Number Plates News

Big Sales at Home and Abroad in Number Plate Auctions

12 June 2009

Wychwood Park in Cheshire was the scene of some furious bargaining last week at the latest DVLA sale of cherished numbers.

It seemed likely that there would be a battle between 7 T and 3 0 to see which plate would command the greatest interest. In the end, 7 T triumphed, taking the prize of over £80,000.

Although the original T series dates back to the turn of the 20th Century, the suffix' versions - i.e. those with the letter T at the end rather than at the beginning - were not used. The attraction of this previously unissued but, nonetheless, classically-styled plate was clear.

Similarly, the suffix 'O' series was certain to turn more than a few heads. Both 1 O and 2 O had gone for enormous sums at previous such events. The higher numerical prefixes would not be expected to fare quite as well, but the resulting £63,00 odd is certainly to to be sniffed at.

More than 1600 plates in total were offered at the three-day sale and all manner of appetites would have been satisfied by the sheer variety of examples available.

For example, MRS 805S, A007 SPY and NOT 600D all went for well over the £6k mark, whilst the more conservative combinations 96 JS, DER 6Y, 81 BD and ADS 12 each exceeded.

We can now look forward to another round of exciting registration deals at the RBS Williams F1 Conference Centre in Wantage, Oxfordshire on 5th, 6th, 7th August 2009, when 4 O will be wheeled out before an eager audience.

Of course the prices achieved in the UK cannot hope to match the astronomical dealings that frequently take place at similar market places in the Middle East. At an auction in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last week, the turnover was over £6m!

Top of the league was '99' at £1,116,800 - making it the 8th most expensive number plate ever. Altogether a bit of a bargain, it seems, since the deal seems, bizarrely, to also include '9', '999', '9999' and '99999'

In other transactions, '26' and '42' took over £400,000 each. '31', '68 and '720' raised over £340,000 a piece, whilst comparative bargains '151' and £171' were each snapped up for little more than a paltry £100,000!

[Note: Prices are shown at the current exchange rates for United Arab Emirate dirhams (AED). UK figures include taxes and fees.]