9th September 2015

Guernsey number plate sold for £240,000

How much would you pay for a cherished number plate? The answer was £240,000 for the mystery buyer of 007, the low-number Guernsey plate sold at auction on 9 September 2015.

With initial estimates putting its value at a maximum of £60,000, that represented a mark-up of four times on what the experts had believed it might achieve. Naturally, the fact that 007 was also the code number of fictional secret agent James Bond would have heightened interest.

007 was a brand new issue from the States of Guernsey, which hadn’t been used on a vehicle before. It was auctioned by Martel Maides.

The most expensive British number plate sold at auction was 25 O (that’s the letter O, not a zero), which fetched £518,000 in 2014. OO 7 (two letters and one number) has also been issued by DVLA which, improperly spaced, could cause confusion with the States of Guernsey plate.

Guernsey number plates

Guernsey number plates consist of between one and five digits, without letters. This sets them apart from Jersey plates, which are preceded with a J and Alderney plates, which carry AY at the front.

Several special plates are reserved. Plate number 1 adorns the Bailiff of Guernsey’s official car, while the Lieutenant-Governor, the monarch’s representative on the island, is ferried about in the only car without a plate. He or she is also granted the plates G1 and G2 for use on their private vehicles.

Registration plates have been compulsory on all road-going vehicles on Guernsey since 1908.

Guernsey, Alderney and Jersey have their own national identifiers, which may also appear on the plate. These are GBG, GBA and GBJ respectively. Cars are not permitted on Sark or Herm. Although the islands both allow tractors there is no requirement for them to display a number plate.

Special number plates

007 wasn’t the only special plate the States of Guernsey has issued. From time to time it produces notable combinations, which are advertised in the Guernsey Press.

The States defines a special plate as one which:

• consists of five consecutive digits, or
• is the same when read backwards as forwards, or
• consists of fewer than five digits, or
• has two pairs of digits in it somewhere.