South Carolina timeline
Reconstruction

South Carolina In God We Trust Plate

2016–present

South Carolina · current · “In God We Trust”

Offered free beside the Revolutionary War plate, and the older of the two: the two flags hang from a single gold pole at the left, the national one above the state's. Its serial runs digits first where the newer plate runs digits then letters without a gap, so the two are told apart by shape as much as by picture. The plate shown is a reconstruction carrying an invented serial, so no real registration is depicted.

Still on the road

This is a current issue, first seen in 2016 and still being handed out. Nothing about it is settled history: the serial sequence is still advancing, and the design will only stop where the state decides to replace it.

Source 1

Printed, not stamped

This plate is smooth. The design is printed onto flat reflective sheeting rather than pressed into the metal. It is what makes photographic backgrounds and fine detail possible at all, and it is the reason a modern plate feels like a sign where an older one feels like a stamping.

Source 1

Sources

Reference photograph of an issued plate from a collector listing (All rights reserved, cited not reproduced). Issue date and serial format (CC BY-SA).

Source 1Source 2

Issued
Standard issue
The plate you received by default when you registered a vehicle.
Serial format
9999AA
Material
Flat aluminium, printed on reflective sheeting
Source license
All rights reserved, cited not reproduced
Reference
View original