Arizona

Arizona 1969 passenger issue. Arizona issued this plate to all motorists at the end of 1968 and it remained in use through the end of 1972. Plates were valid without stickers in 1969. "Grand Canyon State" was first used on Arizona plates in 1940 and remains today.

Arizona 1972 passenger issue (1969 base). Same issue as above, with 1972 validation sticker. This plate also features wider dies for the state name and slogan.

Arizona 1974 passenger issue (1973 base). This baseplate was issued at the end of 1972 and was issued through 1980. The 1973 baseplate remained valid with stickers through 1990. Staggered monthly registration and month stickers were introduced in 1975.

Arizona 1979 passenger issue (1973 base). Continuation of the 1973 base. Starting with some late-period plates on this base, motorists began placing the year sticker at the bottom right of the plate, rather than the top right. This placement continued onto the next baseplate as well. This plate also shows a die variation for the "Arizona" and "Grand Canyon State" as compared to the larger dies used on the plate above. Both these die sizes were used in the production of these plates, with the smaller ones on this plate being the rarer of the two, I believe.

Arizona 1981 passenger issue. The maroon Cactus base was first issued in 1980 and was issued to new registrants only, with previous 1973-base plates remaining in use until 1990. These plates featured a cactus divider between the letters and numbers. Arizona stopped issuing these plates in 1997, although existing plates remain valid with stickers. These plates were issued in pairs up until the mid "D" series, then singly thereafter. Cars with front plates can still be seen on the road. There are several small die variations on this plate, with this one being the first type with a large size "Arizona" and wide slogan, slightly offset to the left to leave room for the sticker.

Arizona 1984 passenger issue. Another variation on this base, this plate features a smaller die for the state name (same as the second variety used on the 1973 base, as seen on the 1981 plate above). The slogan die on this plate is identical to the 1982 plate above, also offset to allow room for the year sticker. This variation appeared randomly throughout the "B" series.

Arizona 1984 passenger issue. Third variant of the state name die, this issue used an even narrower "Arizona" die, like the smaller of the ones on the '73 base. These are the rarest of the state name die issues, observed only in the "BHT" and "BHY" series

Arizona 1986 passenger issue. Another mix-and-match job with the dies, this variation uses the large state name die (like the 1981 plate above) mated with an older, narrow die for the slogan (seen on the 1969 and 1975 plates previously on this page). This variation appeared randomly throughout the late "B" through the late "D" series of plates. There are supposedly a couple different variations of the outside border die through this stretch as well, but I think that's where I get off this particular train.

Arizona 1989 passenger issue. This was the prevalent type on this base, featuring the standard, thinner border, full-size "Arizona" die and full-size, centered slogan at the bottom. This die arrangement was seen exclusively from the mid "E" series to the end of the plate's issuance in 1997, somewhere in the "N"s.

Arizona 1997 passenger issue. Late period Cactus plate. For some reason, later in the series, motorists began placing the year sticker in the top right of the plate instead of the bottom right as had previously been the norm. Otherwise identical to the 1989 plate above.

Arizona 1998 passenger issue. This new graphic base is Arizona's current issue. It features a colorful desertscape, cacti and mountains. This plate was designed by ALPCA member Wally Punzmann (#6155) and was named ALPCA Plate of the Year in 1997. This remains the current Arizona base today.

Arizona 2004 passenger issue. Continuation of the base above, this one features larger validation stickers. The size of the year sticker was increased starting with 2001 expirations, and the larger month sticker seems to be a more recent development. These stickers work OK on the new plate, but are kind of a mess on the older, still-valid maroon plates, since they don't fit in any of the corners of the plate without overlapping the numbers. Minor issue, I mostly just included this one since I hadn't changed this page in a while.

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Last Modified 7/14/2007 (changed 1974 plate, added 1979 plate).

	Arizona 1969 passenger issue. Arizona issued this plate to all motorists at the end of 1968 and it remained in use through the end of 1972. Plates were valid without stickers in 1969. "Grand Canyon State" was first used on Arizona plates in 1940 and remains today.
	Arizona 1972 passenger issue (1969 base). Same issue as above, with 1972 validation sticker. This plate also features wider dies for the state name and slogan.
	Arizona 1974 passenger issue (1973 base). This baseplate was issued at the end of 1972 and was issued through 1980. The 1973 baseplate remained valid with stickers through 1990. Staggered monthly registration and month stickers were introduced in 1975.
	Arizona 1979 passenger issue (1973 base). Continuation of the 1973 base. Starting with some late-period plates on this base, motorists began placing the year sticker at the bottom right of the plate, rather than the top right. This placement continued onto the next baseplate as well. This plate also shows a die variation for the "Arizona" and "Grand Canyon State" as compared to the larger dies used on the plate above. Both these die sizes were used in the production of these plates, with the smaller ones on this plate being the rarer of the two, I believe.
	Arizona 1981 passenger issue. The maroon Cactus base was first issued in 1980 and was issued to new registrants only, with previous 1973-base plates remaining in use until 1990. These plates featured a cactus divider between the letters and numbers. Arizona stopped issuing these plates in 1997, although existing plates remain valid with stickers. These plates were issued in pairs up until the mid "D" series, then singly thereafter. Cars with front plates can still be seen on the road. There are several small die variations on this plate, with this one being the first type with a large size "Arizona" and wide slogan, slightly offset to the left to leave room for the sticker.
	Arizona 1984 passenger issue. Another variation on this base, this plate features a smaller die for the state name (same as the second variety used on the 1973 base, as seen on the 1981 plate above). The slogan die on this plate is identical to the 1982 plate above, also offset to allow room for the year sticker. This variation appeared randomly throughout the "B" series.
	Arizona 1984 passenger issue. Third variant of the state name die, this issue used an even narrower "Arizona" die, like the smaller of the ones on the '73 base. These are the rarest of the state name die issues, observed only in the "BHT" and "BHY" series
	Arizona 1986 passenger issue. Another mix-and-match job with the dies, this variation uses the large state name die (like the 1981 plate above) mated with an older, narrow die for the slogan (seen on the 1969 and 1975 plates previously on this page). This variation appeared randomly throughout the late "B" through the late "D" series of plates. There are supposedly a couple different variations of the outside border die through this stretch as well, but I think that's where I get off this particular train.
	Arizona 1989 passenger issue. This was the prevalent type on this base, featuring the standard, thinner border, full-size "Arizona" die and full-size, centered slogan at the bottom. This die arrangement was seen exclusively from the mid "E" series to the end of the plate's issuance in 1997, somewhere in the "N"s.
	Arizona 1997 passenger issue. Late period Cactus plate. For some reason, later in the series, motorists began placing the year sticker in the top right of the plate instead of the bottom right as had previously been the norm. Otherwise identical to the 1989 plate above.
	Arizona 1998 passenger issue. This new graphic base is Arizona's current issue. It features a colorful desertscape, cacti and mountains. This plate was designed by ALPCA member Wally Punzmann (#6155) and was named ALPCA Plate of the Year in 1997. This remains the current Arizona base today.
	Arizona 2004 passenger issue. Continuation of the base above, this one features larger validation stickers. The size of the year sticker was increased starting with 2001 expirations, and the larger month sticker seems to be a more recent development. These stickers work OK on the new plate, but are kind of a mess on the older, still-valid maroon plates, since they don't fit in any of the corners of the plate without overlapping the numbers. Minor issue, I mostly just included this one since I hadn't changed this page in a while.