[Healeys] CA lisc plates sequence numbering - the data

F Ronald Rader f.ronald.rader at gmail.com
Mon Aug 31 00:27:58 MDT 2009


 California lisc Plates  the real scoop:
Here's some info that has been sent to me

1951 (1951-1955), BLACK PLATES WITH FAT YELLOW NUMBERS 1A23456
1956 (1956-1963), YELLOW PLATES WITH BLACK NUMBERS: AAA 123
1963 (1963-1968). BLACK PLATES WITH YELLOW NUMBERS: AAA 123

At the end of 1950 there were approximately 4 million cars on the
roads in California that had to be replated in January of 1951.(NEW
PLATES WERE ISSUED YEARLY) To meet that requirement meant that 20
percent of all possible combinations were issued in early 1951.  The
1951 California base plates are designed with a number, letter, and up
to 5 numbers (e.g. 1A23456).  But the numbering on these plates was
not issued in sequential order, i.e. they did not start at 1A and
progress to 8x by 1955.  Many of the "high" numbers were issued early
(1951 and 1952). And there is a regional issue as well as some kind of
pattern that isn't just a straight numeric issue. In fact, there are
lots of 9-prefix plates, but all the 7-digit 9's have letters A, B, or
N. So knowing what was issued in a given year, say 1954, is
complicated.

Anyway, the letters A through L were assigned to Northern California
and M through Z to the 10 counties that comprise Southern California.
The letter Z is associated with San Diego County.

1. For the 1951 base, the annual starting number sequences are not
well known. Apparently they have been hard to isolate so far. The
plate guys are also working on the problem using known data from
original cars/plates/owners. When/if I hear more, I'll let you know.

2. 1956 base.
 1956 AAA to Mxx were used during the first year.
 1957 to 1962 the annual starting alphas are not well known.
Different colored tags were issued each year and affixed to the
plates.

3. 1963 base.
These plates are quite well known.
 1963 AAA to Mxx were used during the first year.
 1964 M, N, O, P, Q, R (lots of overlap in 1964-65) plus a "year"
decal, i.e. 1964
 1965 N, O, P, Q, R (lots of overlap in 1964-65)
 1966 R, S, T
 1967 T, U, V
 1968 V, W, X
 1969 Y, Z

that  is all i know.
ron


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