Historic AJ 1 Number Plate Raises Money for Road Safety
The historic AJ 1 number plate, first issued 113 years ago, has been sold at auction for £243,000 on behalf of the North Yorkshire Police. The money raised will be used for making the roads of North Yorkshire safer.
AJ 1 was Issued in 1907
AJ1 was the first to be issued in the North Riding of Yorkshire on 6th December 1907. It was first used by the chief constable of what was then North Riding Constabulary, Major Sir Robert Bowyer, who had the plate registered to his Argyll car.
The North Yorkshire police force continued to use the rare plate for more than a century. While attached to a Ford Granada of the force, AJ1 was pictured on Pope protection duties during his visit to York in 1982.
North Yorkshire Police Decides to Sell AJ 1
The decision to sell the number plate was approved by the county's police, fire and crime commissioner Julia Mulligan in agreement with the current chief constable, Lisa Winward. The PFCC said, "The historical link of the AJ1 registration is important to North Yorkshire." However, it was decided that the value of the plate could better used.
The plate was put up for sale with Wilson’s Auctions of Belfast. The auctioneers said that AJ1 had attracted a lot of attention, particularly because it is unusual for a plate of that age to have passed through so few owners. The plate finally went for £243,000, but Wilson’s were not able to disclose the name of the buyer.
The AJ1 Fund Aids Road Safety
Money from the sale of AJ 1 was invested into two separate projects. The first is to support work to improve the Memorial Garden in the middle of the North Yorkshire Police Force headquarters at Alverton Court in Northallerton.
The second project was to set up a new AJ 1 Fund which would be offered as grants for road safety schemes to help children, cyclists, motorcyclists and older road users. There were many applications for funding and 90 schemes have now been chosen to benefit from the cash. Agreements are being drawn up with the local groups for the distribution of the money.
"Although the AJ 1 numberplate will always have a historical connection to North Yorkshire Police, I strongly believe that it was right to use the value of the registration mark to make a real impact on people’s lives today.”
A Personalised Number Plate Can Be a Great Investment
As demonstrated by the sale of AJ1, personalised and private number plates can be sold for huge sums of money. A plate from the same era – AJ9 – is available from CarReg and would make a great investment opportunity.
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