Old South African Number Plates List Apr 2026

For decades, Spanner had been the unofficial keeper of the country’s automotive ghosts. But this list wasn’t just for collectors. It was a key.

Spanner turned more pages, revealing handwritten notes in Afrikaans. “My own father worked at the licensing department,” he said quietly. “He kept a secret register. Cars used by security police had invisible ink markings. This one…” He held the page under a UV lamp. Faint letters glowed: . old south african number plates list

Years later, Thandi returned to Spanner’s shop. She placed a new photograph on the counter: herself and an old man with kind eyes, standing beside a restored green Ford Anglia. The plate was a replica——but now it told a different story: one of recovery, not loss. For decades, Spanner had been the unofficial keeper

In the dusty backroom of a Pretoria memorabilia shop, old Jakob “Spanner” van der Merwe carefully lifted a brittle, sun-bleached notebook from a locked cabinet. Its cover read: “Old South African Number Plates List – Provincial Codes 1952–1994.” Spanner turned more pages, revealing handwritten notes in

Thandi’s breath caught. Her grandfather had been a teacher who protested the forced removals. He vanished one night after being seen talking to a man in a green Anglia.

Thandi felt the past roar to life. A car plate wasn’t just metal and paint—it was a witness.