The plate, J19, is expected to top the previous largest amount ever paid for a number plate in Jersey – £73,000 for J27 in July 2017.
Simon Drieu, principal of Simon Drieu and Co auctioneers, said that he had already received a significant amount of interest in the number, which is attached to a Taiwanese Sym Mio 50 -cc scooter.
‘If it does go for £80,000 I would definitely say it is the most expensive scooter and registration we have ever sold in Jersey,’ he said.
‘We are seeing a real increase in interest in special registration marks and I have had a lot of queries about this one already.’
And on Wednesday, a moped with half an engine, a snapped rusty frame and broken wheels fetched £2,700 during an auction at the company’s St Lawrence auction site.
Unsurprisingly punters were not after the moped but rather the four-digit registration number – J5372 – that was attached to it.
Speaking after the bidding, Mr Drieu said that the 50-cc Kymco ZX50 was probably the worst-condition scooter he had ever auctioned.
‘It was just being used to carry the J-number. We made people aware before the auction that it was not roadworthy,’ he said.
‘The wheels were seized solid, it had half the engine missing and there was no bodywork – it was just a bare frame.
‘We sold a Tuk-Tuk a little while ago but this is probably one of the strangest vehicles I have sold.’
Mr Drieu explained that in order to sell a registration number at the auction, it must be fixed to a vehicle.
‘It has got to be assigned to a motor vehicle and they tend to be not of significant value,’ he said. ‘It would be pointless having a registration on a vehicle of the same or higher value. People bid to obtain the plate, not the vehicle.’
Anyone wishing to bid in next week’s auction, which includes J19, should arrive at the Simon Drieu and Co auction yard on 6 June by 11 am.
