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Error Plates

Tags with manufacturing errors show up from time to time with defects ranging from something as simple as a plate being stamped off center, to more serious errors, such as the wrong dies being used. Examples of both extremes are illustrated here.
 


This is actually a 1918 “thick” variety plate which had its date stamped with a “13” die instead of an “18” die.
      
 
 
Most, if not all, known surviving 1944 Motorcycle plates were made using two different styles of dies in the “44” part of the date. Since this was the only year that two number “4” dies were needed for cycle plates it may be that the prison plate shop simply didn’t have two of the same style on hand.
 
 
 
This 1944 Truck plate has an extra bolt slot punched in the upper right corner. Courtesy Mark Gutierrez.
 
  
 
The serial number was stamped off center, such that it overlaps the first few letter of the “The Land of Enchantment” slogan at the top.
   
 
 
The numeral “8” is upside down on this 1965 Motorcycle plate. Courtesy Robby Crowder.
 
   
 
On this prorate backing plate trailer sticker, New Mexico is spelled wrong as “New Mexice.”
   
 
 
1971 Passenger plate with a double-struck, off-center zia. The spurious zia did not pick up any of the red paint when it was rolled onto the raised characters, suggesting that it may have been hammered flat before that paint was applied.
 
   
 
On this 1973 prorate backing plate Power sticker the word “prorate” is misspelled as “PRARATE.”
 
 
 
The “8” is upside down on this motorcycle plate.
   
 
 
New Mexico abandoned the "M" prefix on Motorcycle plates in about 1981, but later reinstated it for just one year for plates with the year 2000 expiration. On an unknown number of these 2000 plates, instead of an "M" an upside down "W" was used.
 
      
    
 
The sticker on this permanent registration RV plate suffers from a computer error which caused both the first letter of PRM, and the first digit of the plate serial number, to be enlarged and pulled into the position where the two-digit year would appear on an annual registration sticker.
 

 

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