The Andrew Turnbull License Plate Gallery

[Welcome!] to the Andrew Turnbull License Plate Gallery...an information, hobby, and history website devoted to the interesting field of vehicle registration plates.

Why do I take an interest in such a topic? It's difficult to pinpoint a single reason, but there were many different factors to take into consideration: Their varied colors, distinctive captions, hidden codes, geographical significance, and association with both numbers and transportation were but some of the reasons why they appealed to me. Everyone deserves to have a unique or eccentric hobby, and with this I am no exception.

Showcase

When going for a bike ride one day in my latter days of living in West Virginia, I noticed that an ancient wooden shed had been torn down. "Gee," I wondered, "I wonder if there were any license plates in that shed?" So, I pedaled over and took a look at the site. There wasn't much left, but I did notice a piece of crumpled metal amongst the rubble and pulled it out.

That crumpled piece of metal is what you see here: A 1938-39 West Virginia license plate, number 34-629. After presumably spending 68 years on the ground, it's...well, what you'd call a "filler." If there were such a thing as a "poor-minus" grade, this plate...which presumably spent 67 years on the ground...would qualify for it. Funnily, you can still make out the errant chip of yellow paint if you stare hard enough.

Features

Gallery. The original potpourri of license plate collection highlights.
New! Wisconsin license plates:
- The Wisconsin Pages. A pictoral project researching the history and schematics of motor vehicle license plates in America's Dairyland.
West Virginia license plates:
- More than you wanted to know about "Map" Bases, 1976-1995.
- Non-Passenger Plates, 1976-1995.
- The work-in-progress License Plate Collection.
- Highs, 1976-date.
Oregon license plates:
- Passenger Variations, 1956-date.
License Plate Sticker Colors.
1985 "Birthyear Run."

New! The Idle Pen: Commentary and opinion.