A valuable registration plate, O9, is to be sold for the first time in over 70 years at the Silverstone Classic Live Online Auction on the 1st August.

Since 1904 all vehicles in the UK have required to be registered on a national database and display a registration plate, also known as a number plate.

Each area of the country was assigned a letter, with Birmingham being assigned the letter O.

In 1949 the father of current owner of O9 bought the number plate for £5 – quite a substantial amount back then and he used on a raft of Jaguars until he passed away.

That original owner would have celebrated his 100th birthday on August 1 2020, the day when it will now go up for sale.

"Following on from our last and very successful first live online auction in May, we are very excited to be offering this early registration number," said Nick Whale, Silverstone Auctions managing director commented. "The vendor’s father was very proud to have this displayed on his cars and we are honoured to be selling it on the family’s behalf.

"Early numbers don’t often come up and this is one of those that will generate a lot of interest."

The registration number is part of a wider sale to commemorate 30 years of the Silverstone Classic. The SA-30 Collection, 30 exceptional cars chosen because of their links to the event, will be part of the sale and are being offered with no reserve.