From 1938 through 1976, Florida plates were issued by each of the 67 counties based on the ranking of counties by population census taken in 1935. Various suffix letters were used to designate weight class, type of vehicle, and replacements, for example. In 1965 Florida celebrated the 400th anniversary of the founding of St Augustine, making it the oldest settlement in the continental United States. The city was founded by the Spanish admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles on August 28, 1565, the feast day of Augustine of Hippo and consequently named by him, ‘San Augustin’. The color choices also reflect that Spanish heritage.
We started collecting 1965 Florida plates 15 years ago, hoping to easily acquire a ‘complete’ set. How hard could that be?! Little did we know that renowned ALPCA member Jeff Francis had also been working on such a set, traveling all over the State, advertising, and speaking to service clubs to help him in his quest. And as the honorable and devoted member he is, once he learned of my efforts, he has unselfishly shared some of his ‘finds’ with me, for a price, of course! Thanks to Jeff, he made this extremely rare 67-Liberty County plate (one of only two known!) available to Great American Plates. Now we only have two more to go, 56-Hamilton and 62-Lafayette!! Check out our set on Great American Plates by clicking on Personal Collections. In the meantime, the search continues…
