London, UK, September 5, 2008 — The first registration number plate to be issued in Edinburgh – ‘S1’ – will be auctioned at Bonhams’ Goodwood Revival Sale on 19 September 2008, Chichester, West Sussex. It is estimated at £200,000-250,000. The registration number ‘S1’ originally belonged to Sir John H A MacDonald, Lord Kingsburgh (1836-1919) and Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland (1888-1919) – a leading pioneer of motoring, who foresaw the rapid development of the motor car and the need for a proper road system. Sir John MacDonald was one of the first owners of a car in Scotland. Renowned for his […]
London, UK, September 5, 2008 — The first registration number plate to be issued in Edinburgh – ‘S1’ – will be auctioned at Bonhams’ Goodwood Revival Sale on 19 September 2008, Chichester, West Sussex. It is estimated at £200,000-250,000.
The registration number ‘S1’ originally belonged to Sir John H A MacDonald, Lord Kingsburgh (1836-1919) and Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland (1888-1919) – a leading pioneer of motoring, who foresaw the rapid development of the motor car and the need for a proper road system.
Sir John MacDonald was one of the first owners of a car in Scotland. Renowned for his willingness to embrace new ideas, he championed forward-thinking trends. He was also a founding member of the Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland—later to become the R.A.C.—and the first president of the Scottish Automobile Club, founded in 1899.
Motor registration marks were introduced in 1903 and Sir John H A MacDonald became the owner of registration number ‘S1’, the very first number for Edinburgh that same year. This historic number has been in the same family since then.
Bonhams has a strong track record of achieving high prices for registration numbers. In 2005, the company sold registration ‘1F’ for £144,5000 and in 2006, it sold ‘M1’ for a world record auction price of £331,500.
