fun facts: US license plates

Fun facts, trivia and weird stuff about US License Tags

A lot of people collect license plates. It’s an interesting hobby, but sadly, a bit complicated for me. I live in Europe, and that’s why it’s hard for me to collect US license plates. Nevertheless, I collected the most intriguing facts and stories associated with those metal identification thingies.
Browse around, I’m sure you’ll find something interesting!
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The “Bible” for U.S. License Plate Collectors

One of the best books on license plates

01: Free air flow

1917 Illinois license plates

From 1912 to 1918, Illinois issued front license plates that had holes in them, to let the air pass trough to the radiator of the car. Nowadays, you can see some cars with license plates mounted to the left (or right) side of their bumpers. The reason is the same – leaving the air intake unobstructed. A great example for that is Mitsubishi Lancer EVO.

02: Johnston Atoll fraud

These plates are not real!

Johnston Atoll is a small atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. The surface of the atoll is just 1.03 sq mi (2.7 km2), and there are just a few short roads there. It was used as an airbase, naval refueling depot, weapons testing grounds and chemical weapons disposal facility.

Some time ago, pictures of Johnston Atoll license plates mounted on official vehicles started to show up on the Net. They attracted quite the attention among collectors, but unfortunately, they were fake!

ALPCA issued the following warining:

These plates were made up as souvenirs and were never ever used. As part of a promotional scam they were placed on some vehicles, photographed, and then removed. In particular some versions with “FIRE” and “POLICE” were made and similarly photographed so they could be sold to collectors.
Collectors are warned to beware of buying these plates unless they collect booster or Souvenir type plates. They WERE NEVER USED ON THE ISLAND.