pl8ster.net :: Massachusetts license plates

I love offbeat plates like this one - it's a Boat Dealer plate, but it simply says 'BOATS.' Trivia: did you know that some states (MI and NH come to mind) used to issue license plates for boats?

This is another plate from the early 1980s. Any Boston resident could tell you that this plate is from the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. The "T" is their logo, and is also the nickname for the Boston subway ("the T"), which I recall fondly from many day trips during my late teens.

This plate is a Metropolitan District Commission plate, which I believe equated to a Park Commission-type plate. From what I understand, these plates are no longer issued. I seem to remember they were replaced by regular Police plates...the ALPCA archives don't say.

This is the 1982-87 Ambulance plate, replaced in 1988 with the red/white/blue 'Spirit of America' base that had an 'Ambulance' legend at the bottom.

This is a Water Resources Authority plate, hence the 'WRA' prefix. This is the 1985-1989 version that was replaced in 1990 with a red/white/blue 'Spirit of America' variation. My best guess is that the WRA is the watchdog over the drinking water supply in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts apparently decided to do things a little differently with their Commercial plates when they arrived at the J prefix. All Commercial plates to this point had been in a A12-345 format, working through the alphabet with the prefix letter (skipping 'I'). Here, they just put all the letters and numbers together with no separator. At some point they rethought that decision, because now plates are being issued in a J12-345 format. This still doesn't qualify as a 'modern rarity,' as there are far too many plates like this on the roads today.

When the Spirit base was introduced in 1988, plates were issued in a 123-ABC format, but working backwards through the alphabet, so the earliest plates were in the ZZZ series. At some point, the format was switched to a 1234AB format, with three different types: the one shown here, a similar one with no dash seperator, and an uncommon type with no space or dash. I don't know how far back into the alphabet the 123-ABC format got before it was replaced by this format, but the three types of 1234AB formats did not last long before being replaced by the format of the next plate.

This is the 1234 AB format of the Spirit plate that was most widely used from approximately early 1996 until late 2001, when a different format began to be used (see below).

This is a 12A B30 format, with the last digit still corresponding to the month of expiration (0 being October in this case) as it has since 1969. Continuing on from this plate, after plate 99N Z90 (October) was reached, plate 10P A00 would be issued, assuming they'd skip the 'O' as the first letter and go right on to 'P.'

This is a plate issued to for-hire limousines, vans, etc. As with passenger plates, the last digit corresponds to the month of expiry, so even though this plate has no validation sticker, it can be identified as a January expiration.

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	I love offbeat plates like this one - it's a Boat Dealer plate, but it simply says 'BOATS.' Trivia: did you know that some states (MI and NH come to mind) used to issue license plates for boats?
	This is another plate from the early 1980s. Any Boston resident could tell you that this plate is from the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. The "T" is their logo, and is also the nickname for the Boston subway ("the T"), which I recall fondly from many day trips during my late teens.
	This plate is a Metropolitan District Commission plate, which I believe equated to a Park Commission-type plate. From what I understand, these plates are no longer issued. I seem to remember they were replaced by regular Police plates...the ALPCA archives don't say.
	This is the 1982-87 Ambulance plate, replaced in 1988 with the red/white/blue 'Spirit of America' base that had an 'Ambulance' legend at the bottom.
	This is a Water Resources Authority plate, hence the 'WRA' prefix. This is the 1985-1989 version that was replaced in 1990 with a red/white/blue 'Spirit of America' variation. My best guess is that the WRA is the watchdog over the drinking water supply in Massachusetts.
	Massachusetts apparently decided to do things a little differently with their Commercial plates when they arrived at the J prefix. All Commercial plates to this point had been in a A12-345 format, working through the alphabet with the prefix letter (skipping 'I'). Here, they just put all the letters and numbers together with no separator. At some point they rethought that decision, because now plates are being issued in a J12-345 format. This still doesn't qualify as a 'modern rarity,' as there are far too many plates like this on the roads today.
	When the Spirit base was introduced in 1988, plates were issued in a 123-ABC format, but working backwards through the alphabet, so the earliest plates were in the ZZZ series. At some point, the format was switched to a 1234AB format, with three different types: the one shown here, a similar one with no dash seperator, and an uncommon type with no space or dash. I don't know how far back into the alphabet the 123-ABC format got before it was replaced by this format, but the three types of 1234AB formats did not last long before being replaced by the format of the next plate.
	This is the 1234 AB format of the Spirit plate that was most widely used from approximately early 1996 until late 2001, when a different format began to be used (see below).
	This is a 12A B30 format, with the last digit still corresponding to the month of expiration (0 being October in this case) as it has since 1969. Continuing on from this plate, after plate 99N Z90 (October) was reached, plate 10P A00 would be issued, assuming they'd skip the 'O' as the first letter and go right on to 'P.'
	This is a plate issued to for-hire limousines, vans, etc. As with passenger plates, the last digit corresponds to the month of expiry, so even though this plate has no validation sticker, it can be identified as a January expiration.