1 O joins the club

Hot on the heels of 1 HRH, which sold yesterday for nearly £114,000, the quirky registration 1 O was purchased by an anonymous telephone bidder for another princely sum – this time, a cool £210.242 (including fees and charges) – at the Whittlebury Hall auction in Northampton today. The price, which flies in the face of its modest £10,000 reserve, puts 1 0 straight into the top ten of the most expensive registrations ever sold in the UK.

Unlike many of the highly-prized historic numbers, which are regularly exchanged for vast sums, 1 O has never been issued before. The simple but fascinating combination of characters, which could be construed as anything from a number 10 to a clever binary configuration, obviously means a lot to the new owner.

Such is the regard in which ‘cherished numbers' are held, that many astute investors see them as akin to antiques or great masters – which traditionally tend to hold their value through in uncertain times. This latest example shows that there are some areas of genuine confidence in the present, uncertain, financial climate.

The auction, organised on behalf of the DVLA, continues until Saturday 31 January. Amongst the lots still to come under the hammer are 3 S. There is, naturally, enormous interest in the possibility of yet another spectacular sale.

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