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license plate question

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by dirt, Jun 17, 2011.

  1. dirt
    Joined: Oct 26, 2005
    Posts: 908

    dirt
    Member

    does anyone know what the mv stands for on this plate? i have been looking online but have not found the info.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. Bigchuck
    Joined: Oct 23, 2007
    Posts: 1,159

    Bigchuck
    Member
    from Austin, TX

    Just a guess: Motor Vehicle
     
  3. Johnny Gee
    Joined: Dec 3, 2009
    Posts: 12,603

    Johnny Gee
    Member
    from Downey, Ca

    Military you guess the rest
     
  4. speedo1
    Joined: Feb 28, 2008
    Posts: 81

    speedo1
    Member


  5. moefuzz
    Joined: Jul 16, 2005
    Posts: 4,950

    moefuzz
    Member

    . Mortuary Vehicle, it was on a Cadillac. .
     
  6. dirt
    Joined: Oct 26, 2005
    Posts: 908

    dirt
    Member

    i was thinking military vehicle but couldn't find a definite answer anywhere online.
     
  7. 2OLD2FAST
    Joined: Feb 3, 2010
    Posts: 5,217

    2OLD2FAST
    Member
    from illinois

    In ill. an M plate is a municipal vehicle .

    dave
     
  8. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,942

    squirrel
    Member

    Mission Viejo

    (i'm just guessing also, go find a license plate web page?)
     
  9. dirt
    Joined: Oct 26, 2005
    Posts: 908

    dirt
    Member

    i've been on a ton of them today. cant find anything.
     
  10. beauishere
    Joined: Mar 17, 2004
    Posts: 607

    beauishere
    Member

  11. Hmmm...I'm thinking it doesn't stand for anything. It is simply a letter prefix. I have a couple of CA 1930s plates like that with various letter combinations. Definitely let us know when you find out for sure.
     
  12. bet it's for the county designation! NOT!:(
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2011
  13. all i could find was P over C that meant " pneumatic commercial"! came across another: A over E but drew a blank.
     
  14. dirt
    Joined: Oct 26, 2005
    Posts: 908

    dirt
    Member

    just sent him and email. hopefully he has a definite answer. this is driving me crazy, like a bad song stuck in your head.
     
  15. 4HawkRod
    Joined: Sep 20, 2005
    Posts: 926

    4HawkRod
    BANNED

    Male Virgin

    Ladies had

    LV:D
     
  16. F&J
    Joined: Apr 5, 2007
    Posts: 13,222

    F&J
    Member


    Just guessing the same as that ^


    I have 2 pairs of 1932 Connecticut plates with 2 stacked letters in front of the numbers.
     
  17. propwash
    Joined: Jul 25, 2005
    Posts: 3,857

    propwash
    Member
    from Las Vegas

    Manifold Vacuum

    Mount Vernon

    Married Virgin

    Many Vehicles

    Music Virtuoso

    Marvin Vargens

    Messy Vineyards

    ok, now I'm even annoying myself

    dj
     
  18. Swifster
    Joined: Dec 16, 2006
    Posts: 1,455

    Swifster
    Member

    From the ALPCA...

    1937 orange/black; 14 x 6 1/8; "19 CALIFORNIA 37" bottom; 0A0000 serial format with no separators; later A over A 00 00 serial format;

    NOTE! when 2,160,000 serial was exceeded extra plates were needed and 2 stacked letters on the left were initiated. The upper letter is either A or M; A went through A/A to A/J and M went through M/A to M/V; A = Northern California and M = Southern California; this is the only year when stacked letters were passenger; all other stacked letters were non-passenger plates. There was two exceptions - MS and MR were not stacked

    You do know you need these plates in pairs, right?
     
  19. BOWTIE BROWN
    Joined: Mar 30, 2010
    Posts: 3,252

    BOWTIE BROWN
    Member

    HOLY CRAP , that is really nice to know.^^^^^^counties in Kansas.
    "AND THE BOWTIE ROLLS ON"
     
  20. In New York the 1st letter stands for the county the plate was issued.
     
  21. dirt
    Joined: Oct 26, 2005
    Posts: 908

    dirt
    Member


    Thank you!!! I would need a pair of them but this plate is not going on a car. This plate along with 4 others have been in my dads garage since the 50s. T.hey are going up in my garage now. He had a 36,37,38,39, and a 40. All singles no pairs. I think im going to try and finish his collection and get one plate from each year and mount them all on the wall. If anyone has any old single plates they want to sell cheap let me know.
     
  22. Swifster
    Joined: Dec 16, 2006
    Posts: 1,455

    Swifster
    Member

    That's cool. Just know in advance the early plates will be expen$ive depending on condition. You'll also need 4(!) 1941 plates, as these were the base for 1942, 1943 and 1944. Actually, in '44 the '43 was on the car and the decal below was on the windshield (I assume next to the ration decal). There is no 1944 plate per si.

    [​IMG]

    Plate collectors refer to this as a state run. Start saving your newer (cheaper) plates when you can.
     
  23. oldpl8s
    Joined: Apr 11, 2007
    Posts: 1,487

    oldpl8s
    Member

    I've noticed that strange lettering on only the 1937 series and didn't know myself why they did this. California has many odd number/letter combinations over the years, and I haven't been able to figure out many of them. This info here is good to know, thanks. In 1924 they pushed to the next digit and ended up making a few plates extra wide, and they also used a star, which I believe is also after they ran out of numbers. Some 1923 plates also have a star.

     
  24. Swifster
    Joined: Dec 16, 2006
    Posts: 1,455

    Swifster
    Member

    Stars on '23 & '24 plates indicate 1,000,000.
     
  25. dirt
    Joined: Oct 26, 2005
    Posts: 908

    dirt
    Member

    didn't they used the "v" tag for 42-44?
     
  26. Swifster
    Joined: Dec 16, 2006
    Posts: 1,455

    Swifster
    Member

    1941 - Base plate

    1942 - 1942 tag on 1941 Base plate

    1943 - 'V' tag on 1941/1942 plate

    1944 - Windshield decal

    1945 - New plate
     
  27. dirt
    Joined: Oct 26, 2005
    Posts: 908

    dirt
    Member

    swifster, is there any record of how many plates were made that year? by the info you posted it would seem that this plate would be a late 37 plate. im just wondering how late in the production run it is.

    also my mom gave me a little history on these plates. these belonged to my dads uncle carl who left them in the garage so they have been in there since the early 50's. btw the garage in my avatar is the garage they came out of. thats my dad in the 60's working on his car. my mom still lives in the house. my dads uncle carl also gave my dad a big box of model cars. me and my brother used to rob parts out of it to make our models when we were kids. the box of model parts is still in the basement.
     
    Last edited: Jun 19, 2011
  28. Swifster
    Joined: Dec 16, 2006
    Posts: 1,455

    Swifster
    Member

    I'm unsure on the plate production. While 'M' may be Northern California. I'm sure certain counties 'sold' more than others. The other thing is that old scrap metal (including old license plates) were usually donated for scrap drives during the war. Anything prior to WWII will be in short supply (and more expensive) than later plates. During the war, metal was in such short supply that some states made plates from cardboard/fiberboard/soyboard to make plates in '43 & '44. Others did what CA did and made windshield decals or only issued single plates instead of the more common two (pairs).
     
  29. dirt
    Joined: Oct 26, 2005
    Posts: 908

    dirt
    Member

    i just got back from the la roadster show. i picked up a 34 plate for $15 and a 47 for $10.
     
  30. Swifster
    Joined: Dec 16, 2006
    Posts: 1,455

    Swifster
    Member

    Single plates should be cheap. No need to check if the numbers clear. Except for those years that only a single plate was issued.
     

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