Plymouth Number Plate Auction Results

PLYMOUTH – Plymouth 400 Inc.’s auction of commemorative license plates raised $106,050 to benefit the town’s birthday celebration in 2020.

The minimum bid for most plates was $500. For the lower numbers and numbers associated with historical Mayflower dates, the minimum was $1,000.

The plates numbered 1 and 1620 each went for $10,000.

The next top 10 plate numbers by bid:

$3,500 for number 12.
$3,100 for number 5.
$2,800 for number 19.
$2,700 for number 2.
$2,500 for numbers 11 and 2020.
$2,000 for numbers 3, 8, 9 and 10.

The plate number 1627 – a significant date in Pilgrim history and one that is associated with Plimoth Plantation, sold for just $550.

The minimum bid was not received for plate numbers 1623, 1824, 1863, 1920 and 1957, all of which have historical associations.

No one bid on Lou Gehrig’s number, number 4, either. Other low numbers still available are 36, 41, 49, 66, 89, 93 and 94.

Plymouth 400 Inc. said commemorative license plates are still available for general purchase through all Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles full-service branches or online.

The plates have a $40 purchase fee; $28 of that goes directly to Plymouth 400. Each time the plate is renewed, Plymouth 400 will receive the full $40 fee.

So what are the top selling number plates in the UK? The DVLA has been selling private plates to UK motorists since 1989. During this time, there have been a number of records set, but most of the top 10 have been bought in the past 15 years. Here’s what currently makes the list:

25 0 – A Ferrari dealer bought this for £518k in 2014. It is now on a £10 million Ferrari 250 SWB.
F 1 – A businessman, Afzal Khan, bought this for £440k in 2008 and put it on his McLaren-Mercedes SLR.
S 1 – This was bought in 2008 for £404k by an anonymous buyer.
1 D – Businessman Nabil Bishara bought this plate in 2009 (before One Direction was formed, so it is not a reference to the band) for £352k.
M 1 – Businessman Mike McCoomb bought this number plate in 2006 for £331k, apparently for his son, who was 10 at the time.
VIP 1 – Chelsea owner and businessman Roman Abramovich bought this plate for £285k in 2006.
51 NGH – This number plate, which looks like the surname Singh, was sold in 2006 for £254k.
1 RH – Businessman Robert Haverson bought this in 2006 for £247k.
K1 NGS – This reg plate, which looks like the word “kings”, was bought anonymously in 1993 for £231k.
1 0 – This very simple but striking number plate was bought anonymously in 2009 for £170k.

These are large amounts of money, but they are all small compared to the top-selling number plates found in other parts of the world. Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, has the record for the most expensive number plate ever sold. That number plate was a simple “1”. It was bought in 2008 by businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri for £7.25 million.

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