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Historic plate comes up for auction

VU 1 number plate

In July 1930, Manchester County Borough Council issued the first ‘VU’ registrations.

Among these was the premier VU 1 mark. VU 1 displays no obvious indication of its age. It is, therefore, considered ‘dateless’ and it can be assigned to any vehicle.

Registration VU 1

To put this in historical perspective, let’s take a look at the world as it was 94 years ago.1930 marked the inaugural FIFA World Cup in Uruguay where, in the 30 July final, the hosts beat Argentina 4-2. The planet Pluto was discovered, and Amy Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia. Notable 1930 birth dates included those of, Princess Margaret (21 August), all three Apollo 11 astronauts: Neil Armstrong (5 August), Buzz Aldrin (20 January), Michael Collins (31st October), actors, Sean Connery (25 August), Robert Wagner (10 February) and Steve McQueen (24 March), composer, Stephen Sondheim (22 March) and singer Ray Charles (23 September).

The total possible two-letter number one registrations is, of course, quite small. It is not known exactly how many have survived, but Regtransfers have a significant number of them available.

Here are some examples:

View more 'dateless' registrations

Two-letter ‘number ones’ are among the most desirable registrations and regularly command six-figure sums. But now, a prime example is being offered for the first time in our online auction, so you could grab an absolute bargain!

VU 1 will appear on our ‘Coming soon’ page from Tuesday 9th April, from that time you will be able to add it to your watch list in order to receive updates.

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The role of DVLA

Car registrations and number plates, including personalised number plates, in the UK, are the responsibility of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, usually known as the DVLA. It issues new registrations twice a year and also maintains the central database that records details of all vehicles licensed to drive on UK roads, along with their keeper and registration information.

Regtransfers works closely with DVLA to complete registration transfers as quickly and efficiently as possible. Regtransfers is a DVLA-registered supplier of personal car registrations and number plates and is listed on the DVLA Registrations website. All number plates supplied by Regtransfers comply with DVLA's prescribed standards and regulations.

DVLA administers all UK registration transfers and issues updated registration documents when the registration number of a car is changed, or when a registration is removed from a vehicle and placed on a retention document in accordance with the DVLA Retention Scheme.

DVLA is a registered trade mark of the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency. Regtransfers is not affiliated with the DVLA or DVLA Personalised Registrations. Regtransfers is a recognised reseller of unissued Government stock.

Number plate regulations

When a car is on the road, it is an offence to display number plates bearing any number other than the vehicle's officially recorded registration number. If you purchase a private registration, learn how to transfer private plates before displaying the new number.

All registration number plates displayed on UK vehicles must comply with the official number plate regulations. DVLA oversees enforcement of number plates display regulations and maintains a register of approved manufacturers and retailers of vehicle number plates.

Regtransfers is not part of, and is not formally affiliated with DVLA.

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