New York Plates

Thruway (official)

First issue / Last issue: 1955 /

Created from: Official (all-numeric)

Size: Passenger

N.B.: This type should not be confused with the Thruway permit plates issued to motorists who pay an annual fee to use the Thruway.

Registration Type and Baseplate History

The New York Thruway (or more properly the Governor Thomas E. Dewey New York State Thruway), a toll road which runs the length of New York State from east to west and from Albany to New York City, was first opened in June 1954 and completed in 1956. It is administered by the New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA), whose officials and work vehicles were issued a special series of license plates as early as 1955 or 1956.

The Distribution List for 1956 first mentions the type (but not the list for the previous, baseplate year): 200 plates numbered TWY-1 through TWY-200. Three-letter plates were extremely uncommon in 1955/56, and few of these plates had six characters. (NYP press plates might be the only exception.)

Plates for 1957 follow the design inaugurated in 1955/56.

The allotment calls for 200 plates in 1960 and 1962, when the type is cited in the distribution guides. There isn't any information for the following years, but plates survive.

A new design first appears in 1964. It features the two-digit prefix 90 followed by a four-digit registration. The caption TWY appear at the bottom of the plate. Plate historian Jim Schaller suggests that the prefix echoes a numbering used throughout the New York State financial system to indicate 'non-revenue'. It is similar in format to the State plates that would appear in 1966, where the first two digits indicate the vehicle's year of manufacture. He has also determined that the first digit after the prefix indicates the vehicle type.

No plates of the earlier TWY-prefix have surfaced for 1964. It is not clear whether one was produced, but it seems very likely. Perhaps a lucky find in photo archives will scare up the proof needed for 1964.

Be that as it may, plates of both the TWY and 90 prefixes appear on the multi-year plates issued in 1966 continue the 1964 design but have a sticker box in the place of the two-digit year. Adding to the general confusion surrounding the two blue base plates is the verifiable fact that most of the heavy equipment used on the Thruway during this period sported "OFFICIAL" plates rather than either of these two types.

 

The TWY-prefix baseplate design was continued on the 1973 orange baseplates. This type should stand out to collectors because it is the reverse of the passenger plate's 000-AAA configuration, and remarkably few vanity plates were requested in an AAA-000 format.

But beware of the TWY suffix. These plates were standard issue plates for Otsego County. (Thanks to Jim Schaller for correcting me on an earlier unfounded supposition about these plates.)

As depicted at the top of this post, the Liberty baseplates repeated the orange baseplate design, with the statue graphic as a separator.

This later issue Liberty plate, a remake of the one at the top of this post, uses the narrower dies and has the statue graphic at the far left. (Dodd photo)

 

Sometime during the blue Empire base plate era, New York issued flat screened plates with a TWY prefix and the state's web address along the bottom blue bar. It's unclear whether these were first issued in 2001 or are a revised version of the originally issued plate.

It's not yet clear if a gold Empire base has been issued for Thruway vehicles.

Photo credits: 90-2704 (64), 90-2716 and TWY-165 (blue), TWY-822 (orange), TWY-91 (Empire), James Schaller; TWY 835 (both), Sal Dodd.

 

1911 passenger

 
The first twelve-month plate was issued in 1911. Beginning February 1 motorists sported handsome, fully embossed, white-on-maroon undated plates made of steel. Most plates were shipped from Albany once registration papers were received. New York City motorists could register their vehicles at the Secretary of State's New York office at Broadway and 74th Street. The shipment of plates was delayed due to 'slip-ups' by the manufacturer in Albany, according to a contemporary news report. (It's not clear who the manufacturer was.) Distribution outlets were also set up in several surrounding suburban New York City towns.

Since this was the first year for annual replacements, there was some difficulty in getting motorists to renew their registrations. That and the fowl that blocked the route.

For more photos of 1911 New York plates, check out my Flickr pix here and here.

Design and numbering

 

 

The appearance of New York license plates for 1911 was more in keeping with embossed plates of the period than the unusual aluminum-on-steel 1910 plates. There is a peculiar variation that appears on four-digit places in the horizontal alignment of the registration. Early plates, such as 3312 above, were stamped with the numbers and stacked letters flush right. Many later plates, such as 8766, appear centered. There does not seem to be a break on either side of which one style or the other appears. While 7524 is centered, 8528 is flush right and 8766 is centered again.

There is no known pattern for the distribution of registration numbers. While it's known that plates were sent to the New York City office in lots, the specific numbers or ranges are not known. This information will have to come from the paper licenses themselves. The license at left, registration 60839 for a motorist in Middletown, in Orange County, was most likely shipped from Albany.

The only known non-passenger type for 1911 was the dealer plate, distinguished from passenger by the M prefix. Registrations between 1001 and 3000 were used exclusively for dealer plates. Commercial vehicles would not be separately registered until 1913.

1916 passenger

A year that began with great promise, 1916 would end up one of the least successful New York plate years on record.

During the previous registration clear it became clear to the Secretary of State that the existing design was no longer adequate for the rapidly growing number of cars on the road. The new design moved the state and year to the bottom of the plate, as a caption, with the the height increased to make room. A sixth character was added and a separating hyphen. Studies had shown that it was easier to remember a registration number when there was a separator.

In addition a code would now indicate which of the three distribution centers issued the plate: Albany (A), Buffalo (B), or New York City (all numeric).

Unfortunately another problem with 1915 plates, poor paint quality, was not solved with the new year's issue. Within weeks of their February 1 debut, 2,000 sets of defective plates had been returned to motor vehicles offices for replacement. An order for a new supply of 25,000 sets, with new (higher) numbers, was placed with Lalance & Grosjean, the manufacturer of the 1916 as well as the 1915 plates. The number of returned plates grew from 250 a day to nearly 600 a day by early March, according to a news report. There was no charge to the motorist for replacements, and the motor vehicles offices were required to complete new paperwork on each re-registration.

By April New York City motorists with defective plates were being sent warning letters by the Traffic Division of the Police Department. Policemen noticing defective plates were copying down the numbers and submitting them to the Traffic Division.

The manufacturer blamed poor quality 'chemical materials' on account of the war. It may also be worth noting that the winning contract called for 15 cents per pair in 1916, down from the previous year's 23-1/2 cents.

Numbering

Even with a smaller overall distribution of plates, where lower numbered plates would be proportionally more represented, it's rare to find any plates under six characters. A newspaper article with the headline "Whitman's Auto is No. 1." gives a short selection of low-numbered plates, all under 1000. ("Whitman" is Governor Charles S. Whitman.)This was in fact the first year that the governor was issued registration number 1. It was previously issued to a private citizen. He was also issued 2.

Among the luminaries mentioned in the article are Harry Hempstead, president of the baseball Giants (75); George M. Cohan (239 and 240); Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University (58); and industrialist C.K.G. Billings (792 through 808).

The numbers 1-001 through 3-000 were issued in the dealer series with an 'M' prefix throughout the state. However lower numbers (such as 878 at left) are known. It's not known whether dealers were given replacements for defective plates, and if so with the same or higher numbers.

Albany

Passenger cars were issued A1 through A1-000 and A10-001 through A57-000 (at least in the initial allotments). The highest recorded is A80-640. Commercial plates were issued from A3-001 through A10-000. 

Buffalo

Passenger cars were issued B1 through B1-000 and B10-001 through B67-000 (at least in the initial allotments). The highest recorded is B93-582. Commercial plates were issued from B3-001 through B10-000.

New York

Passenger cars were issued 1 through 1-000 and 18-001 through 95-000 (at least in the initial allotments). The highest recorded is 154-346.

Commercial plates were issued from 3-001 through 18-000, though 25-061 is known--presumably a number previously discarded as a passenger plate.

 

In other developments 1916 was also the inaugural year for Motorcycle plates.

Source: Highest numbers provided from Eric Tanner's New York License plates pages (http://licenseplates.tropikordia.com/athome.asp?State=New%20York)

 

 

1941 passenger

 In 1941 the World's Fair slogan was discontinued and the previous 'vanilla' design was brought back. Spacing on many of the plates with fewer than six characters was more widely spaced, with five character plates flush left and right (see CU-975).

Original series

 

Single-letter suffix plates are listed for all 24 letters in use: up to 99 for most letters and up to 100 for G and S. Single letter plates (with no numbers) are recorded for all 24 letters as well as O, which in addition has plates O-1 through O-9 listed.

An extraordinary number of pullouts and stand-alone registrations are recorded for 1941. The Bureau of Motor Vehicles must have been answering nearly every request for special treatment during these years.

Pullouts (not including reserved hundreds and twenty-fives):

B 1 to B 3, B-34 (New York issue in Erie allotment)
1H-1 to 1H-4, 9H-3 (New York in Chautauqua)
5J-1 (New York in Chemung)
7J-1 (New York in Yates)
6K-10, 7K-7, 7K-77 (New York in Kings)
L 13 (New York in Kings)
1L-1, 1L-7 (Kings in New York)
M 1 to M 2, 1M-1 (New York in Monroe)
1N-1 to 1N-2, 1N-4 to 1N-6 (New York in Bronx)
1P-1, 1P-13 (New York in Oneida)
9P-2 (New York in Lewis)
Q 1 to Q 2, Q 6 (New York in Queens)
T-16-70 (New York in Queens)
7T 77-77 (New York in Kings)
1W-1 to 1W-2, 1W-4, 1W-85 (New York in Broome)
5W-7 (New York in Herkimer)

Two-letter registrations

 

A far greater number of two-letter suffix plates are recorded in the 1941 distribution guide than the year before. A small number of  two letter plates (with no numbers) is listed for 1941:

AB • EM • JJ • KB • LM • NY • VA • WA • WB • WC

No information on the owners of this exclusive plate type is currently known.

Since the majority of two-letter sequences used were still for special registrations (rather than for county allotments), there are fewer pullouts than with the original sequence. There are quite a number of stand-alone two letter registrations, some of which have been identified. Some are hundreds of registrations removed from a regular allotment.

Pullouts

CB-6 (Albany in Bronx)
CD-1 (Albany in Orange)
CF-6 (Albany in Fulton)
JH-6 (Albany in New York)
KC-1 (Albany in Kings)

Stand Alones (Albany unless stated)

CA-209
CB 19-80
CU 18-19 (Colgate University)
FA-104
FA-391
FA-238
GC-606
HC 18-12 (Hamilton College)
OO-25 (Better Road Campaign plate)
PS-230
1-RU (Kings)
UC 17-95 (Union College)
WP 19-00

Special Registration Types

Medical doctor (MD) plates were issued with the MD prefix and the single-digit MD prefix.

Special omnibus plates were numbered 9T 65-01 to 9T 67-00 (Albany), 9T 67-01 to 9T 67-25 (Oneiida), 9T 67-76 to 9T 68-25 (Monroe), 9T 68-26 to 9T 72-00 (Erie), and 9T 72-01 to 9T 90-00 (New York).

Snowmobiles were issued plates between 3A 54-01 and 3A 55-00.

Three-letter plates are recorded for JSC-1 through JSC-99 (for Supreme Court judges); NYC through NYC-99 (for New York City officials); and WPA-1 through WPA-99 (for Works Progress Administration officials). A single BNY plate is recorded, which was evidently used by [___].

1931 passenger

 

The design chaos of 1930 was resolved (in part) by 1931. All plates were centered, with the letter prefix plates employing a wide space between the two parts of the registration, such as R-34 above from the author's collection.

Three-character plates, such as 7-D-9, used a hyphen separator between the initial number and letter.

The two-digit prefix was first issued in 1931, with plates numbered between 1 and 99.Unfortunately I don't have any photos of this type as it appeared in 1931, but plates for 1933 have a hyphen separator between the numbers and letter, as in 10-A-1.

10A    Albany
10C    New York
10D    Schoharie (to 50)
10E    New York
10F    Greene (to 50) & Hamilton (51 to 99)
10G    New York
10N    New York
10P    New York
11P    New York
10T    Queens
11T    Queens
12T    Queens
10U    Richmond
11U    Richmond
10Y    New York

As the list suggests the two-digit prefix was created primarily to provide low-numbered registrations to owners in the New York City area.

The prefixes G and W were introduced in 1931. Only the first 100 registrations for G through 9G were issued, all to New York City, as well as 10-G-1 through 10-G-99. W was distributed across a number of Finger Lakes counties, with the first 100 plates in the W and 3W series issued to New York City.

Special omnibus plates for 1931 were numbered 4A 85-01 through 4A 99-99 (issued from Albany) and 1C 50-01 through 1C 99-99 (issued from New York).

Trailer

First issue: 1917 • Size: Commercial, 1917-1929; Passenger, 1930-  • Colors: Standard

Registration Type History

The law went into effect on August, 1, 1917. The secretary of state ruled that only half the annual fee would be charged for 1917.

Baseplate History

The plate introduced late in 1917 was the only non-identical pair ever issued in New York. To avoid plate splitting plates were identified as TRAILER FRONT and TRAILER REAR along the top of the plate. Unlike the passenger and commercial plates, however, no regional distinctions were indicated by the registration number. The author knows of only the pair above, and can only speculate what  numbering range was used for 1917. The numbers exceeded any known New York (all-numeric) passenger issue.

Plates were issued in pairs through 1925.

The following year the design of trailer plates resembled more closely the commercial plates. Plates were numbered at the uppermost end of all passenger and commercial allotments.

This design remained largely unchanged through 1922.

Trailer plates for 1923 and 1924 represent perhaps the highest-numbered plates not just for those years but for any year issued in New York. Seven-digit plates were first introduced in 1922 for overflow passenger registration. In anticipation the trailer allotment for 1923 was set beyond the allotments anticipated for both passenger and commercial registrations, beginning at 1-300-001.

As registrations continued to mushroom, the allotment for trailers was pushed even higher, now beginning at 2-000-001.

[No Photos]

Beginning in 1925, trailer registration dropped to the 200-000 range, and continued in that range through 1929. The 1925 and 1926 plates used the same 'frame' as the 1924, with word TRAILER above or below the registration and the N.Y. and year opposite.

Plates for 1927 through 1929 share a similar design. In 1927 a stacked TR prefix precedes the registration number. In 1928 and 1929 (above) the stacked TR are a thousands separator.

Beginning in 1930 trailer plates settled down into a very regular and unchanging design. From 1930 through 1934 plates were passenger-sized, with the large commercial dies and a stacked TR (or TL) prefix and a registration number of up to four digits. The configuration accommodates a little under 20,000 registrations before additional plates are required.

  In 1935 the design was changed, in part to allow for more registrations. Passenger dies replaced the larger commercial dies and a stacked TRL prefix replaced the TL and TR prefixes. Plate numbering began at 1 and went up. Four-digit plates had a separating hypen between the two pairs of digits; five digit plates had a hypen at the thousands place, 12-345.

With the exception of 1938 and 1939, the design remained the same through 1956. Six-digit plates first appeared in [?]. They have no separating hyphen at all. Plates for 1949, 1952, 1954 and 1956 were revalidated with commercial tabs.

 

During the World's Fair years of 1938 and 1939, the prefix was reduced to a stacked TR.

As with most non-passenger plates, the trailer plate was redesigned once again in 1957 with the introduction of six-by-twelve plates. The prefix was dropped in favor of the caption TRAILER between the top or bottom bolt holes, flanked by NY and the year of issue.

Plates for 1959, 1961 and 1963 were revalidated with standard tabs numbered in the trailer sequence. Plates for 1965 were revalidated with a black-on-red sticker similarly numbered.

Multi-year blue base trailer plates were first issued in 1966 and validated annually with the December monthly sticker. Toward the end of the life of the blue base plates the 1973 dies began appearing on newly issued trailer plates, usually in the high 800,000 range.

Orange base trailer plates first appeared in January 1974. The registration configuration was changed to a single-letter prefix followed by a six-digit registation, beginning at A-10000. (This is the reverse of the 10000-A official plate configuration.) Unlike passenger plates, which were revalidated by windshield stickers, trailers continued to use plate stickers with a common December expiration. [Check]

By the early 1980s uniform-height orange base dies began appearing on newly issued trailer plates.

 

With the introduction of the Liberty base plate, the single letter designation on trailer plates was switched to a suffix and, like most Liberty non-passenger plates, the separator hypen was dropped. Annual stickers continued to be issued and were affixed to the plate in no specified place. And like most Liberty non-passenger plates, over the course of the Liberty plate's lifetime both wide and narrow dies were issued.

Once the six-character single letter suffixes were exhausted, seven character plates were issued, beginning with an A suffix.

Empire baseplates were first issued in January 2002 (?) for the year ending December 31. The embossed plates feature a two-letter prefix, beginning at AA, and a five-digit registration beginning at 10000. By 2010 plates were already in the AY range.

Empire gold plates were first issued in January 2011. Essentially the same as the Empire white plates, trailer plates begin with a BA prefix.

Photo credits: 1918 and 1919, James Schaller

Optometrist / Ophthalmic dispenser

First issue: 1950s • Created from: Passenger? Medical Doctor? • Size: Passenger • Colors: Standard

Registration Type and Baseplate History

The DMV has set aside a portion of the OD suffix for optometrists since at least the late 1950s. An allotment of 100 plates, from 1-OD to 100-OD, appears in every Distribution book from 1958 through 1963. Low-numbered plates with the OD suffix were issued through 1986. Beginning with the Liberty base a stacked suffix indicates an optometrist plate. Empire baseplates continue the Liberty design on an all screen printed base.

Judging from the stylistic development of other professional plates, it is reasonable to assume earlier plates with an OD suffix were also issued to optometrists, even if the design doesn't make this clear.

Onondaga County passenger plate

Care should be taken with any OD plate. All OD prefix plates are general-issue passenger plates from Onondaga County. Since 1960 all suffix plates above 500-OD were also issued there. While OD-suffix plates were not absorbed by the county clerk program in 1973, they could still be reissued as personalized plates. There are not figures for the number of optometrist OD plates between 1973 and 1986.

Pharmacist (RX)

First issue: 1939 • Created from: Passenger • Size: Passenger • Colors: Standard

Registration Type and Baseplate History

Pharmacist plates were first issued the same year as Medical Doctor plates, 1939, albeit in much smaller numbers: Rx-1 through RX-400. By the mid-fifties some 3,500 pharmacist plates were issued, that number dropping to 3,200 by the mid-sixties. The distinctive RX prefix continues to the present day.

Between 1939 and 1973 pharmacist plates were remarkably unchanged, mimicking passenger plates in every aspect.

When the design of passenger plates changed in 1973, pharmacist plates first distinguished themsleves from passenger, all the while retaining the same configuration introducted in 1939. Later issue plates, many of which are low-numbered, use the uniform height letters and numbers.

With the Liberty baseplate the RX prefix was replaced with a stacked RX, much as the MD prefix had changed at the beginning of the orange series.

Empire baseplates continue the Liberty design, albeit now entirely screen printed.

Special registrations: 1910-1924

RESERVED SERIES, SPECIAL NUMBERS & PERSONALIZED PLATES

Almost as long as general-issue plates have been issued in New York State, there has been a demand from motorists for registrations that set them apart from all other motorists. And just as long, the motor vehicle administrators, whether to curry favor and influence or out of the goodness of their hearts, have met this demand with special number plates. The form these plates take has varied significantly from era to era.

The road that leads to the "vanity" or "personalized" plate in New York has been gradual—unlike many states, where the distinction is often clear-cut and its introduction well documented. Along this road further distinctions have been drawn between classes or groups of individuals—whether by profession, association, or celebrity—and the individual motorist who seeks distinction. Even among distinctive groups, some have been singled out by the DMV for public safety reasons, while others are self-identified and are given distinctive plates for purely economic or political reasons.

Many of the specialty plates would be difficult to tell apart from their general issue passenger counterparts without being pointed out. With time some plate types have added captions, prefixes or other features that distinguish them from passenger plates. These plates are discussed at length in the non-passenger posts devoted to these types.

Because of the complexity of the story and the confusion that results, this topic is divided into three separate historical sections.

Low-Numbered Plates, 1910–1921

Between 1901 and 1910, a low-numbered plate indicated the owner was among the earliest (and most likely wealthiest) souls to embrace the motor car. This distinction was erased with the first reissue of 1910.

During the pre-county code era, from 1910 to 1924, when all-numeric and single letter-prefix plates were the norm, number plate distinction was achieved through low numbers and low letter-and-number combinations.

It was widely recognized that registrations under 1000 were issued to special individuals identified by and to the secretary of state. Few comprehensive registration lists from this era have survived. The registration book for 1914 bears out this distinction. According to The Official Automobile Directory of the State of New York, privately published in 1914, Sylvan Levy, of St. Marks Avenue, Brooklyn, owner of a taxicab company, received registration 1 for an Atlantic motor car.

*** [Find more truly notable registrants under 1000.]

The roster of luminaries whose cars sported numbers between 1000 and 2000 is a regular Who's Who of New York state movers and shakers. Department store magnate John Wanamaker had 1000, 1001 and 1002 registered in his name, as well as the less flashy 3537 (on his Packard) and 3538 (on a Ford).

Registrations between 1000 and 2999 were reserved for dealers from 1910 to 1913—even though these plates were also set apart by the prefix M. In 1914 the dealer segment was moved to 6000 to 7999, freeing up 4,000 new low numbers. In 1915 the dealer allotment reverted to the earlier sequence. As the need for dealer plates grew, so too the lowest general issued plate rose from 3000 to 7000 by 1917.

A Times article from 1916 sheds some additional light on the assignment of the 1,000 lowest-numbered plates. Under the headline "Whitman's Auto Is No. 1," the article begins with a lead paragraph on the issuance of plate number 1 to then Governor Charles S. Whitman. A selective list of other low-numbered registration holders, and those with repeating digits, followed (some of the affiliations were provided by the author):

      1            Governor Whitman (Albany vehicle)

      2            Governor Whitman (New York City vehicle)

      3?          Samuel Koenig, Chairman of the state Republican Party

    11            Robert F. Wagner, Senate Minority Leader

    13            Joseph De Bragga, Queens County Sheriff

    23            George B. Agnew, "author of the anti-race track bills"

    35–37      Charles E. Dillingham, theatrical manager

    58            Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University

    75            Harry N. Hempstead, President of the Giants Baseball Team

  111            Robert I. Smythe

  222            Oscar Tschirky, manager of the Waldorf-Astoria

  229–230    George M. Cohan, Broadway producer

  239–240    George C. Boldt, proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria

  333            Louis B. Schran

  444            Dr. G. Frank Sammis

  555            William Frederick Stafford, banker and stock broker

  666            Edwin M. Silverman

  777            F.L.H. Ganss

  792–805    C. K. G. Billings, industrialist

  888            Edward B. Merritt, general manager of Luna Park (?)

  999            Chester S. Lord, former managing editor of the New York Sun 

While it would be difficult to prove, plates with all the same digit, such as 11111, were almost certainly issued to motorists of distinction.

A New York Times article from February 2, 1919, attests to the undiminished popularity of special registrations:

This year is no exception to the last two or three in an insistent demand for registration plates containing low numbers or numerals corresponding to house or business address, or to some event which stands forth promi­nently in the life of the motorist ....

Many persons ask for numbers which corre­spond with their home addresses, while others want automobile numbers corresponding with their telephone numerals. One man went so far as to ask for a number the same as the year when he secured his divorce, and it so happened that the number could be supplied.

The allocation of low-numbered plates continued unabated throughout the rest of the teens and into the twenties. The two-year experiement (1916-17) with regional plates numbering offered three distinct sets of low-numbered plates. (See below) The low-numbered cavalcade resumed in 1918 and continued through 1921.

Single-Letter Prefix Plates, 1913?–1921

The years 1913–1915 were the first to see prefix letters used to expand the number of available registrations. (The appearance of A-prefix plates in 1912 is still not adequately explained.) Even though this variety of special registration came about more by chance than by design—the all-numeric low-numbered plates were, after all, more highly prized—motorists soon seized the chance to acquire low-numbered plates in this sequence as special registrations.

It should come as no surprise to learn that for 1914 the Secretary of State sported A1 on the White automobile registered to the Secretary's New York City office on West 74th Street, Manhattan. Of all the possible low-numbered letter prefix registrations, oddly the 1914 Directory lists only the first 99 A prefixes, and only the first 94 C prefixes; it fails to list any B-prefix plates. C-prefix plates were issued to commercial vehicles, with the first listed as C01. While plates survive with prefixes as high as F, the corresponding registration information doesn't survive.

The creation of motor vehicle bureau offices in New York City and Buffalo in 1914 introduced a measure of local autonomy to issuing special registrations. Albany and New York shared all the all-numeric allotments; it is most likely that Albany alone controlled the distribution of plates up to 999 or 1000. Plates with a letter prefix were originally issued from Buffalo alone.

With the two-year experiment (1916-1917) in regional plate prefixes, low-numbered plates expanded threefold: 1 to 1000 from New York City; A1 to A1-000 from Albany; and B1 to B1-000 from Buffalo. During this two-year period low-numbered all-numeric plates indicated a local, New York origin.

The return of numbers-only standard registrations in 1918 severely reduced the choices for low-numbered registrations. In light of this, it seems likely that a new series, with a letter prefix and up to three digits, e.g., A123, was first issued. These plates mimic the low plates from 1913-1915 and the A- and B-prefix plates of 1916-1917, but may not have actually continued from that era. It seems almost certain that the low numbers with A- and B- prefixes issued in 1916-1917 were continued, however.

By 1921 the Times reports that "[t]he demand for such numbers led former Secretary of State Hugo to utilize practically every letter in the alphabet in attempting to accommodate those motorists who find a peculiar virtue in a low registration number."

A severe blow to the prestige-seeking motorist came with the distribution of the 1922 plates. From this date forward low-numbered registrations were no longer distributed to the general public, but instead to elected statewide and local officials in their official capacity. The alpha-numeric special registrations were discontinued outright. Among the factors reported in 1922 by the State Tax Commission for discontinuing the previous practices were the high cost of manufacture, the delays that such special production demands made of the prison manufacturing, and the difficulty of keeping track of requests which came from so many different motor vehicle bureaus.

This "period of darkness" without special registrations would last only until 1925, when the debut of the county code era spawned a host of new vanity opportunities.

County assignments: 1925-1973, code splitting and number poaching

If matching a plate number to the issuing county were simply a matter of memorizing lists, mastering New York's system would be, if not easy, at least attainable. But the system was quickly compromised by practices I have dubbed "code splitting" and "number poaching".

As soon as the new county code system was introduced in 1925, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles felt the need to withdraw certain low-numbered registrations for reallocation. The motives behind the practice are debatable.

Reassigned plates were sometimes issued to counties with small populations. These counties, by the luck of the original draw, had no low-numbered plates assigned to them. In 1930 seven counties were each assigned only the second fifty registrations, 51 through 100. And in five instances only the first 100 plates were ever issued in a given prefix.

1930 Low-numbered Registrations

Prefix     1—50          51—100      101 +

9F          Essex           Schoharie    –

3H         –                  Sullivan       Chautauqua

9H         Greene         Yates           –

6J          Lewis          Schuyler      Schuyler

8J          Wayne         Ontario       Ontario

8U         Seneca         Hamilton    –

9U         Putnam        Bronx          –

8Z         Orleans       Suffolk        –

Splitting a county assignment was less common with two-letter codes. The prefix SP is an early and persistent example. Between 1940 and 1963 the prefix was split between Saratoga (Ballston Spa) and Livingston (Sparta?). All but 24 or 25 plates went to Saratoga.

Among the suffixes TY was shared between Rensselaer (Troy) and Essex (Ticonderoga) from 1947 to 1973. In yet other cases the assignment of a two-letter code differs between prefix and suffix. As a prefix WP was exclusively assigned to Westchester County (White Plains) from 1939 or earlier. The suffix WP was first assigned to Orange County (West Point) in 1942. Successive allotments were assigned to Westchester and Orange counties beginning in 1950.

Saratoga       SP-1 – SP-975     1940-1963

Livingston    SP-976 – SP-999 *   1940-1963

Saratoga       SP 10-00 and up

Rensselaer     1-TY – 99-TY       1947-1973

Essex            100-TY ­– 399-TY ** 1947-1973

Westchester  WP-1   – WP 99-99 1939-

Orange          1-WP   – 99-WP      1942-1973

Westchester  100-WP – 200-WP  1950-

Orange          201-WP – 300-WP  1950-

Westchester  301-WP and up      1951-          

 

* to 10-00, 1955-1956; ** to 400, 1964-1973

As a partial explanation for the practice, this is all well and good. But as egalitarian as it sounds, in truth New York County's motorist were at first the chief beneficiary of this practice. As one of the most populous districts, New York could certainly claim a great need. Just the same, it would be hard to overlook patronage as the primary motivation.

In 1927, the first year for which we have documentation, the first twenty-five plates in eight prefixes, or 200 plates in all, were reallocated to New York County (Manhattan). By 1929 that number had climbed to 1,700, including the first 100 plates in fifteen prefixes. The next year the figure was 3,500, and in 1931 the number was 5,221. When you factor in all the low-numbered (100 and under) plates in sequences routinely assigned to New York County, that 1931 figure leaps to 7,921. Clearly the notion of serving under-populated counties did not apply in this instance.

As this example demonstrates, in essence number poaching is a means toward a familiar end: to provide distinctive registrations to select motorists. The introduction of 12A-format plates in 1931 was all about providing more low-numbered plates to a growing motoring public. The same could be said even more compellingly of the single-letter suffix plates.

Poaching was not as much an issue in the case of two-letter prefixes and suffixes. The reverse is sometimes the case. At first most of the two-letter prefix plates were assigned to Albany as special registrations. Eventually some of the higher registrations in Albany allotments were issued to other countries. As more unused two-letter prefixes were pressed into service to handle fast-growing counties, the lowest registrations--initially just the first 100 numbers, but by 1966 as many as the first 200--were routinely assigned to Albany.

Albany      PH-1       – PH-100    1940-

Essex        PH-101   – PH300      1946-

Albany      1-BF        – 25-BF       1942-47

                  1-BF        – 100-BF     1948-

Erie           201-BF and up           1955-73

At first the two-letter prefix plates were predominantly assigned to Albany as special registrations. As more two-letter prefixes and suffixes were assigned to fast-growing counties, the lowest registrations—at first just the first 100 numbers, but by 1966 as many as the first 200—were routinely assigned to Albany.