Ronaldo’s Dream Plate – and Other Star Stories

In the Sunday news this week was a story about Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, who's got himself in a spin over the private registration CR 7.

Millionaire property tycoon Charlie Robinson currently owns the registration, and Ronaldo may well pay the £175,000 Robinson is asking for the registration plate - the number features not only Ronaldo's initials, but also his favourite shirt number and the name of his fashion store in Funchal. He's even planning the launch of a nightclub bearing the CR 7 name - talk about branding!

Despite Ronaldo's enthusiasm, the plate means a lot to Robinson who said, "that registration plate is close to my heart and I won't be letting it go easily". Robinson though is willing to relinquish rights to the cherished number in exchange for the registration CR 1.

Ronaldo isn't the only celeb who loves personalised number plates. Many stars have invested in unique and interesting number plates that match their professions - one such celebrity is Toyah Willcox. National Numbers brochure features an interview with the legendary Toyah, who talks to us about investing in number plates and her fantastically varied career. If you don't yet have a copy, bag your free number plate brochure now!

The magician and entertainer Paul Daniels owns a registration that speaks for itself: MAG 1C.

Funny man Jimmy Tarbuck owns COM 1C, which fits brilliantly.

The personalised reg S8 RRY is owned by ex Take That band member and solo artist Robbie Williams – the "sorry" registration was a message to fans to explain the purchase of his very expensive car. He later ended up buying a moped!

Amstrad founder and The Apprentice star Sir Alan Sugar owns AMS 1 – which is absolutely perfect for his name and all of his business ventures.

Even her Highness Queen Elizabeth 2nd owns a private registration - A7 - a stately mark, fit for a Queen, and issued in London in 1903.

Dateless registrations like these really are the cream of the crop when it comes to the most personal of personalisations – why not try a search for your own star plate? National Numbers Dateless Number Plates page or our Number Plates Search showcase millions of potentials – give them a whirl!

Evans Pays £5 Million for Ferrari Spyder

A £5 million Ferrari, once owned by Hollywood actor James Coburn, has been bought by BBC DJ Chris Evans. The 250 GT SWB California Spyder was bought at auction by Evans, who paid twice the estimated price for the sleek Ferrari at RM Auctions' Ferrari Leggenda e Passione event.

Auctions are often a great place to pick up rare buys you'd never find elsewhere. RM Auctions' founder Rob Myers told the BBC News web site that the fact the Ferrari was owned by Coburn was a factor in the higher-than-expected winning bid for the car, along with plenty of interest from other bidders, as well as Evans.

According to the Ultimate Car Pages web site, the California Spyder was a production car - however no two vehicles were the same, because they were finished to meet customers' demands.

So it looks like Evans really has bought a piece of history for his £5 million!

Looking for a good investment that will stand the test of time? How about a personalised dateless registration from National Numbers. We can't promise a piece of Hollywood history, but for personalisation and value for money, there's no better statement!

Private Registrations for St. George: England’s Glory

It's that time of year again for celebrating everything that is English: no, not pints of warm beer, cricket, HP sauce, interminable queue lengths, or even the ubiquitous fry up; but St. George's day, on 24th of April; and how quickly it has come around this year!

But who was St. George anyway? Well, he was a soldier of the Roman Empire, born some time around 275-281 AD. Of course, his notoriety comes from the legendary slaying of the evil dragon. Apparently the dragon would lie in wait over the well from which the village people of Silene in Libya would draw their daily water. The dragon required a daily human sacrifice in order to allow access to the well, and the people of Silene would pick the unfortunate individual from a hat, so to speak. One day, when the princess of the village was randomly chosen for sacrifice, the powers that be must have decided that enough was enough, and dispatched St. George to the well, who quite rightly jumped in with both feet, and killed the dragon with his sword. Hooray for patriotism!

As well as being the patron saint of England and also Canada, China, Ethiopia, Greece, Montenegro, Palestine, Portugal, Russia, and Serbia – St. George is also the patron saint of Freemasonry and Scouting!

In England, we've been rallying to make St. George's Day a bank holiday for years, as yet with little success. But you could always pledge your patriotism to England with a private registration from National Numbers. How about the new style/millennium registration EN57 AND? Or a classic suffix registration: ENG 72C? George also has his fair share of glory on our web site; just look at all these wonderful George private registrations!

We have a wider selection of patriotic registrations and saint registrations that are well worth a look.

Happy St. George's Day!

Happy Birthday, Dear Gwen!

Gwen, one of National Numbers longest serving members of staff, is celebrating her birthday today.

We know a lady never reveals her true age, so here's a subtle but much deserved ...

Ode To Gwen

Gwen, Gwen, you're such a gem
Out of ten we give you ten
You fill the office with orange zen
And you're so much wiser, than three wise men!

Happy birthday Gwen!

Here are some Gwen number plates that could've been made for you:

Number Plates for Gwen:

Happy Birthday Eric!

The Chairman of National Numbers, Eric, is celebrating his birthday today. His age is a figure shrouded by a degree of uncertainty - however, he has been heading up National Numbers for about 28 years, and previously worked in engineering for chemical giant ICI, so we can safely say he's been around long enough to know his stuff.

The perfect plate for Mr. Craggs? He already has it - EC 2, although I think he would take some persuading to part with it! Eric also owns EC 5 - both plates are excellent examples of two-initial dateless plates. Not so great on the wallet - but oh so very personal, and well worth the investment.

Happy birthday Eric!

Try National Numbers' initial number plates search to find your own perfect registration!

Most Expensive Number Plate? – Here's The “1” To Watch!

Interested to learn what the world's most expensive number plate is? Here's the "1" to watch – quite literally!

Because the diminutive digit number 1 is set to become the World's most expensive number plate – with an estimated value of 25 million Dirhams (more than 3.5 million pounds) – when it sells at auction in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on February 16.

A similarly small registration number, the number 5, currently holds the record as the World's most expensive number plate, selling for a staggering 25.2 million Dirhams (again, more than 3.5 million pounds) .

Abdullah Mattar, Managing Director of Emirates Auction says, "Number 5 was sold for 25.2 million, which set the Guinness world record as the most expensive number plate. So we expect more for number plate 1". According to Mr. Mattar, the company expects fierce bidding from at least five people for number plate 1.

National Numbers sell some very special registrations, and with prices starting at just £188, they afford a cheap and cheerful way to personalise your vehicle. If you're stuck for ideas, we have plenty of suggestions. How about your name, initials, or browse through a list of A-Z Single Letters?

Or, if you yearn for something really special and very unique, and you have half as much money to spend as our Arab chums, you couldn't go far wrong with a classic dateless plate or irish plate featuring the number 1. Here are some singular suggestions to stir up your imagination:

CTK 1	1 GOA
1 GE	PAY 1T
XE 1	1 NKH
NKZ 1	HX 1

EC 2 and Vintage Marshall Story from National Numbers

If you're interested in vintage cars and registrations, then read our new number plate story on EC 2 and the vintage Marshall on the National Numbers web site. It's all about our recent purchase of a very special registration: EC 2, and the fascinating tale behind the vintage Marshall car from which it came.

Check out the story (with pictures of the Marshall) and the history of the number plate and the Marshall (text kindly supplied by Bonhams).

Thinking of Investing? Number Plates Are The Real Deal!

When it comes to investing your cash wisely, you could do far worse than putting your money where your personalised number plate is.

Driving to work this dazzling summer morning, Eric had a sighting from yore in the form of a number plate – a dateless registration (meaning it can be affixed to any vehicle regardless of age) with the suffix DD, on a King’s coach (King’s are a coach travel firm here in Middlesbrough).

Amazingly, this DD plate, and thousands of others just like it, were all available for the paltry figure of around £100 each 20 years ago – a quick DD number plate search on the National Numbers web site proves just how excellent an investment number plates can be – now these plates command a price far more bountiful; around £2500.

As I mentioned, Eric bought the plates for about £100 apiece, specifically for the King’s coach company. The chairman of National Numbers enlisted the services of a gentleman in Gloucester, who took a whole two years to fulfil the tailor-made order, scouring the county for the seven plates; most of which were found on Morris Minor cars. Finding the host cars for specific reg and canvassing the owners had to be done back in the day, as it just wasn’t possible to call a number plate dealer, or use a web site to buy reg – and there was no such thing as a retention certificate! *

Selling the plates on to King’s for £300 each delivered a tidy return for Eric, back in eighties. And it’s so nice to see the DD plates still in use on the coaches in Middlesbrough. The members of staff that have been with us for the 25 years since we founded are always looking out for the infamous Double D number plates that have proved such a delightfully delicious investment for our coach firm customer.

Even our customers agree. Our customer testimonials include accounts from folks whose plates have, at worst, retained the value; and at best, made them money, since they first purchased them.

Where to start? Try our clever search to find your own great investment, or browse through our DD number plates for ideas.

Or, if you’re interested to read more about investing in private number plates, our article Number Plates For Investment contains everything you need to know and also makes an interesting read!

* Retention certificates allow owners to remove registrations from their vehicle and "retain" them through a Certificate of Entitlement; they can then easily transfer UK registered plates between vehicles at their convenience.

Interview with Derek Clements - Seller of Cherished Reg Plates CEO 1 and CEO 2

Well, the bidding on the number plates CEO 1 and CEO 2 has finally closed. CEO 1 sold for a whopping £154,100.01. The bidding on CEO 2 ended on £10,000 (its reserve was not met).

For those who are new to the story, we’ve been closely watching the bidding on Derek Clements’ cherished registrations CEO 1 and CEO 2.

National Numbers’ Chairman, Eric Craggs, got the chance to catch up with Derek whilst taking a short break in Cumbria (which, co-incidentally, also happens to be the home of CEO 1 and CEO 2: the numbers were first registered there).

In fact, Derek and Eric get on famously, not in the least down to their shared interest in classic cars and cherished numbers.

Derek has been interested in classic cars and classic car restoration since 16 years of age. He has spent most of his adult life reviving and refurbishing old and jaded classic cars to their former glory.

Leaving school in 1961 at 16 years old, he saw his first E–type Jaguar Series I and said, "one day I’ll own one of those!"

By 1966, at the tender age of 21 years, Derek had bought his first E–type Jaguar for £750. Although he couldn’t afford car insurance, he didn’t let this curb his enthusiasm to drive, and so the car was insured in his father’s name.

Despite insurance woes, this was a fantastic era to be 21 years old. Take the widespread national pride over England’s World Cup glory, and mix it with the image and excitement generated by sensuously–styled classic car that most 21 year olds could only dream of, and you surely have a perfect James Bond–esque dream lifestyle!

Sadly, the dream had to end, and Derek sold the car a few years later for £500: a small loss for such prestige!

Mr. Clements’ connection with Jaguar actually runs far deeper than his first car: his aunt is Mrs Emily Baily whose husband Claude Baily was a chief engine designer for Jaguar in the fifties. Baily was instrumental in the design of the four-cam racing engine that powered the Jaguar XJ13 and he and another designer were jointly responsible for the XK and the V12 engine.

But what happened to Derek’s first love, his E–type? Well, the car was exported to Australia, but happily, he has since received letters from its owner, who is taking good care of her, and making the most of her elegance by exhibiting her in competitions.

Despite a brief diversion into restoring the classic MGB, Derek was soon lured back to the E–type and other Jaguar cars, and quickly built a profitable and rewarding career based on his favourite hobby.

One of Derek’s best deals was buying a Roadster for £3,000, which he restored, and sold for £30,000.

More recently, Derek bought five cars of elite prestige, including a Jaguar XK120, from a local dealer. One of the cars, an Aston Martin DB6, had the cherished number CEO 1 on it. He sold the car and transferred the plate to one of his E–type Jaguars. As part of the same deal came a Ferrari Daytona on which CEO 2 was registered. The dealer had already sold the car but Mr. Clements bought the plate on a retention certificate.

The online auction has ended for CEO 1 and CEO 2, and so too has this particular chapter in Derek Clements’ life. But I doubt that his love of the classic Jaguar E–type or of cherished registrations will ever die.

If you have an interest in the cars mentioned here, check out the E–type Club or the MGB Enthusiasts Group, or our Number Plate Story GTY 7, a tale about the cherished number GTY 7 that was proudly displayed on Phillip Walton’s Jaguar MK 2 at the Monte Carlo Rally.

If your love lies with cherished numbers, how about these classic car themed suggestions?

Sounds like Bond, James Bond: C8 OND or B1 OND
Sounds like MG: 4 MG or K155 MGB
E–Type: ETY 9E or E10 JAG

CEO 1 Plate Breaks £150,000!

Just a quick update this morning to duly note that the current bidding on the number plate CEO 1 stands at £154,100.01 and 101 bids. CEO 2 is at £10,000.00 24 bids.

Both have just over two days left!

Latest Updates on CEO 1 and CEO 2

NumberPlateGirl yesterday wrote that she would keep you informed on the bidding on cherished number plates CEO 1 and CEO 2, but I have decided to have a go at Blogging myself by posting a simple update.

75 people have ramped the current bid on the CEO 1 cherished number plate to a slick £127,300.

The CEO 2 number plate follows behind at £7,900 and 16 bids.

Both plates have just under 6 days left.

So it's not a massive jump since yesterday, but it's common knowledge that eBayers often "lurk" around a sale, waiting until the last minute until they strike.

Let's hope that's the case, and the plates close on their true worth.

Incidentally, I was talking with the seller of the plates, Mr. Clements, this morning; we exchanged our own stories on the beautiful Jaguar XK120 (we're both big enthusiasts). NumberPlateGirl is busy right now writing up our stories. I'll have her post those when they're done.

In the mean time, if you're in the mood for some number plate stories, why not take a look at our story about the Monte Carlo Rally and number plate GTY 7, complete with fantastic pictures of the car, a Jaguar MK 2.

The Corporate Race For Cherished Number Plates CEO 1 and CEO 2

There has been a lot of talk in the press and on television over the past few days about the race to buy number plates CEO 1 and CEO 2 at auction.

It’s easy to see why people have been clamouring to buy the coveted plates, which are for sale on eBay.

These desirable numbers are perfect for business leaders across the length of the country: Chief Executive Officers, Communication Electronics Officers and Chief Electoral Officers will be falling over themselves for developments on the sales; not to mention the countless number plate enthusiasts who would no doubt envy the owner of such distinguished marks.

As it stands, the bidding on CEO 1 is currently at £126,100 with 69 bids; CEO 2 considerably less at £7,900 and just 16 bids (and quite rightly so – which fat cat wants to be number 2?).

But how far would a bidder go to secure CEO 1? After all, money might be no object for the jet set that this simple abbreviation describes.

With less than a week to go until the close of the auctions, it really is a demonstration of a plate’s value being determined by "what’s it worth to the buyer?" – and in this case, the buyers are some of the richest people in the country!

What remains to be seen is whether or not the final sale price of the plate will reach last years proportions, when the registration M1 sold for a staggering £331,000.

The seller of the plates is Derek Clements, 61, a retired bank manager from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, who is removing them from the two classic E-Type Jaguars amongst his collection of classic cars. In previous lives, the plates have adorned car brands as glamorous as Ferrari and Aston Martin.

The number plates were, in fact, first registered in 1956 and are what is known in the trade as being "dateless" – because they carry no year identifier and it would be necessary to consult a reference book to find out when they were originally issued. This only serves to increase the value and exclusivity of the plates, as they can be used on a vehicle of any age. The "C" part of the number has absolutely no relation to the fact that the plates were first registered in Cumbria. The "EO" parts of the number plate however relate to the town of registration, Barrow-in-Furness.

Eric Craggs, Director of National Numbers expects the bidding to go as high as £150,000. Would he be interested in buying CEO 1 for himself? Not at all, he believes the number plate would be far better off in the possession of a chief to a large multinational company.

And happily, Mr. Clements intends to use the money to "enjoy his retirement".

I think the stories of CEO 1 and CEO 2 are particularly interesting and shall be watching the bidding on eBay closely over the coming week, so watch this space for more news!

To enter a bid on CEO 1, you can view the plate on eBay, or for an alternative CEO plate, try National Number's Clever Search. We could offer you the slightly risqué K155 CEO at £1299, or the more demure M155 CEO at £999.

Either way, you’re likely to find your perfect reg, for a far more reasonable price!