Registration Numbers Club

Antiques or Accessories?

So the ‘E’ prefix cherished plates were released at last by the DVLA - at 8.00am on 6 October 2004 to be precise. ‘E’ prefix plates were first issued in 1987 with the DVLA withholding 1 to 20 and certain other numbers as usual since they started selling registrations. Some specific low numbers are not available through the purchase scheme and will, no doubt, come up at future DVLA auctions - E11 EEN and E1 LEN are two such examples.

Starting at £599 each, the ‘E’ plates are a far cry from the first issues of ‘H’ and ‘J’ prefixes in 1990 and 1991 which were priced at just £280, but I guess that’s inflation for you.

“Are they good investments?” ask the purchasers. Well, like anything else bought merely as a money-maker the value of your investment can go down as well as up. However, if you bought mainly because you liked it and will obtain some form of enjoyment from the plate then what price can you put on that? If it happens to go up slightly in value if or indeed when you decide to sell then that is really a pure bonus.

Very old cherished plates are a different matter. Such numbers as Y 1 and L 2 are over 100 years old and can change hands for hundreds of thousands of pounds. Numbers like MP 1 and MG 1 are over 70 years old and change hands for similar amounts due to their obvious connections.

These plates can almost be considered to be in the same class as antique furniture or paintings. They must surely be a good investment when bought wisely and really can only go up in value - they just aren’t making any more like them. However, as with most very expensive items be they oil paintings, very large properties or even antique cherished numbers, the problem might just be finding that one buyer when you do need the cash in a hurry. The moral is surely only buy what you can readily afford.

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