NUMBER PLATE FACTS:Since their humble begining in 1903, cherished numbers have continued to increase in popularity often adding the finishing touch to our prized posessions and very often prove to be a valuable investment.
The Motor Car Act 1903, which came into force on 1 January 1904, required all motor vehicles to be entered on an official vehicle register, and to carry number plates. The Act was passed in order that vehicles could be easily traced in the event of an accident or contravention of the law. Vehicle registration number plates in the UK are rectangular or square in shape, with the exact permitted dimensions of the plate and its lettering set down in law.
It had been expected to sell for between £15,000 and £25,000 but the first Manx vehicle registration plate ever to be issued was eventually sold last week for £100,000. It is, says auctioneer Murray Keefe, a valuable piece of Manx history.
“It was the first Isle of Man number plate and people do like to have number 1. At the auction we had 4 telephone lines wanting to bid on the number plate and quite a few bidding in the room so I was not surprised it made so much money knowing that some of the plates in the United Kingdom make substantially more than that.
2010 Car Number Plates
We’re now just over a month away from the introduction of the 2010 number plate on all new cars hitting the road after the beginning of March.
While the excitement surrounding the introduction of new number plates may go over some people’s heads, during the past few years a real demand has grown for personalised plates, with some selling for an absolute fortune at auction.
Music legend Elton John’s former number plate ELT 70N recently went up for auction for just under £1,000, but that’s nothing compared to the £113,815 one crazy person (in the nicest sense) shelled out on a 1 HRH number plate auctioned by the DVLA at the beginning of 2009. And even that has some way to go to surpass £254,000 paid to take ownership of the 51 NGH plate.
Eric Morecambes Cherished Number Rescued!
Eric Morecambe’s 1971 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow has been spared from the scrapheap at the last minute.
Peter Yates, who runs a wedding car firm in Morecambe, spotted the car in a Shrewsbury junkyard just 24 hours before it was due to be dismantled.
He said finding the car – which had the number plate EM100 when Morecambe owned it – was a ‘miracle’.
The car was owned by the comic from 1971 and 1974 – as shown by the original order note – and Yates says it still smells of cigar smoke.
How the car came to be in a scrapheap is unknown. Seven years ago the car, including the personalised number plate, sold for £36,000 at auction.
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So let the experts take the stress out of buying or selling your registration mark. Why not browse this site, and if you need any further assistance, we are on hand from 9am until 7pm Monday - Saturday, 10am - 4pm Sunday.