered Maryland passenger car plates. However, while studying these, it's important to be aware of the existence of organizational member reserved-series plates, which between 1954 and 1986 expirations, had passenger car numbering formats with specific letter prefixes. Often, these reserved serial letters were within the range of sequentially-issued plates and cannot be readily distinguished without knowing the specific reserved letter codes. In other instances, the letter codes reserved for an organization were outside the range of sequentially-issued plates, or included letters such as the letter "I" that were not used on sequential passenger car plates. These organizational member plates are are only mentioned in passing on this page, as they're covered in detail on myMaryland organizational member plates through 1986page.

Similarly, but even less obvious and certainly less well-documented, are the ranges of all-numeric plate numbers reserved for purposes other than statewide passenger car registrations from 1910 through 1953. I address these to the extent that I know about them throughout this page.

My "Pictorial History" pages are intended to be a supplement to the information found in the ALPCA Archives. I am providing additional details and additional photos not found in the archives, and clarifying information when appropriate. When the ALPCA archives cover a subject in great detail, I do not repeat that detail here. I sincerely hope that you find this information useful.

If you find an error or have additional information,or can provide a plate or a photo of a plate that I'm missing,please send me an e-mail. There's a link to my e-mail address at the bottom of every page. Please note that all plates shown that are credited to another person are plates that I am still seeking for my own collection.

Maryland pre-state license plates, 1904-1910

pre-state #807pre-state #1643pre-state #3232pre-state #3908pre-state #5918 rearpre-state #5918 frontpre-state #9745
The solid plate number 5918 went on the rear, while its fraternal twin, the mesh 5918 plate, was obviously intended to be mounted on the front. The holes allowed air to pass through to the radiator.
(Plate numbers 807, 1643, and 5918 – Willard plates; plate numbers 3232 and 9745 – Francis plates; plate number 3908 – photo provided by and plate owned by an individual who does not wish to be credited.

Like many other states at the time, the state of Maryland began requiring vehicles to be registered with the state several years before it actually issued license plates. In Maryland's case, vehicle registration began in 1904, but state-issued plates were not produced until July 1910. During the intervening years, motorists were required to display their state-issued registration number on their vehicles. This was usually done using license plates that were either homemede or made from a kit. As you can see, a wide variety of materials and styles were used. One of the more popular methods was to attach metal house numbers to a piece of dark-colored leather. Motorist-provided and/or locally-issued plates that preceded state-issued plates are collectively called "pre-states".

Many Maryland pre-state plates have a consistent format of the registration number followed by the stacked state abbreviation "M/D". These are obviously Maryland pre-state plates. But many pre-state plates that are known to be from Maryland did not have any state identifier, just the registration number. Others identified the state in fairly obscure ways, such as simply with the letter "M" before the plate number. During the pre-state years, once a motorist registered his vehicle with the state and was assigned a registration number, he kept that number indefinitely. There was therefore no reason to put the year on the plate. Registration numbers began at number 1 and got up into the 9000s during this six-year period. Based on the numbers of vehicles registered each year, one can determine the year that a given registration number was first assigned.

马里兰的乘客car plates, 1910-1916

19101911 passenger1912 passenger1913 passenger1914 passenger1915 passenger1916 passenger
(1910 – Ritterhoff plate; 1912 – plate owner not known

The state of Maryland first issued license plates in July 1910, and during the first several years, the plates changed frequently and substantially. The 1910 passenger car plates were reportedly made of tin and were hand-embossed and hand-painted. Serial numbers could be from one to four digits, and to the right of the serial were the lettersMandDdisplayed vertically, and below that, the year1910displayed horizontally. Jim Fox describes these plates further in his 1997 book,License Plates of the United States:

The 1910 plate is made of a particularly thin metal, and was lightly embossed by hammering the plate over wooden dies. This manufacturing process produced one of the most primitive of all state issues and has made finding a fine example of a 1910 Maryland plate a real challenge!

Apparently Maryland realized that the passenger car plates they issued in 1910 were of inferior quality, because in 1911 they switched to much more durable steel coated with porcelain. Passenger car plates were made of these materials through 1914. During these years, the serial numbers for passenger car plates could be four or five digits. To the right of the serial were the lettersMDdisplayed horizontally, above the year which was also horizontal. In 1911 and 1912, the year included the century, and serials began at either 1000 or 1001; in 1913 and 1914, only the last two digits of the year were indicated, and serials began at 2000 or 2001. My four-digit 1911 plate measures 12 inches by 6 inches, the same size as modern plates. My four-digit 1913 plate measures 12 3/4 inches by 6 inches, and my five-digit 1914 plate is 14 inches by 6 inches. There were two varieties of the 1914 plate; numbers up to about 16000 had the "M" in the state abbreviation with the center point above the bottom of the two legs, while numbers higher than that had the "M" with the center point level with the bottom of the two legs.

For 1915, Maryland again switched materials and maufacturing processes, this time to embossed heavy steel. The basic layout remained the same, with the lettersMDover the two-digit year, to the right of the serial number. 1916 plates were similar to the 1915s, except that the state abbreviation and two-digit year were moved to the left of the serial. This was likely done because the colors of the 1916 plate were very close to those of the 1913 plate; the different location of the state abbreviation and year made the plates visually different. In 1915 and possibly 1916, passenger car serial numbers began at 4000 or 4001. Plate sizes during these years were approximately 15 inches by 6 inches, but the exact measurements of plates in my collection vary between 1/8 inch less than, to 1/4 inch more than these dimensions.

我们不像今天,司机谁越过州界re often required to register their vehicles in each jurisdiction in which they drove. This was particularly evident in the Washington, D.C. area. D.C. is bordered by Maryland on three sides, and its residents often crossed into Maryland (and vice-versa). I've seen many vintage photos of passenger cars displaying both D.C. and Maryland plates. I mention this because other license plate historians have apparently determined that blocks of Maryland plate numbers were reserved for residents of Washington, D.C. who drove into Maryland. This is reported to have occurred from 1910 through 1923. The specific plate number ranges varied from year-to-year, and it's not completely clear what those were in any given year. The vintage photos aren't much help, because Maryland residents who drove into D.C. also displayed plates from both jurisdictions.

1910 – black on yellow – hand-embossed thin tin – M / D / 1910 right
1911 – white on black – porcelain – MD / 1911 right
1912 – blue on white – porcelain – MD / 1912 right
1913 – yellow on black – porcelain – MD / 13 right
1914 – white on green – porcelain – MD / 14 right
1915 – white on blue – embossed heavy steel – MD / 15 right
1916 – yellow on black – embossed heavy steel – MD / 16 left

马里兰的乘客car plates, 1917-1921

1917 passenger1918 passenger1919 passenger1920 passenger1921 passenger

1920 passenger
1918 plate restamped to 1920
restamped state and year on 1920 plate
(click to enlarge)

In 1917, Maryland plates changed significantly once again, but this time the style remained stable for five years. The state abbreviation and year were moved to the bottom edge of the plate in odd years, and to the top edge in even years. Three small dashes were also embossed among the state and year in the following pattern:-MD-19yy-A dash was also introduced into the serial number, between the hundreds and thousands digits. Serial numbers began at 20-000 or 20-001 from 1917 through 1920, and so from this point on, all passenger car plate numbers were at least five digits, and beginning in 1918 some were six digits. In 1921 the lowest passenger serial was raised to 30-000 or 30-001, and this remained the lowest passenger serial number through 1953. Plate sizes during these years were approximately 15 inches by 6 inches, but the exact measurements of plates in my collection vary between 1/8 inch less than, to 1/4 inch more than these dimensions.

Some leftover 1918 plates had the state abbreviation and year restamped to 1920 and were then issued in 1920; one of these is shown at right. You can best see the original stamping between the "D" and the dash. Similarly, some 1919 leftovers were restamped and used in 1921. Plates originally stamped in 1921 used new dies with a serif font.

Again, apparently blocks of Maryland plate numbers were reserved for residents of Washington, D.C. who drove into Maryland during these years, but I don't have good detailed information about which numbers those were.

1917 – dark green on white 1919 – black on white 1921 – red on white
1918 – white on gray 1920 – white on red

马里兰的乘客car plates, 1922-1936

1922 passenger1923 passenger1924 passenger1925 passenger1926 passenger1927 passenger1928 passenger1929 passenger1930 passenger1931 passenger1932 passenger1933 passenger1934 passenger1935 passenger1936 passenger

Starting with the 1922 plates, the full state name and four-digit year (without dashes) were embossed onto the edge of the plate, continuing the pattern of the top edge in even years, and the bottom edge during odd years. In mid-year 1923, the serial dies were changed to a thick-stroke, sans-serif font, similar but not identical to the dies used between 1917 and 1920. Lower bolt slots were added to the plates in approximately 1931. Plate dimensions continued to vary between 1/8 inch less than to 1/4 inch more than 15 inches by 6 inches until the mid-to-late 1920s, at which time the dimensions became precisely and consistently 15 inches by 6 inches.

Again, it's been reported that specific blocks of Maryland plate numbers were reserved for residents of Washington, D.C. who drove into Maryland. The blocks varied from year to year, and I don't have reliable information about what those were. However, I do have a Maryland motor vehicle registration card from 1923 that indicates that plate number 225-623 was issued to a D.C. resident. This practice ended after 1923, as a reciprocity agreement between Maryland and D.C. enabled residents of each to drive in the other using only the plates issued in their home jurisdiction.

It's also been reported by others that during most of this period, specific blocks of plate numbers were assigned to passenger cars registered to Baltimore residents, to passenger cars registered to members of various civic organizations, and to trucks registered statewide. Which groups had a number block, and what those number ranges were, apparently varied from year to year, and with few exceptions, I don't have good information about the specifics. Also during this period, very low numbers on what would seem to be passenger car plates were actually issued to buses.

The 1934 and some 1936 plates were distinctive from the other years in this group. The 1934 plate commemorated the 300th year since Maryland was first settled; the top of the plate read1634 Maryland 1934with very short characters, while the bottom edge of the plate contained the wordTercentenaryusing the same short-character font. It has been reported that not all 1934 plates contained the word "Tercentenary", but I've never seen one without it.

Most 1936 plates readMaryland 1936, which is consistent with other years. However, some 1936 plates that would seem to be passenger car plates were issued with one plate of each pair using a locking strip, which was intended to keep people from moving the plates from one vehicle to another. These plates had two holes cut out of the plate on the either side ofMaryland; the locking strip was visible through the holes, and it was stamped with "19" visible through the left hole and "36" visible through the right hole. The other plate in each pair did not have holes or any locking strip, but nevertheless were stamped19 Maryland 36in order to match its mate. Thus, there were actually three styles of 1936 plates. The known number range of 1936 locking strip plates is approximately 150-000 to 199-999. That number range was what was assigned to not-for-hire trucks that year. I show photos of such plates on my开云体育手机版 page.

1922 – white on black 1927 – black on white 1932 – red on white
1923 – black on yellow 1928 – white on medium blue 1933 – white on dark blue
1924 – orange on black 1929 – bright blue on white 1934 – yellow on black
1925 – white on dark green 1930 – white on dark green 1935 – dark blue on white
1926 – white on black 1931 – 白色深红色 1936 – white on black

马里兰的乘客car plates, 1937-1941

1937 passenger1939 passenger1940 passenger1941 passenger

1937年至1941年为Maryla是一个过渡的时期nd license plates. For 1937, Maryland introduced smaller plates which were 13 inches long by 6 inches high; this size would then remain constant through 1956. The smaller-sized plates also necessitated the use of different dies in order for the serial numbers to still fit. For the 1941 expiration plates, the dies were changed again to more rounded chararacters with thinner strokes; however, these were used only for a single year.

At some point in the late 1930s, Maryland converted from calendar year registrations to registrations that expired annually on March 31. This was first indicated on the plates themselves in 1938. The plates issued at the beginning of the 1938-39 registration year only indicated the expiration date thus:Ex-3-31-39There were no Maryland plates made with the year 1938 on them. All dated Maryland license plates, renewal tabs, and renewal stickers from this point forward always indicate the expiration year, rather than issue year. Annual, statewide March 31 passenger car plate expirations continued until 1986, when staggered registration periods were implemented.

其他人已经报道,在这一年s, specific blocks of plate numbers were assigned to passenger cars registered to Baltimore residents, to passenger cars registered to members of various civic organizations, and to trucks registered statewide. I don't have good information about the specifics. Also during this period, very low numbers on what would seem to be passenger car plates were actually issued to buses.

1937 – black on white 1939 – white on dark green 1941 – white on dark blue
1938 – No dated 1938 plate 1940 – dark green on white

马里兰的乘客car plates, 1942-1947

1942 passenger1943 passenger1944 passenger1945 passenger1946 passenger1947 passenger

restamped serial digit on 1946 plate
"3" restamped to "5"
on 1946 plate

1942板的过期日期搬到the upper corners, flanking the state name, with the month and date in the left corner and the four digit year in the right corner. The legendDrive Carefullywas embossed along the bottom edge of the plate, and the colors were black characters on a silver background. Despite the silver color, the plates were painted steel, not unpainted aluminum. Like all previous Maryland plates, the 1942 plates were issued in pairs. The 1942 plate became the first Maryland multi-year base plate, as metal tabs dated 1943 and 1944 were issued to extend the expiration year stamped on the base plate. The 1943 tabs were also issued in pairs, but only a single 1944 tab was issued.

A new base plate was issued for 1945 expirations; it was identical in design to the 1942 base and differed only in that the colors were reversed to silver on black; however, only a single plate was issued on the 1945 base. Renewal tabs were again issued (obviously singly) to extend the life of the base plate to 1946 and 1947.

An interesting detail about the 1945 base is that many of them were stamped a second time to change a digit of the serial number. There does not appear to be a consistent pattern for this restamping. The 1946 expiration plate pictured above had its first digit changed from a "3" to a "5", as you can see from the close-up photo at right. The 1947 expiration plate shown above had its first digit changed from a "4" to a "1". I've seen photos of other restamped 1945 base plates, including one where the first digit was left unchanged as a "5", but the second digit was changed from a "2" to a "5".

Also, on my 1945 base plates, it looks like the last digit of the year was also restamped to change the expiration year from 1943 to 1945. This is difficult to see in person, and would be impossible to see in a photo. because of the size of the digit. I've seen a photo of a 1943 sample plate, but no real 1943 expiration plates were issued. It would seem that the state had intended to produce 1943 expiration plates and had already manufactured some, when, due to the metal shortage caused by World War II, they decided to hold on to the 1943 plates they already had and issue the 1943 renewal tabs instead. These unissued 1943 plates were made in pairs, but they issued 1945 plates as singles. Apparently, all of the 1943 expiration plates were restamped to have 1945 expirations, and one of each pair was restamped to a create a different plate number.

其他人已经报道,在这一年s, specific blocks of plate numbers were assigned to passenger cars registered to Baltimore residents, to passenger cars registered to members of various civic organizations, and to trucks registered statewide. I don't have good information about the specifics. Also during this period, very low numbers on what would seem to be passenger car plates were actually issued to buses.

1942 base plate and tab information
1942 – black on silver plate, no tab – base plates issued in pairs
1943 – black on yellow tab – tabs issued in pairs
1944 – silver on black tab – single tab issued

1945 base plate and tab information
1945 – silver on black plate, no tab – single base plate issued
1946 – black on silver tab – single tab issued
1947 – black on yellow tab – single tab issued

马里兰的乘客car plates, 1948-1953

1948 passenger1949 passenger1950 passenger1951 passenger1952 passenger1953 passenger
On the plate with the 1949 tab shown above, the motorist didn't follow the normal procedure and bend the flaps of the tab and insert them into the tab slots on the plate; rather, he drilled holes into the tab flaps and the plate itself, and bolted the tab flaps to the front of the plate.

The 1948 base plate design was a simplified version of the 1942 and 1945 bases. The "Drive Carefully" slogan was removed (perhaps the state thought everyone was now driving carefully enough), and the month, day, and century of the expiration date also vanished. The two-digit expiration year was moved to the bottom center and was flanked by tab slots. Most 1948 base plates were made of unpainted aluminum, although some steel plates are also known to exist. Renewal tabs were issued annully to extend the life of the plate to 1949, 1950, and 1951. This base plate and all of its renewal tabs were issued in pairs.

For 1952 expirations, a new base plate was issued. This plate was made of steel, but was otherwise similar in design to the 1948 base. The major difference was that the expiration month was reintroduced, this time spelled out in full. The tab slots remained on either side of the two-digit year. Thus, on passenger car plates, the bottom of the plate readMarch|52|, with the vertical lines indicating the location of the tab slots. The 1952 base plates and 1953 renewal tabs were both issued in pairs. After these plates expired in 1953, a new plate expiring in 1954 was issued.

Sometime between 1948 and 1952, most Maryland non-passenger registrations were shifted to expire annually each April 30, while passenger car and motorcycle registrations continued to expire annually on March 31. On the 1952 base, non-passenger plate types also had the expiration month embossed onto them, although of course the month was April.

其他人已经报道,在这一年s, specific blocks of plate numbers were assigned to passenger cars registered to Baltimore residents, to passenger cars registered to members of various civic organizations, and to trucks registered statewide. It's clear that the number range for trucks on the 1952 base was the 800-000 series, since those are all stamped with an April expiration month. Others have concluded that the range for trucks on the 1948 base included both the 800-000 and 900-000 series, but this doesn't make much sense to me, and so I just don't know what number range was used for trucks on the 1948 base. I elaborate on this a bit more on the开云体育手机版 page. Also during this period, very low numbers on what would seem to be passenger car plates were actually issued to buses.

1948 base plate and tab information
1948 – black on silver plate, no tab
1949 – silver on black tab
1950 – white on red tab
1951 – white on black tab

1952 base plate and tab information
1952 – white on black plate, no tab
1953 – black on white tab

马里兰的乘客car plates, 1954-1956

1954 passenger1955 passenger, version 11955 passenger, version 21956 passenger
Two 1955 plates are shown, with and without year tab slots, respectively.

The Maryland plates issued in March 1953 and expiring in March 1954 had a number of differences from prior years. These dated 1954 plates were the first Maryland passenger car plates to have an alpha-numeric serial number format, rather than an all-numeric serial. Also for the first time, trucks and some other non-passenger vehicles were issued plates with a serial format distinct from those of passenger cars.

With the obvious exception of motorcycle plates, all Maryland license plates dated 1954 through 1956 were 13 inches wide by 6 inches high, and had an embossed border, long bolt slots,Marylandat the top, a two-digit expiration year centered at the bottom, embossed serial separator(s) whose shape varied from year to year, and distinctive serial dies not used before or since. All types of plates from a given year shared the same color scheme. All sequentially-issued passenger car plates, and most organizational member plates, were in the formatxx-00-00,但唯一的字母是通过使用L,除外的uding the letter I. Lead zeroes were not used, and so serial numbers began at 10-01 in each letter series.

1954年和1955年的板块只有singl发行e plates. All 1954 and most 1955 plates had tab slots flanking the two-digit expiration year, allowing for the possibility that renewal tabs could be attached for subsequent years. However, these were never used, as new plates were issued each year. A small number of 1955 expiration plates were made without tab slots; these have high plate numbers and were issued late in the registration year.

The 1956 plates were issued in pairs, as have all Maryland passenger car plates since then. 1956 plates were made without tab slots.

1954 – yellow on black two vertical rectangle separators, | tab slots |
1955 – black on school bus yellow two diamond separators, | tab slots | on most; no tab slots on late issues
1956 – dark red on white two colon separators, no tab slots

马里兰的乘客car plates, 1957-1970

Passenger car plates, 1957-1964

1957 passenger1958 passenger1959 passenger1960 passenger1961 passenger1962 passenger1963 passenger1964 passenger with long bolt slots1964 passenger with short bolt slots
Two 1964 expiration plates are shown, with long and short bolt slots, respectively.

During the mid-1950s, the various motor vehicle departments throughout the U.S. and Canada all agreed to standardize the size of passenger car plates. This new standard called for plates to be 12 inches long and 6 inches high, and with 7 inches horizontally between the centers of the bolt holes. The 1957 expiration plates were the first Maryland plates to conform to these standards, although they were made with elongated bolt slots to accommodate older vehicles with attachment points that were other than 7 inches apart. The serial dies first seen on 1957 expiration plates were used continuously until mid-year 1974.

Virtually all Maryland license plates from this period had an embossed border, long bolt slots,Marylandat the top,Exp-followed by a specific expiration date at the bottom, and embossed separator(s) whose shape varied from year to year. All types of plates from a given year shared the same color scheme. All regular passenger car plates and samples, and most organizational member plates, were in serial formatxx-00-00, and all of these have a March 31 expiration date. Lead zeroes were not used; each letter series began with plate number 10-01.

Again, the only serial letters used were between A and L, excluding I, through 1961 expirations. Beginning with the dated 1962 plate, any letter A to Z could be used, except for I, O, Q, or U. Because more letters were used in the second position, the first position letter never got past F or possibly G, except for organizational member reserved series, between 1962 and 1964.

It's been said that the black-on-light-green color scheme of the dated 1961 plates resulted in a lot of complaints from unhappy motorists, and that's why this color combination was never repeated. I was too young to remember these myself.

Late-issue 1964 expiration plates were made with the short bolt slots otherwise found on 1965-1970 expiration plates. This change began at approximately the FN series.

1957 – dark green on cream two square separators 1961 – black on light green two colon separators
1958 – cream on dark green two square separators 1962 – dark blue on white two square separators
1959 – dark blue on white two colon separators 1963 – white on blue two diamond separators
1960 – white on blue two diamond separators 1964 – dark blue on white two colon separators
Passenger car plates, 1965-1970

1965 passenger1966 passenger1967 passenger1968 passenger1969 passenger1970 passenger with short bolt slots1970 passenger with round bolt holes
Two 1970 expiration plates are shown, with short bolt slots and round bolt holes, respectively.

The dated 1965-1970 plates differed from the dated 1957-1964 plates in several subtle ways. First, the state name and expiration date switched positions. Second, the separator between the second and third numeric digits disappeared. And third, the bolt slots were noticeably smaller. The highest first serial letter issued each year advanced from G to H to J during these years.

The embossed separator between the letters and numbers was replaced with a space separator on the 1970 expiration plates. Late-issue 1970 expiration plates were made with the round bolt holes used on all 1971 and subsequent base plates, beginning either in the late H series or at the start of the J series.

1965 – white on blue single dash separator 1968 – blue on white single dash separator
1966 – black on dark yellow single diamond separator 1969 – white on blue single diamond separator
1967 – yellow on black single colon separator 1970 – medium blue on white single space separator

马里兰的乘客car plates, 1971-1975

1971 passenger1972 passenger1973 passenger1974 passenger1975 passenger with old dies1975 passenger with new dies
Two natural 1975 plates are shown, with old and new serial dies, respectively.

The dated 1971 base plate was used for five years, from March 1970 to March 1975 in the case of passenger car plates. The embossed71in the lower left corner indicated the initial expiration year. This base was then renewed annually with stickers on both the front and back plates, indicating the expiration years "72" through "75". Passenger car plate expiration dates continued to always be March 31 of the year indicated on the plate or sticker. During this five year span, all plates had the embossed71on them, regardless of when they were actually manufactured or issued.

Maryland license plates from this period were white on blue, and had an embossed border, bolt holes rather than slots, the embossed71in the lower left corner,Marylandat the bottom center, and an embossed sticker box in the lower right corner. All regular passenger plates, and most organizational member plates, used serial formatxx 0000, with only a space separator. Lead zeroes were not used, and serials began at 1001 in each letter series.

During mid-year 1974, the serial number dies were changed in preparation for the new general replacement plates to be issued in March 1975. Therefore, some natural expiration 1975 plates were made with the old dies, and some with the new dies. The new characters were shorter, narrower, and more boxy-shaped than the previous characters. I have photographic evidence that the die change occurred in the midst of the RF series, and not at the start of the RF series as usually reported. Plate numbers at least as high as RF 2797 were made with the old dies, and were made with the new dies no later than RF 3226. These dies introduced in 1974 continue to be used through the present day.

1971 base plate sticker colors and natural serial letter ranges
(excluding reserved organizational member letter codes)
1971 – no sticker Natural serial letter range approx. AA to JN.
1972 – red on white sticker Natural serial letter range approx. JP to LE.
1973 – aqua on white sticker Natural serial letter range approx. LF to MW.
1974 – red on white sticker Natural serial letter range approx. MX to PK.
1975 – white on blue sticker Natural serial letter range approx. PL to RF (old dies); RF to SE (new dies).

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Willard, Francis, and Ritterhoff plates are from the collections of John Willard, Jeff Francis, and Paul Rittehoff, respectively.


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