Private plates are not just intended for display: they are intended for demanding collectors who consider them as an investment.
Last year, the record for the world’s most expensive private plate sold at auction was set in Dubai for a whopping £12 million. The plate only had two numbers: “P” and “7”.
These desirable double-digit combos are now called “superplates.”
You might naturally conclude that the most expensive of these all involve multi-million pound cars driving around Dubai and the Gulf States. But this is not the case…
Superminis with superplates: This fleet of Fiat 500s has some of the most expensive British number plates
A “superplate” contains a number and a letter – or vice versa. CarReg has 11 – and most are registered in its fleet of small Italian city cars.
Some of the world’s most expensive superflats are actually in Wolverhampton – and hidden on a fleet of Fiat 500s.
Staffordshire family business CarReg started collecting superplates in 1988.
Last year they attempted to buy back a ‘7B’ plate which they originally sold for £10,000 over 30 years ago for the massively increased price of £180,000 – but it still wasn’t enough to reduce it.
Similarly, another plate they bought in the mid-1990s – “E6” – is estimated at £300,000. They initially paid just £19,000. which means its value has increased by more than 1,475 percent.
This 1904 plate is also currently on one of CarReg’s Fiat 500s.
Russell Palmer, commission sales director, tells us: “Superplates are much more private and attractive – there are only nine possibilities each way, with all number ‘1’ plates now valued at over a million of pounds sterling each.
Jason Wilkes, managing director of CarReg, says the market for private number plates is generally very stable: “People may lose interest for a few months here and there, but quality number plates will never be in short supply.
“The original super plates were issued in the early 1900s, have survived endless recessions and two world wars, and have increased in value every year.
“We also need to take into account that many of them were lost or scrapped many years ago, making them even more desirable and suitable for investment.”
Nicknamed “superplates” due to their popularity and astronomical appreciation, the prices these plates can fetch are staggering.
Last year, the plaque with a single digit ‘R’ fetched £2.7 million at an auction in Hong Kong, surpassing the reserve price 5,100 times.
And it wasn’t even the most expensive issue sold in China.
In 2021, ‘W’ was sold for £2.74 million.
China’s transport department has made £64 million from private plate sales since 2006, figures show.
The same goes for the DVLA, which frequently holds private auctions of plates, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars from each auction.
Most expensive private plates of 2023: We reveal which personalized number plates were sold by the DVLA for the highest amounts last year – and compare them to the most expensive of all time.
Around the world, these superplates continue to grow in popularity with many different meanings behind the bidding wars. The “R” – good luck in Chinese culture – was considered a call to the hearts of racing car and sports car fans.
Others just want to be number one: the world record for a superplate was broken by an Abu Dhabi buyer who paid an almost incredible £100 million for the ‘1’.
Back in Wolverhampton, the most expensive superplate in the collection has an estimated value of £1.1 million.
This “3D” number plate is not only the golden combination of a number and a letter, but it also has an obvious three-dimensional double meaning, with this fun element driving up the price.
The second most expensive superplate in CarReg’s collection is a ‘K5’ plate worth almost a quarter of a million pounds (£495,000)
The next big hitter in CarReg’s current stock of superplates – which number 11 – is ‘K5’, which is estimated to be worth almost a quarter of a million pounds (£495,000).
A further eight superplates are worth more than £425,000, and the majority more than £450,000.
And for collectors like Russell, the chase is part of the thrill.
“We always have a long list of wanted plates, but many of those requirements will never be met because owners never want to sell,” he told us.
“Many plates are passed down within families. We are often told that a plate is not for sale, at any price.”
The “M4 RRY” plate is now up for grabs
Absolute Reg’s ‘M4 RRY’ plate is a unique way for couples in love to have a memorable proposal – and it’s up for grabs for £17,552
It’s not just superplates that provide a unique experience for drivers: private plates with unique combinations can also generate returns.
If you want to pop the question to your significant other but your imagination can’t come up with an individual way to do it, then a private plate might be the solution.
Absolute Reg’s “M4 RRY” plate is truly a one-of-a-kind way for couples in love to have a memorable proposal.
It can be used on any vehicle registered after August 1, 1994 and could help a romantic partner create a very special marriage proposal.
Priced at £17,552, it’s a bargain compared to some of the superflats available.
We don’t recommend ditching the ring in favor of a plate, though – it should be a quirky complementary touch alongside the kneeling moment.
Expect a number of wedding car suppliers to discontinue it due to the availability of the special ‘M4 RRY’ plate.
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