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1 HRH and 1 O set for reg record 1HRH and 1O car plates auctioned
(5 days later)
Records are expected to be broken when two personalised number plates - 1 HRH and 1 O - go under the hammer. Two distinctive car registration plates have been auctioned for a total of more than £320,000.
The 1 O registration, which has the highest reserve price ever set, is likely to exceed the current DVLA record of £254,000 for 51 NGH (Singh). The plate 1 O sold for £210,242, the fourth highest price paid to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
It is said to be the "one of the last great registrations available" to private plate connoisseurs. This fell short of expectations that it would beat the DVLA record of £254,000, set in 2006 for 51 NGH (Singh).
They are just two of 1,600 plates being sold at a three-day DVLA auction in Northamptonshire, starting Wednesday. The registration 1 HRH fetched £113,815 on Thursday, as part of the DVLA auction of 1,600 plates at Whittlebury Hall hotel, Northamptonshire.
In the world of personalised number plates, low numbers and the fewest letters have the most kudos. The plate F1 sold for more than £400,000 in a private sale last year. "The value of a number plate is increased the fewer letters and digits it has because it makes it rarer," said a DVLA spokesman.
The 1 O plate has a £10,000 reserve price tag, and the regal-sounding 1 HRH is listed at £3,200. The registration 3 S has a reserve of £8,000. He said that the 1 O plate was "about as rare as it gets".
Last year, retired Surrey-based businessman Rob Harverson bought 1 RH for £247,000 at a DVLA auction - 30 times the registration's reserve. The agency set its highest ever reserve price for the plate, of £10,000.
Damian Lawson, marketing manager for DVLA Personalised Registrations, said: "For the personalised registration connoisseur, 1 O is arguably one of rarest plates available and, as such, we have set the highest reserve ever on one of our auction plates, but one I am confident it will exceed it." The Berkshire-based businessman who bought the regal-sounding 1 HRH said that he had been "determined to keep it in British hands". TOP 10 DVLA SELLERS 51 NGH = £254,000 (2006)1 RH = £247,000 (2008)K1 NGS = £231,000 (1993)1 O = £210,242 (2009)1 A = £200,000 (1989)1 OO = £197,000 (2006)6 B = £130,000 (2008)1 HRH = £113,815 (2009)S1 NGH = £108,000 (1998)1 RR = £106,000 (1995)
TOP 10 DVLA SELLERS 51 NGH = £254,000 (2006)1 RH = £247,000 (2008)K1 NGS = £231,000 (1993)1 A = £200,000 (1989)1 OO = £197,000 (2006)6 B = £130,000 (2008)S1 NGH = £108,000 (1998)1 RR = £106,000 (1995)MR51 NGH = £101,000 (2006)1 S = £100,000 (1990) DVLA number plate auctions have raised more than £1.3bn for the Treasury since their introduction in 1989.
The first auction of 2009 is to be held in Whittlebury Hall, near Towcester. The second highest price was £247,000 paid last year by retired Surrey-based businessman Rob Harverson for the 1 RH plate.
The 1 HRH plate is due to go under the hammer on Thursday at 1030 GMT, while 1 O is set for the following day at 0900 GMT.
Other personalised registrations up for grabs include DOR IIIS (£500), HAM 155H (£900), KYL IIIE (£900), 57 OKE (£1,900) and ORV 111L (£400).
People can buy an individual plate from DVLA Personalised Registrations at any time and there are just over 30 million registrations currently available.People can buy an individual plate from DVLA Personalised Registrations at any time and there are just over 30 million registrations currently available.
It also holds about six auctions a year, which feature distinctive dateless, current and older style registrations. Private auctioneers also occasionally offer valuable plates. It also holds about six auctions a year, which feature distinctive dateless, current and older-style registrations.
In 2007, the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) raised £83m by auctioning off previously unissued numbers. Private sales of personalised number plates have raised higher prices, with the registration F1 selling for more than £400,000 last year.