It's even older than the old money. The format you mention (which preceeded the format we have now) is A123 ABC
Mine is the format before that! (Circa the 70's). The 'actual' plate is DOL 314N. But my '3' appears to have slipped a bit to the left
Ah, all makes sense now and the three looks so much better on the left, almost as if it should always have been there