Late to the party, but felt the need to chime in.
Many moons ago my dad bought a gently used 97 K1500 he was awful proud of. We lived in Michigan where only a rear plate was required. The truck was from out of state and he thought it novel that it had the plastic plate holder on the front bumper (He never had much interest in nice vehicles, so this was definitely a novelty for him). He commented several times about getting a novelty plate for the front “Something cool like ‘I eat roadkill’” with a clever grin.
Fast forward a couple years and I happened to buy a 97 Z71 with the same license plate holder. I had two of these plates made and we both got to roll around town pissing off all the libs in the resort town we lived in.
Fast forward again and he’s in the ground, both our trucks are long gone, but my plate is still displayed proudly on my 76 in Kansas. I think of him and smile every time I see it.
Long story short, I vote for the 73 plate. Doesn’t matter if it matches the truck, it has significance to you and will hopefully bring you fond memories of your old man.