Tom Jones Number Plate TJ B1G

A BEAUTIFUL Rolls-Royce thought to have once been owned by Tom Jones – complete with risqué personalised number plate and host of lavish modifications – is up for sale.

The Phantom VI is on the market for £75,000 with the same memorable registration plate fitted back in 1971: ‘T J BIG’.

According to documents, the car was delivered to Gordon Mills, who was Tom Jones’ manager at the time.

The legendary Welsh singer, at the peak of his career, requested custom options such as a bespoke cigar case, Phillips vinyl record player and Sony TV in the rear.

Additional luxuries include folding tables, tinted windows with curtains and a telephone.

Between 1968 and 1990 only 374 Phantom VIs left the Rolls Royce factory and each was hand-built upon special order.

Queen Elizabeth II was presented with a commemorative Phantom VI to celebrate her Silver Jubilee in 1977 and then a conventional one in 1986.

They served as her official state cars for 25 years and one of them carried Kate Middleton to Westminster Abbey ahead of her marriage to Prince William in 2011.

The vehicle measures 20ft long and houses an enormous 6.2-litre V8 engine reaches a top speed of around 110mph.

Car specialist Matt Malamut, from auctioneers RM Sotheby’s, which is selling the car, said: “The Phantom VI was the ultimate luxury limousine of its day and was exclusively reserved for Rolls Royce’s most important clients, including heads of state such as Queen Elizabeth II and the Sultan of Brunei.

“Gordon Mills was Tom Jones’ manager at the time of delivery and Tom would often drive or be driven in cars with the license plate T J BIG.

PLYMOUTH – The bottom line from Plymouth 400 Inc.’s commemorative license plate auction is now clear: $106,050. That’s the amount paid for just under 100 license plate numbers auctioned to benefit Plymouth 400’s preparations for the big party in 2020.

How they got there, why people paid more for some numbers, less for others, is still a mystery.

The minimum bids were $500 for most plates, $1,000 for the lower numbers and those with specific associations with historical dates associated with the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620.

The two numbers considered most desirable, 1620 and #1, each sold for $10,000.

The next top 10 plate numbers by bid were #12 with $3,500, #5 with a bid of $3,100, #19 which went for $2,800, #2 with $2,700, #11 and #2020, both of which received bids of $2,500 and #s 3, 8, 9 and 10, which each received bids of $2,000.

Clearly lower numbers were preferred over historic numbers. The plate with 1627 – a significant historic date in Pilgrim history and one that is associated with Plimoth Plantation, sold for just $550; number 13 sold for $1,300.

Of the 13 numbers that were passed because they did not receive the minimum bid, five were the historic numbers 1623, 1824, 1863, 1920 and 1957.

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

Does 93 or 94 sound like it might make a good gift for a 22- or 23-year-old (born in 1993 or 1994) who just graduated from college and needs a plate to go with that nice new car?

Plymouth 400 Inc. wants to remind those interested in supporting the 400 committee’s efforts that standard 2020 Commemorative License Plates are still available for general purchase through all Massachusetts RMV full-service branches.

The plates have a $40 purchase fee; $28 of that goes directly to Plymouth 400. Then each time the plate is renewed Plymouth 400 receives 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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