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A HISTORY OF NUMBER PLATES

Since the first one was issued in 1903, car number plates have become a billion-pound business in the UK.

The first registration, DY1, was issued in Hastings in November 1903. Number plates were made compulsory from Jan 1 1904.

Legend has it that early motoring enthusiast Earl Russell made his butler queue outside London Council’s offices to secure the A1 registration. Issued on a first-come basis, the earl didn’t just outdo King Edward VII – the monarch got A7 – he was something of a trendsetter. And almost

120 years later, we’re still just as obsessed with personalised plates.

The DVLA held its first number-plate auction in 1989. Only 74 lots were sold and the most expensive was 1A, which went for £160,000. Since then, the DVLA has sold about six million number plates and generated £2 billion for the Treasury. And that doesn’t include the VAT or auction fees raised by the sales.

The DVLA sold 595,640 personalised registrations in the 2021-22 financial year, raising the revenue to £181 million (about £10 million more than the previous financial year). It says the average price for a cherished registration is £342. If that sounds expensive, it’s peanuts compared with what people are prepared to pay.

In 2014, Ferrari dealer John Collins paid the DVLA £512,480 for the plate 25 0 for his Ferrari 250 GT SWB. Next up is X1. Originally issued in December 1903, it sold for £502,500 in 2012 to an unknown bidder.

But those prices are bargain basement compared with what some have paid for their licence plates. In Abu Dhabi, the number plate “1” was sold to businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri for £7.2 million in 2008.

Back in the UK, personalised plates are popular with the rich and famous. Magician Paul Daniels had MAG 1C on his Ferrari Mondial. EH 1 graced singer Engelbert Humperdinck’s Rolls-Royce Corniche, while Alan Sugar has AMS 1 on his Roller.

Boxer Amir Khan had BOX 111G in a collection that included R6 KKO. And the comedian Jimmy Tarbuck has owned COM 1C since the 1960s.

Magician Paul Daniels had MAG 1C on his Ferrari Mondial

CARS

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Daily Telegraph