Here in Taxachusetts, its only a $35 fine for first ticket, $75 for 2nd and $100 for 3rd ticket. That is with the red lettered plates they have been issuing for a couple of decades. Of course, my daily beater has a real old green lettered plate, which means you only need the one on the rear.
Why do I know all this? Because I checked it all out when I got a ticket in the mail last week for no front plate on my Cobra. I wish the cop had stopped me, because I have the second plate in the trunk. I might have been able to talk my way out of the ticket.
I'm going to add a plate in the front when I get my bracket, but I'm going to check out all of the specialty plates and see if there are any that only require one. Probably the YOM plate (Year Of Manufacture) is the only one.
I think the front plate looks ugly.