Fireman Sam-inspired number plate J999 sells for £39,500 at Jersey auction

A Jersey vehicle registration plate linked to the popular children’s TV show Fireman Sam has sold at auction for £39,500.

The J999 number plate was sold by Simon Drieu & Co at an auction in Jersey on 3 June. The registration is identical to the one displayed on Jupiter, the fictional fire engine featured in the early series of Fireman Sam, which first aired in 1987.

However, auctioneer Simon Drieu said the buyer was not attracted by its connection to the show, describing the link as “just a coincidence”. He said the purchaser was simply looking for a three-digit registration featuring the same number repeated.

Drieu said the plate represented “very good value”, adding that similar low-number registrations had previously sold for much higher sums in Jersey, with some reaching more than £300,000.

Among the plates he has sold are J83, which fetched £103,000, J13 which reached £178,000, and J69 which sold for £230,000. The highly sought-after J4 and J5 registrations achieved £380,000 and £350,000 respectively.

Other recent sales included J333 for £60,000, J222 for £56,000 and J232 for £48,000.

Drieu explained that buyers are often drawn to rare registrations because of the prestige attached to owning a very low number plate, or because certain numbers have personal meaning, such as marking a birthday or anniversary.

“Numbers are very peculiar to people,” he said. “What can be significant to you could be insignificant to me.”

He added that at auction, the final price often comes down to one simple factor: having two people competing for the same item.