Rick Kretschmer's License Plate Archives 

Alabama

For 1977, Alabama passenger car plates went graphic with a screened year intended to be covered by renewal stickers in subsequent years.  As far as I know, all other plate types continued to be completely embossed, including the year, and were replaced annually.  This non-passenger plate type is consistently referred to as a "dealer transit" plate, but I can't find any information on how this plate type was used, or how it differed from regular dealer plates. 

Alaska

There are few full-sized Alaska plate types that have an embossed "77".  The only ones I know of are the various government official plates, and this plate, which you could argue is either a sample plate or a state-issued souvenir plate.  During the years the standing bear plate was issued, 1976 to 1981, sample plates with lots of zeroes in the plate number were made in small numbers and kept in government circles, while plates with the number "17 76" were offered to the public.  Those were also made with no embossed year, but 1977 was the only embossed year. 

Arizona

Arizona had several non-passenger plate types stamped with the year 1977, but the most interesting of them has to be the historic vehicle plate.  The Arizona historic vehicle plate type was introduced in 1977, and all such plates issued through the present day have the year "77" stamped on the plate.  In subsequent years, these were and are validated with month/year expiration stickers, but I believe at least initially, they were issued in pairs and the front plate was unstickered.  Thus, it's difficult to know which plates were actually issued in 1977. 

Initially, these had three-digit numeric registration numbers, then alphanumeric three-character numbers, then four-digit numbers, and then a variety of alphanumeric four-character plate numbers.  Early issues, including the one shown at left, were made of solid copper, while later plates were made of steel and were only copper-coated.  The only way to tell the difference is to see if a magnet will stick to the plate.  All of these plates have unpainted backgrounds, to allow the natural copper color to be plainly visible. 

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Connecticut issued annual dated plates to automotive businesses that needed to drive unregistered vehicles, such as vehicle dealers and repair shops.  Connectict actually pioneered the concept of undated, multi-year passenger car base plates, starting in 1937. 

Delaware

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but the plate shown at left is a completely fake 1977 U.S. Senator plate.  You see, Delaware doesn't put years on its license plates, and I'm trying to avoid using plates with year stickers when I can.  This fake plate has what looks like a sticker integrated into the plate design.  I know it's fake because of that detail, but also due to the long oval bolt holes and the incorrect colors.  Real Delaware U.S. Senator plates look like this, but the background color is gold, not this peachy color, and the state name and slogan and "U.S. Senator" are supposed to be dark blue, not black. 

Guess who was a U.S. Senator from Delaware in 1977?  Yes, those are Joe Biden's initials.  Now, why did someone make a fake version of Joe's real plate?  My unsubstantiated guess is that Joe himself had a batch of these made so he could give them out as souvenirs.  But there could just as easily be some other reason. 

Florida

Georgia

As far as I know, Georgia issued annual plates with the year stamped on them for dealers and for certain kinds of trucks.  Possibly other types as well. 

Hawaii

Dealer plates are the only Hawaii plates stamped with the year 1977.  Dealer plates are also apparently the only ones with the county name stamped on them.  The graphic design used on these plates actually has the year 76 screened in the upper right corner; on all other plate types, it would be covered by a 77 sticker.  On dealer plates, they covered it with a plain white, reflective sticker that matches the plate background. 

Idaho

Illinois

Illinois was still replacing nearly all of their plates annually in 1977.  Passenger car plates didn't have an embossed border, and serial letters were the same size as numbers.  Non-passenger calendar year 1977 plates had the same green-on-white color scheme as passengers, but with an embossed border and (usually) larger serial characters.  Fiscal year 1977 plates expiring in June and biennial 1976-77 plates used different colors. 

Illinois plates with letters at the end are non-passenger plates, even if the plate type isn't indicated.  For example, suffix letters "CB" were used on plates assigned to a bus owned by a charitable or religious institution.  Suffix letters "Mx" are mileage-tax truck plates, which are charged a variable fee based on mileage driven rather than a fixed annual fee.  The second letter is variable and indicates the truck's weight class. 

Indiana

Indiana was another state that still replaced all its plates every year.  However, there were no passenger car plates dated 1977; the state issued two different plates, both dated 1976, for use in 1976 and 1977, respectively. 

By contrast, non-passenger plates did have 1977 dates on them.  Most types were green-on-white and easily recognizable as Indiana plates from a distance, thanks to the two embossed squares in diagonally opposite corners; the trailer plate is an example of one of these.  The historic motor vehicle plate is obviously a major exception to these norms. 

Iowa

Iowa passsenger car plates were issued in and stamped with the year "75" and renewed for the three following years with stickers.  Most, if not all, Iowa non-passenger plate types were still being issued annually with the appropriate year stamped on them.  During the mid-to-late 1970s, Iowa put county numbers on their higher volume plate types, but also used plate numbers that were unique statewide.  The top plate is a regular truck plate with a full year registration, and the stacked number 88 indicates Union County.  The bottom plate is a truck plate with a half year registration; it has no county number. 

Kansas

"KCC" stands for the Kansas Corporation Commission, which issued these permit plates to heavy commercial vehicles for sixty years from the early 1930s to the early 1990s.  The same three colors schemes were issued every year for three different uses, with the black-on-white plates being issued to private motor carriers. 

Actual license plates issued for 1977 were colored yellow on green, and were mostly limited to interchangeable plates and prorate plates used on truck tractors and semi-trailers driven out of state.  Interchangeable plates are those that are assigned to a business but not a specific vehicle, such as dealer plates.  Several states issue so-called "drive away" plates, but I'm not exactly sure what their purpose is.  I think maybe they're used to deliver heavy vehicles that can't be loaded onto a trailer. 

Kentucky

Kentucky issued a few plate types with the embossed year 1977, and several others with an embossed expiration date 4/1/77.  Back then, states often stamped the year onto their vanity plates and re-issued them each year, I presume so that if one motorist relinquished the number, another motorist could claim that number in a subsequent year without any concern that both plates would still be on the road.  If you can't figure it out, 2THDOC = "tooth doc" = dentist. 

Limited plates are issued to big commercial trucks that are driven a limited number of miles per year; I assume these are cheaper than regular, unlimited truck plates.  They come in a variety of maximum vehicle weights; this one being the highest at 82,000 lbs. 

Louisiana

Louisiana issued a variety of non-passenger plates with the year stamped on them, but most of them expired on June 30 each year.  These had the state abbreviation and two-digit issue year stamped on them, but then also indicated the expiration date in the following year along the bottom of the plate.  So, I would have had to get a plate showing 1976 as the issue year and 1977 as the expiration year, or one showing 1977 as the issue year and 1978 as the expiration year.  I didn't care for either of those choices, and held out hoping I could find a plate with only the year 1977 stamped on it.  My patience was rewarded when I found this dealer transporter plate indicating only the year 1977.  The various types of Louisiana dealer plates apparently are the only non-passenger types that had calendar year registration periods. 

This plate is as ugly as it looks.  It has silver characters on a turquoise colored background, which, as you can see, is quite low-contrast and hard to read.  The plate was very sloppily painted when manufactured, and obviously lived a hard life during the one year it was in use. 

Maine

Maryland

Maryland did not issue any license plates with the embossed year for 1977, nor were there any non-passenger plates that looked different from passenger car plates.  I'll have to make do with this stickered 1977 motor carrier bus plate.  Such plates were used on commercial, fixed-route buses charging fares. 

Massachusetts

During the 1970s, Massachusetts reissued a few non-passenger plate types annually, among them interchangeable plates which weren't assigned to a specific vehicle, such as dealer plates, and also motorcycle plates.  I presume "repair" plates were issued to auto repair shops and were used similar to dealer plates, on vehicles without their own valid plates that were being test driven or otherwise moved. 

Michigan

Only Michigan vanity plates, half-year truck plates, and five-year trailer plates had the year 1977 stamped on them.  Half-year truck plates and five-year trailer plates were perhaps the only plate types that year not colored white on red and blue, or just white on red in the case of motorcycle plates.  Half-year truck plates expiring on May 16, 1977 were colored yellow on green, while those expiring on November 14, 1977 were white on green.  The large blank space at the bottom was used for a weight class sticker on heavier trucks; lighter trucks did not need such a sticker.  Five year trailer plates indicated a February 28, 1977 expiration and were colored white on maroon. 

Minnesota

The "D" serial prefix identifies this nondescript plate at top left as being a dealer plate.  As far as I know, only various dealer and in-transit vehicle plates were stamped with the year 1977, as they were still being reissued annually.  The colors varied each year, and were red-on-white in 1977.  Passenger car plates were stamped with a 1974 date and were renewed with stickers; they were colored orange-on-white. 

Mississippi

Mississppi passenger car plates introduced in October 1976 were the state's first graphic plate design, and its first multi-year base plate in the modern era.  These were initally valid through October 1977.  Some non-passenger types also went to multi-year base plates; these had the debossed year "77" to allow easy placement of renewal stickers.  The white-background church bus plate shown at bottom left is an example of one of these.  It's hard to see, but there's a debossed "77" in the sticker well in the upper right corner of the plate. 

Plate types continuing with annual reissues had the year "77" embossed and painted a contrasting color.  The top plate is an amateur radio operator plate, and the plate number is the operator's FCC-assigned call sign.  Bolivar is the motorist's county of residence.  Public Service Commission plates were issued to for-hire trucks and big rigs. 

Missouri

In 1977, Missouri was still replacing all plates annually, and so they all bore the embossed year.  Most non-passenger types had color schemes that differed from passenger car plates as well as from each other.  I happened to get this plate for free, and so a trailer plate will represent Missouri. 

Montana

The only plates Montana issued annually in the late 1970s were apportioned plates, which came in two varieties:  P-prefixed plates for power units and T-prefixed plates for trailers.  Actually, 1977 was the first year for Montana apportioned plates, which replaced prorated plates issued through 1976.  Both prorated and apportioned plates back then were rather odd; they had to be validated quarterly with a large, square sticker.  And so, this single-year apportioned trailer plate has a stack of quarterly stickers, with the top one expiring on December 31, 1977.  Prorated and appportioned plates from this era had debossed numbers and other features, which are unpainted aluminum.  The background was painted in a different color each year. 

Nebraska

Nevada

As far as I know, there are no 1977 Nevada plates with the year stamped on them.  The plate shown at left is a motor carrier mileage tax plate.  I believe it's the only 1977 Nevada plate that looks significantly different than the white-on-blue passenger car plates.  Not only are the plates themselves unique, but also the '77 sticker. 

Back in the 1970s, apportioned plates were in their infancy, and most states did not grant reciprocity to big-rig trucks and commercial buses.  Because of this, such vehicles bore numerous full-sized plates, small metal plates, and stickers for the various states in which they operated.  These were used to indicate vehicle registration, evidence of taxes paid, operating permits, and so on. 

New Hampshire

New Hampshire issued this green-on-white trailer base plate in 1977 and renewed it with stickers in subsequent years.  What's odd is that they also continued to renew the previous white-on-green 1975 trailer base plates with stickers, as shown.  New Hampshire passenger car plates remained white-on-green through 1977. 

New Jersey

To the best of my knowledge, there are no New Jersey license plates with an embossed year "77" or "1977" on them.  There are a number of non-passenger plates that do have stickers with the year on them, but my emphasis is on finding 1977 plates with the embossed year.  This booster plate was issued and authorized by the state to cover the front license plate for a 19 month period.  The actual begin and end dates the booster was allowed are stamped on the plate itself, with the end date being Feb. 1, 1977.  There is also a second version of this booster plate that is completely flat with all of the elements painted on rather than embossed. 

New Mexico

New Mexico was one of several states that continued to reissue vanity plates each year after regular passenger car plates went to a multi-year base plate with renewal stickers.  Vanity plate colors were different from those of passenger car plates, and also varied each year. 

New Mexico couldn't make up its mind whether dealer plates, which the yellow plate is, should be reissued annually or renewed with a sticker.  The 1977 plate was just used for a single year. 

The red-on-white sample plate with an embossed "77" corresponded to only one actually-issued plate type, namely amateur radio operator plates, but those didn't have the embossed zia symbol. 

New York

New York used these obnoxious blue-on-orange plates from 1973 to 1986.  Passenger car plates had a sticker box which was never used; current registrations were indicated with windshield stickers.  A few plate types, including political and judicial plates, continued to be issued annually and bore embossed expiration dates.  This plate, with the prefix letters "JSC", was issued to a state Supreme Court judge. 

North Carolina

North Carolina introduced its first modern multi-year passenger base plate in 1975, which was renewed in subsequent years with a sticker.  All other plate types continued to be issued annually and bore the embossed year.  While the 1975 passenger base was red-on-white, most other types alternated between red-on-white in odd years and green-on-white in even years.  Different plate types had the year stamped in various places on the plate.  Plate number 316-JON is a vanity plate, and D-88154 is a trailer plate. 

North Dakota

I believe the only North Dakota plates with the year "77" stamped on them were the various types of dealer plates, of which there were several.  North Dakota had distinct plates for new vehicle dealers, used vehicle dealers, motorcycle dealers, mobile home dealers, semi-trailer dealers, dealer demonstrator vehicles, and probably several others.  All of these were reissued annually back then.  Shown at left are a used vehicle dealer plate and a semi-trailer dealer plate, probably among the most common and least commmon dealer types, respectively. 

Ohio

Nearly all Ohio plates were undated and unstickered in 1977.  I know of two oddball types that are exceptions to this:  farm bus and camp bus.  Both of these have embossed mid-year expiration dates.  I believe farm buses are used for transporting migrant farm workers, and camp buses are used for transporting children at summer camps. 

Oklahoma

All Oklahoma plates, including those for passenger cars, were still being issued annually in 1977 and had the year stamped on the plate.  Oklahoma non-passenger plates came in a variety of colors, and with varied placement of the state name, year, and other features.  Farm truck plates used the same plate numbering formats as did passenger cars, except for an additional letter, always "F", in the third position.  The first two letters identified the motorist's county; two-letter combinations beginning with "X" were used for Oklahoma County. 

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania had a statewide reissue of passenger car plates for 1977; these new yellow plates were undated, and were also unstickered during the first year of use.  Dealer and motor vehicle business plates were issued annually, and so had the new colors and an embossed year in 1977.  The prefix and suffix letters (which were always the same) identified the type of dealer; "A" indicated a new car or truck dealer.  However, most other non-passenger types continued with the previous blue base for one last year.  "Commercial" plates were issued to trucks, regardless of usage. 

Rhode Island

South Carolina

Although South Carolina went to a multi-year graphic base for passenger car plates in 1976, nearly all non-passenger plate types continued to be issued annually and were embossed with the year.  However, these days, they're fairly difficult to find where they aren't badly discolored.  I held out for a decent one and eventually found this plain-Jane special mobile equipment plate.  It's one of the few non-passenger types that doesn't have the plate type actually embossed on it. 

South Dakota

South Dakota only stamped the year "77" on a few plate types.  Among these are trailer plates and "compensation" plates, which I believe may be for trucks for hire.  What's strange is that both of those plate types are smaller than standard size, 5 by 10 inches rather than the normal 6 by 12 inches.  The particular plate shown at left with the "CF" serial prefix, is for some oddball type of trailer for which there isn't much information.  Regular trailer plates had all-numeric plate numbers.  The "CF" prefix on truck plates is reported to indicate a commercial fertilizer truck, so perhaps that prefix on trailer plates indicates a commercial fertilizer trailer. 

Tennessee

Tennessee introduced their first graphic passenger car plate in 1977, but other types continued with non-graphic, all-embossed plates.  It seems that most non-passenger types have specific serial formats and/or letter prefixes or suffixes but aren't otherwise identifiable.  I avoided those and chose the handicapped driver plate, which is quite clear as to its purpose.  But sometime later I found the the handicapped veteran plate, and had to include it as well, just because it's so visually unusual and interesting. 

Texas

State Official plates were issued to various elected and appointed state government officials, including the governor and lieutenant governor, heads of state executive departments, justices of the state Supreme Court, members of the state Senate and state House of Representatives, various other state judges, etc.  This specific number was in the range assigned to state House members.  State Official plates were reissued annually through 2010. 

Utah

As is the case in several other states, the only 1977 Utah plates that have the year embossed are dealer and transporter plates.  Transporter plates aren't truck plates; they're plates issued to non-dealer businesses that have a legitimate need to drive unregistered vehicles.  Utah transporter plates are identified with the prefix letters T/N.  In the case of Utah, each dealer or transporter was assigned a specific number, which is the large number 598 shown on this particular plate.  Since most dealers and transporters need multiple plates, a unique number was stamped on each plate issued to a given dealer or transporter; in this case the small number 4. 

Vermont

The state of Vermont replaced all license plates statewide for 1977.  The new plates were undated, and unstickered during the first year.  So, as far as I know, there are precisely zero legitimate Vermont license plates that either have the year 1977 on the plate, or on a sticker affixed to the plate.  I'm not easily deterred, however.  The Vermont Department of Agriculture did issue metal permit plates with the year 1977 stamped on them to livestock dealers, poultry dealers, and egg dealers.  I don't know how these were actually used, but for the purposes of this project, they'll do. 

These plates were issued annually between about 1947 and 1980, and came in quite a variety of colors.  They're a bit smaller than modern license plates; mine measures 10-1/4" inches wide by 5-1/4 inches high. 

Virginia

Virginia went to staggered registrations and stickers with 1973 expirations for passenger cars and 1976 expirations for most other plate types.  Among the exceptions still getting annual plates with embossed expiration dates were plates for the various dealer types, apportioned vehicles, and National Guard members.  The D-prefixed dealer plates were issued to franchised (new vehicle) motor vehicle dealers; this particular plate was issued to Falls Church Chrysler-Plymouth, which I know from the laminated registration card riveted to the back of the plate.  The rivets are visible on the front.  The George Washington silhouette on the National Guard plates is a sticker applied at the time of manufacture.  Notice the different dies used to stamp the year "77" on these two plates. 

Washington

West Virginia

In an apparent effort to prolong the U.S. Bicentennial celebration, West Virginia, like Indiana, put the year 1976 on both their passenger car plates expiring in 1976 and 1977.  In this case of West Virginia, this practice also extended to all other full-sized plate types.  However, motorcycle plates, both the regular kind and those issued to motorcycle dealers, continued to be issued annually and had the year 1977 stamped on them.  Actually the stamping was done in reverse, so the yellow characters and border are lower than the rest of the plate.  Shown is a 1977 regular motorcycle plate. 

Wisconsin

No, the "D" suffix isn't constant on Wisconsin dealer plates.  It seems that the number identifies a specific dealer, and the letter suffix is incremented to make each plate assigned to that dealer unique.  This one just has a "D" suffix by coincidence. 

Wyoming

Unfortunately for this project, as far as I know, all 1977 Wyoming license plates used a sticker to indicate the registration year.  This plate, with the "H" prefix to the left of the bucking bronco graphic, was used on a state Highway Department vehicle.  It has a debossed year "75" under the sticker, while passenger plates had the year "75" screened on. 

American Samoa

American Samoa is a small island in the South Pacific.  My understanding is that all plates were replaced for 1977.  However, I'm unclear about the use of 1977 registration stickers.  It's hard to get good information about plate usage over 40 years ago from such a remote plate.  This plate has a "T" prefix, which identifies it as a taxi plate.  It has an etched "77" in the sticker box, shows evidence of use, and obvioulsy has no sticker.  But "77" registration stickers are known to exist.  Apparently, the only plates with an embossed, painted year were motorcycle plates, which continued to be reissued annually through about 1981. 

Canal Zone

Never heard of the Canal Zone?  It was a strip of land flanking the Panama Canal that was administered by the U.S. from 1903 to 1979.  The good news is that most Canal Zone plates used in 1977 were embossed with the year.  The bad news is that there were very few non-passenger types, and very small numbers of the few types that were issued.  This one with a T prefix is a trailer plate. 

District of Columbia

D.C. put the year 1977 on only one type of full-sized plate – its Presidential Inauguration special event plate.  The year is only screened on, not embossed, but it will have to do.  Most other plate types were validated with a '77 sticker.  The other plate shown at left is a bus plate; the "B" prefix is constant on these. 

Guam

Puerto Rico

U.S. Virgin Islands

For most vehicle types, the U.S. Virgin Islands used 1975 plates for three years, issuing windshield stickers in 1976 and 1977 to show registration was current.  But there were at least a few plate types that were issued annually and had an embossed 1977 year, namely motorcycle plates and trailer plates.  I've seen 1975 and 1978 dealer plates, but no 1976 or 1977, leading me to believe these were also three-year plates, but wondering how they showed registration was current in the "off" years.  Windshield stickers aren't interchangeable between vehicles.  I haven't even seen motorcycle dealer plates from that era, so I have no clue whether those were annual or not.