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; 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; 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. California has done so with Yosemite and Lake Tahoe; 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 (two versions) respectively; 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 in general and the San Juan Islands.
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”). The three Kentucky issues are succeeding variations of the Kentucky Horse Council specialty.
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; 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; Florida‘s “Challenger” plate, 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.; Kentucky has a proliferation of specialties, including ones in support of anti-abortion efforts, the coal industry, libraries, and linemen; Minnesota and Alberta both salutes troops; Mississippi’s “Professional Hair Designer,” Nevada‘s “Atomic Testing Museum” and Oklahoma‘s “National Weather Center” are totally unique; Montana, the king of full-graphic specialty plates, has a cause for seemingly everything, from cities (Butte and Miles City, the latter the all-black one) to museums to recycling; North Carolina has an eye-catching specialty benefiting the Buddy Pelletier Surfing Foundation; Oregon has one with general cultural aims (along with Nevada‘s “Citizenship Project”) and also promotes the state’s wine industry; and Tennessee has one for the Mason organization.
