A year after going public regarding the intended sale of rare private number plate HS 0, the Scottish Council still have not agreed a sale.
It was reported that East Renfrewshire Council were confident of eventually selling for a six figure sum (£100,000 or more). Whilst the registration is desirable to many whom have the initials HS, not many can afford such a figure so patience is required when looking to achieve a high price.
Last year in January 2023 the council had agreed that the number plate served no real purpose and by many was viewed as an unnecessary extravagance. Whilst this opinion may be shared by many constituents of East Renfrewshire, in reality the registration mark would have cost the council nothing as it would have been allocated to the area over 100 years ago. Often used on Council or Mayoral vehicles across the United Kingdom, during times of austerity some community groups have mounted pressure on councils, forcing them to sell off registrations which have become valuable over the last few decades. There have been some instances where the funds have gone to worthy local causes and charities to help those most in need.
The council said the sale had been identified as a possible way to bring in much needed income. It had been suggested that potential suitors could include celebrities with 'HS' initials, such as pop star Harry Styles.
According to private number plate agent CarReg, short plates with “HS” can fetch high prices. 97 HS is listed for sale on CarReg.co.uk website for £18,150 and HS 91 for £23,500.
Russell Palmer of CarReg believes single digits are far more rare and would command £60/70,000 upwards, although 9 HS has been advertised for sale for figures in the region of £125,000, so whilst some may value HS 0 at £100,000-150,000, others may not see it to be worth any more or less than any other HS single number. The top prices generally are reserved for the number 1, with HS 1 or similar would be valued at around £250,000 in the current market. The rarity value of a registration with a zero numeric is what is difficult to determine, given the fact that with the vast majority of letter combinations start with number one through to 9999. As 0 numeric plates are so rare perhaps in this case it must be valued from a unique perspective priced between the values of HS 2, HS 3 HS 4 etc and that of HS 1.
In 2024, a council representative confirmed that a buyer was yet been found for the HS 0 number plate. They said: “Our historic number plate is still for sale and we remain confident it will fetch a six-figure sum.”
Registrations with fewer characters generally attract a higher price, particularly those with common initials. The more frequent a set of initials are matched the more in demand that combination will be and this often reflects in the values which can be achieved for a personalised number plate.
