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Illustrated History of Connecticut License Plates Joe Wasielewski - ALPCA Member 6996

All-Terrain Ambulance Amateur Radio Apportioned Boat Ramp Bus Camp Trailer to 1957 Camp Trailer 1958- Camper Combination 1 Combination 2 Commercial to 1957 Commercial 1958- Common Construction Dealer Motorcycle Dealer New to 1969 Dealer New 1970-1989 Dealer New 1990- Dealer Spec. Equip. Dealer Used to 1969 Dealer Used 1970-1989 Dealer Used 1990- Early American Exp. Test Factory Farm Fire Apparatus Fish Gasoline Handicapped Hearse High Mileage Veh. Interstate Junk Livery M.F.G. Miscellaneous/Local Motorcycle Municipal M.V. Dept Permits Political POW Prototype/Error PUC Repair to 1969 Repair 1970- Sample School Bus Service Bus Snowmobile Special Equipment State Taxi Temp. Metal Plates Temp. Non-Passenger Temp. Pass. Temp. Reg. Certificate Toll Trailer Trans. Vanpool Veteran Wrecker Trailer These plates are used on heavier commercial trailers. Private trailers typically use Camp Trailer plates. I am not sure when this type started. Others have reported examples as early as 1932. Generally the size and colors have been the same as Commercial plates. An peculiar practice you may notice on Connecticut's roads is that heavy construction trailers (Oversize Load type) will display TWO different trailer license plates on the back. Click the photo on the left to see an example of this. Sometimes they're two consecutive plates, other times they've been issued a long time apart from each other. Trailer plates reached the W-10000 series in mid-2011.   1938, with what appear to be gold numbers on a black background           1950, with yellow scotchlite on stainless steel. Prior to this, trailer plates were black on silver - the same as Commercial plates. 1957. Silver on Black plates were used for Commercial and Trailer plates in '56 and '57. Late in this time period there was also a variant for Commercial plates with white letters - it would make sense that the same style would exist for Trailer plates.         1958-59 This was once a license plate, and was once used at the New Britain Coal Yard. 1960         Another 1960. The numbers were widely spaced until around plate 20000 1963         1964 1966 Numbers are now closer together.         1967 1967 Temporary Trailer The license was temporary, not the trailer.         1967 issue used until 1974 1974         1975 1985         1986 From the beginning of this type, it appears to have taken over 40 years to exhaust its first numbering format, reaching 99999 in the mid-1980s. 1988 Once 99999 was reached, it was time for a new format. The obvious choice was an S-1234 format. Why? Who knows.     Once the map base came around in 1987, the next series was V-1234. Presumably this was done since it was the next series available after "S" (T is for Temporary, U is for Hearse). 1991         1996 1996 Trailer Apportioned When Apportioned plates were first issued in Connecticut in the mid-1980s, Apportioned Trailer plates were issued as well. It wasn't long before Connecticut realized that they weren't necessary, and stopped issuing them not too long thereafter. These can be tough to find. Anyone have an extra? I can use one. (MJB collection)         2001 Although the decal is a 2001 expiration, it's the same color as the 1999s. Perhaps a long-term registration? 2004 The map base was supposed to be off the roads in 2002; but a number of plates, especially trailers, ended up with the new decals on the old plates for a while.

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