Found plate

**Jeff W** · November 29th, 2015, 10:24 AM

Cory, yes, the year of manufacture plate is pretty easy to do and only a one time charge so the cost of the plate quickly pays for itself without the annual registration. I have a pair of 1963 plates on the Falcon.

Roger, the "A" signifies it was issued in King County. Apparently and strangely this was a one year issued plate for 1957. Although it says 54 under the 57 tab, the actual 1954-1956 plates were longer. In 1957 Washington decided to adopt the National plate size. They must have reused parts of the earlier die (including the part with the 54) until they could revamp the entire design in 1958.

There is a whole subculture of plate collectors that are over the top.

Here is an awesome website about Washington Plate History worth a few minutes of browsing.

http://staff.washington.edu/bbirt/

**BadBird** · November 29th, 2015, 06:21 PM

Really cool write up on all this. Liked the home info and enjoyed learning about the license plates. Hopefully you find a good home or wall or something for your 57 plate. Can't believe the condition. Larry

**dhbfaster** · November 30th, 2015, 06:00 AM

Jeff
When was your house built?
And what's this about no annual registration costs with a vintage plate? How does that work?

**Jeff W** · November 30th, 2015, 09:28 AM

Hi Don, my house was built 1913.

Here are the details on using restored plates:

http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistr...prestored.html

Currently the cost of the one time registration if $56.75 plus the cost of your plate(s).

You only need one on the rear of the car - but I liked the look of front and back so the search for plates in good shape took a bit longer. I think I paid around $50 for a matched pair in good shape (ebay).

Although the site says "Restored Plates", mine were just good shape originals - my "restoration" involved a rag and a squirt of Windex.

------
I am pasting the website contents below - it is irritating when looking at a very old post that likely contains the info you think you need, and the link given is broken- This was accurate as of Nov 2015:

Restored plates

Overview

Restored plate requirements.
Vehicle requirements.
Find out the initial cost for a plate.
Visit an office, bring your application, plates, title and payment.
Update your Good-to-Go! account, if you have one.

1. Restored plate requirements

The plate must have been restored to it’s original design. It can’t be a reproduction. The plate must match the year of the vehicle.
For example: If you have a 1967 Mustang, it must have a 1967 restored WA license plate.
Before you can use restored plates bring them into a vehicle licensing office so we can make sure they’ve been correctly restored and are the correct plates for the year of your vehicle.
The restored license plates...

Must be displayed on the rear of the vehicle. If you have a set of plates, you may put them on the front and back.
You don’t need to display month/year tabs on the plates.
Are good for the life of vehicle (Don’t need to be renewed yearly).

2. Vehicle requirements

The vehicle must be over 30 years old, see Collector Vehicle plates, or an antique (horseless carriage) over 40 years old, see Horseless Carriage plates, and

Must have a current registration.
Owned and operated as a collector vehicle.
Capable of driving on the highway.
May be driven:
- To and from auto shows, circuses, parades, displays, special excursions, and antique car club meetings.
- For testing purposes.
- For the pleasure of others without compensation.
May not be used for:
- Commercial purposes or to carry a load.
- Regular transportation in the manner of a fully licensed vehicle.

Note: These plates are not available for trailers.
3. Find out the initial cost for plates

Vehicle type Fee Passenger/truck $56.75 Motorcycle $50.75 4. Visit an office, bring your application, plates, title and payment.

Visit a vehicle licensing office and bring:

Special Background, Personalized, or HAM Operator License Plate Application,
The restored plates,
The original title, and
Payment.

5. Update your Good To Go! account

If you have an account, update it with your new plates:

Online: www.wsdot.wa.gov/goodtogo/
By phone: 866.936.8246

**dhbfaster** · November 30th, 2015, 07:27 PM

Very cool Jeff. I was looking for the info on this when I first got the falcon but never found it. I'll keep my eye out for some nice 61 plates! Any idea what the official colors are (other than just green and white) in case I need to touch them up?

Here's some other interesting plate info I found when I was poking around:

Washington license plate history:
http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistr...sphistory.html

Colors: (but nothing exact):
http://www.dol.wa.gov/vehicleregistr...latecolors.pdf

A collector...apparently people are faking these old Washington plates!
(This guy has 14403 plates in his collection!)
http://www.plateshack.com/y2k/Washington2/wa2y2k.html
http://www.plateshack.com/washington/washington4.html

What the??? There is a collectors association for license plates! I've been missing out!
https://www.alpca.org

Yes, quite a subculture...

**SmithKid** · November 30th, 2015, 08:21 PM

This probably isn't for everybody..... But this guy does a beautiful job repairing and repainting plates. He will repair even a small tear in the metal in the basic price. I know. I had him do mine (I used a truck plate found at a local swap meet). Pretty timely too, though he's in Marysville and I took it to him and picked it up. He even sells the stickers if you need them (mine did, as it's a 1963 stamping and requires a sticker).

http://oldlicensefarm.com/

**dhbfaster** · November 30th, 2015, 08:35 PM

Wow, the amazement continues. Darn, there goes my hobby business idea.

This is almost embarrassingly fascinating.
So what's the deal with the 58-62 plates and the stickers?
You can use any 58-62 plate but you have to have a 61 sticker in order to register as a 61? And I assume the sticker has to be original too?