[ QUOTE ]
I believe that each office had a supply of plates to work with
[/ QUOTE ]
Yes, I am sure that this is the case.
I'd go into local DMV offices around me, which there are several of, and they had drawers where the plates were in limited stacks; probably rotated and supplied in an as needed basis.
California is a large state, of course, and I can only assume that they were shipping boxes of these to DMV offices in no random order as they were being supplied.
Trying to get some general proximity to VIN/Build dates for those who locate plates they wish to reissue to their cars!
