JB 1 license plate gets huge $472,000 bid in auction and it only gets higher and higher from there
Published on Jul 14, 2025 at 10:22 PM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Jul 14, 2025 at 12:24 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A JB 1 license plate with a special historical connection recently sold for an eye-popping amount after attracting a bid of $472,000 and climbing.
The rare JB 1 British license plate was first issued all the way back in 1932.
It recently went up for auction during the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and ended up selling for a lot more than you might expect.
In fact, the JB 1 plate could be the highest priced license plate ever sold in the UK.
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The JB 1 license plate had an interesting former owner
You may already know that personalized and rare license plates are big business.
The world’s most expensive license cost the buyer a whopping $15 million.
The plate in question – which is simply P7 –was snapped up by a mystery motorist in Dubai.
Over in the UK, a RR1 plate, issued back in the 1920s, sold for $616,836 at a private auction.
On Friday, 11 July, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed a JB 1 license plate, first issued in 1932 went under the hammer.
The plate was originally to Jack Bentley, the man behind the world’s largest and oldest Bentley dealership.
It was sold alongside six historical photographs of the number plate displayed on Jack Barclay’s Rolls-Royce and his Bentley cars.
The plate’s provenance no doubt helped when it went under the hammer and fetched a staggering $820,444, including premiums.
The license plate clearly got motoring enthusiasts all revved up as it wasn’t long before bidding flew up to $472,000 from there it continued to climb and climb before eventually being sold for $714,519 before auction fees.
Its thought the plate could be the most expensive sold in the UK.
Back in 2014, a 25 O license plate was snapped up by Ferrari dealer John Collins at an auction in Cardiff, Wales.
At the time, it set a new record for being the most expensive British plate ever sold.
However, it sold for $698,310, a little less than the JB 1 plate, meaning we may have a new record.
It’s still a long way off from the most expensive plate ever
While the price the JB 1 license plate sold for is nothing to be sniffed at, it’s a long way off from the most expensive plate ever sold.
That title belongs to the P7 plate that was snapped up for $15 million by a Dubai motorist.
According to reports, the muti-million pound plate was seen on a Tesla Model X.
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Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Claire covers a wide variety of topics, with a special focus on cars, technology, planes, cryptocurrency, and luxury.
