ShopLicensePlates.com will maintain a listing of articles related to our license plate collecting hobby.  Below are some interesting links related to the world of collectible license plates.

Number plate '1' sells for record $14.5m

Emirati businessman Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri, shattered the record for most money spent on a number plate, by paying 52.2 million dirhams, roughly $14.5 million, for plate number "1" at an Abu Dhabi auction this weekend. Khouri said that while he hadn’t purchased "1" as an investment, he did expect the value of the plate to double over the next two years. The lucky winner has reportedly not decided what car he’ll run the new plate on.

The auction for the world’s most valuable number plate was held on the behalf of the Abu Dhabi police force, with money raised said to be going to victims of car accidents. [Source: Winding Road]

Licentious Behavior: British Man Pays $872,000 for ‘F1’ Number Plate

British entrepreneur Afzal Khan (pictured), owner of tuning company Khan Design, has smashed records by spending £440,625 ($872,525) on license plate number "F1" recently. Khan has plans to display the wildly expensive registration on his £317,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

Khan’s purchase is just the latest in an escalating bidding war for early or historic number plates in the United Kingdom; his record bested a price of £331,000 paid 18 months ago for plate “M1.” In April of 2006, a Sikh businessman paid £254,000 for the plate “51 NGH,” which spelled out his name, Singh.

The F1 plate was the first such issued by the Essex County Council, when motor vehicle plates became compulsory in 1904. The number was first worn by a Panhard Levassor owned by Essex county surveyor Percy John Sheldon, and stayed in private hands until 1955, when it was given back to the county.

In later county service, the plate was worn by such venerable marques as a Darracq Torpedo, a Hummer, a Daimler, and a Jaguar.

Essex county authorities have said they will use the near half-million pounds to fund driver-training programs. [Source: Winding Road]