What are Cherished Number Plates?
Cherished plates are so called because, for them to remain in circulation until the present day, they had to be passed along from one owner to another. Thus, they were often passed down from generation to generation as a sort of family heirloom or remained on a classic vehicle as it saw one owner swapped for another again and again.
Cherished plates are cultural artefacts as well as objects of fascination for many. The plethora of collectors, scholars, clubs, societies, and just sheer information available concerning cherished numbers begs the question: how could something as prosaic as a car registration plate become the locus of such preoccupation? Put simply, cherished number plates are imbued with meaning; they are symbols which command respect, which inspire awe, or which, in onlookers, conjure up fewer noble emotions such as envy.