Specialty plates are featured heavily throughout this site. In this room we take a look at some that did not fit into an earlier category, even if they were shown on another page.
The plates above support agriculture and farming. Some states have issued farm scenes on general issues (e.g., Iowa and Wisconsin) but not specialties.
Lighthouses have popped up on plates along the Eastern seaboard (only one on the West Coast – Washington), while Ohio’s lighthouse-on-a-lake adds to the group.
States responded to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center by issuing specialty plates dedicated to curbing terrorism and honoring victims. This is a relatively new branch I’ve started and hope to add more!
Specialties funding general environmental issues include Alabama, Idaho, and North Carolina for forests; Arizona for recycling; waterfall plates from Alabama and Kentucky; flower-themed plates from Minnesota, South Carolina, and Texas; a trio of Montana plates benefiting the various pro-environmental groups; an Ohio issue preserving rivers; Oregon features Smoky the Bear to promote conservation; and the Virginia “Autumn Leaves” optional.
5. State Parks, National Parks, Trails, and Named Places
State Parks and trails, National Parks, and certain natural landmarks are featured on specialty plates across the USA. Arkansas uses a graphic of hikers overlooking a vista to promote state parks; California has issued specialties for Yosemite and Lake Tahoe (latter of which has had two versions); Indiana and Minnesota have both opted to put trails on their plates; Montana residents can support Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park (two versions), and Flathead Lake, while Nevada and New Jersey have Mt. Charleston and Liberty State Park as options; North Carolina and Tennessee have both spoken for the Great Smoky Mountains, and these states have also promoted the Blue Ridge Parkway and State Parks respectively; Texas promotes trails with a plate featuring a runner and a biker against a beautiful sunset; an eye on Virginia roads can spot specialties for the Natural Bridge State Park and Shenandoah National Park; and finally Washington has plates to preserve National Parks and State Parks.
The plates above celebrate and promote arts, and are diverse in creativity. Alabama uses a grid to support all the arts, while Montana‘s “symphony” specialty is unique; Florida and Nevada have plates that look like works of art in of themselves; California‘s seaside scene and Tennessee‘s cartoonish fish don’t appear to be art plates, but they are, while Indiana, North Carolina, Tennessee‘s rainbow plate, and Virginia are very clear in intention.
College and University plates are prolific though it hasn’t been an area of concentration for me. Above, various mascots and logos decorate specialty plates.
The plates above feature a prominent picture of a horse in a domesticated state (for wild horses, see “Wildlife Safari: On the Land”). Kentucky has had three variations of the Kentucky Horse Council specialty, and also issued a plate sponsored by the KEEP (Kentucky Equine Economic Advocate) Foundation.
And the list goes on…specialties have been distributed for a wide array of causes, including this miscellaneous category. Explanations include: “Live the Golden Rule” plate benefits the Arizona Interfaith Movement; Arkansas and New York honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; California‘s “Snoopy Plate” benefits museums across the state, “Honoring Veterans” contributes to Veteran-related organizations (motorists receive a decal for the organization of their choice), and the “Legacy” plate harkens back to the classic 1963 base with money going to a general environmental fund; Colorado‘s “Respect Life” plate honors the victims of the Columbine Shooting; the “Pioneers” plate was initially offered to residents who had descendants in the state 100 years prior but is now open to everyone; there’s the unique “Italian American Design (near to my heart); and the “Historical Plate,” which comes in three colors and benefits the Colorado Disability Funding Committee; Florida‘s “Challenger” issue, which is considered by many to be the first true specialty plate, in tribute to the victims of the 1986 Challenger space shuttle disaster.
Idaho helped fund a capitol restoration project with a license plate; Indiana supports D.A.R.E.; Iowa has various specialties-most, like “Cattlemen Care,” consist of a logo or graphic on the standard base, but the “Blackout” plate, which benefits the Road Use Tax Fund, is aimed towards those who prefer a very different style than the regular base; Kentucky has a proliferation of specialties, including ones in support of anti-abortion efforts, the coal industry, libraries, linemen, and the Fraternal Order of the Police; Minnesota and Alberta both salutes troops; Mississippi’s “Professional Hair Designer” and “Cattleman’s Foundation”; Montana, the king of full-graphic specialty plates, has a cause for seemingly everything, including museums, recycling, cities, and crime-prevention; Nebraska supports Cattleman’s Foundation by using a slogan from passenger plates decades past; Nevada‘s “Citizen Project” supports general cultural aims while its “Atomic Testing Museum” and Oklahoma‘s “National Weather Center” are totally unique; North Carolina has an eye-catching specialty benefiting the Buddy Pelletier Surfing Foundation; Oregon issued an optional plate in honor of the Oregon Trail’s sesquicentennial in 1993, has a culturally-supportive plate like Nevada’s, and promotes the state’s wine industry; Tennessee features country music legend and state native Dolly Parton on a plate benefiting her program that sends free books to children, and one for the Mason organization; Virginia‘s “Great Seal” plate has been a longtime optional plate; Washington protects San Juan Islands; and Wisconsin promotes Harley Davidson motorcycles.
license plate room 