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Chris Higgins
State Plates: All 50 States in Convenient Souvenir Plate Form
by Chris Higgins - November 6, 2009 - 8:15 AM

You’ve definitely seen them: commemorative state plates featuring landmarks and slogans from a particular state. I call them “state plates,” but the official term among collectors is “souvenir state plates.” They’re often displayed in kitchens, and the designs range from kitschy to classy to impossibly bizarre — see below for examples of each. According to CountryHome (in their “What’s Hot Now” feature!), state plates have been around since the 1870s:

Souvenir state plates date back to the 1870s. When travel became more accessible thanks to cars, they became increasingly popular with jet-setting travelers. There are tons of unsigned, flea-market-type plates out there, but keep your eyes open for some big-name manufacturers, including Vernon Kilns, Homer Laughlin, Salem China Company, and even Wedgwood.

In the post below, I (with the able assistance of Sadie Eck, standing in as Mental_Floss State Plate Research Assistant for this post) have collected plates for ALL FIFTY STATES. I’ve picked out some favorites first, then the rest are in alphabetical order. Fun things to do while looking through them: count the states you’ve visited, count the states you’ve lived in, spot the craziest designs.

South Carolina

south_carolina

New Mexico

new_mexico

Ohio

ohio

West Virginia

west_virginia

Oregon

oregon

South Dakota

south_dakota

Alaska

alaska

Click the little numbers below to see the rest!

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Comments (15)

  1. Great post! I collect state plates as well. I have about 32 presently. The only one from my collection that also appears in this post is Idaho. I collect all kinds of kitschy souvenirs, but state plates are my favorite, so this totally makes my day! For some reason I am drawn to the California plates, esp. San Francisco. I’ve had to force myself to stop getting those! The square shaped ones like this Great Smoky Mountains plate are my favorite: http://vegebrarian.blogspot.com/2009/09/few-new-state-plates.html

    posted by vegebrarian on 11-6-2009 at 9:46 am

  2. OMG, what a trip down memory lane! My parents used to collect these. I remember them hanging on the wall in the den. They’re no longer up and now I wonder what my parents did with them???

    posted by Fran on 11-6-2009 at 10:16 am

  3. At one time I worked for World Wide Art Studios, a company that made their fortune creating these plates. They also (many years ago) used to do similar art work on large ash trays and other paraphernalia. Prior to that, they had been Atlas Crystal and created glass snow globes. Last I knew they were doing advertising items (such as coffee mugs and mousepads) with logos imprinted.

    posted by Hyacinth on 11-6-2009 at 11:34 am

  4. Haha, my parents have a complete set of state plates displayed in their basement!

    posted by holly on 11-6-2009 at 12:22 pm

  5. OMG I am so embarrassed for the NJ plate! Instead of “The Garden State” it says “The New Jersey Turnpike” and shows what I assume are pictures of it, before it became the ugly mess it is today. I get the idea…they show the two bridges on either end of the turnpike, with some of the stops along the way…but wow, they could’ve done so much better. I hope there’s a better NJ plate out there.

    posted by Susan on 11-6-2009 at 12:52 pm

  6. I wonder who designed these? I love IN’s- my homestate. I’m a Purdue Boilermaker, my brother went to IU down in Bloomington. No one in the family went to Notre Dame… there are other schools, too, of course- but completely cracks me up that the 2 featured are Notre Dame and Purdue… While not an IU fan, I’d have to say it’s at least as well known as the other 2… if not more so…
    teehee
    (juvenile victory giggle) ;)

    posted by ann on 11-6-2009 at 3:15 pm

  7. There are things in Indiana? This plate has to be lying. (I’m a Hoosier.)

    posted by Kelly on 11-6-2009 at 4:03 pm

  8. the north carolina plate is a clock. that doesnt count.

    posted by caro on 11-6-2009 at 4:54 pm

  9. i find it weird that on the MI plate they have the international bridge but not the mackinac bridge?!

    posted by laura on 11-6-2009 at 5:33 pm

  10. This is amazing. I love it.

    posted by Clint on 11-6-2009 at 7:37 pm

  11. This was great! It really brought back memories of my grandparents’ house. They had many of them on this one wall and when you walked by they would shake ever so slightly but the sound has stuck with me for over 35 years.

    posted by Cyndi on 11-6-2009 at 8:54 pm

  12. The North Carolina plate looks a lot like the Kentucky plate, only upside down. I’d never noticed how those two states have very similar shapes, only rotated.

    posted by Kelky on 11-7-2009 at 5:22 pm

  13. Laura, look again. The Mackinac bridge is right in the middle.

    posted by Mrs. Coffee on 11-7-2009 at 9:04 pm

  14. I have to admit, the N.J. plate made me laugh. Commemorating a tollbooth? :)

    posted by NYCGirl on 11-7-2009 at 9:06 pm

  15. I love these plates, I also collect the tiles and have some bamboo trays from other countries; and a japanese shrimp lacquer bamboo platter. wonderful indeed.

    posted by RE - RecycledFrockery on 11-8-2009 at 1:48 am

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