Expensive, positively expensive! James Bond Goldfinger ‘AU 1’ plate goes up for sale

Don't expect to talk, but do expect to... pay a shedload of money for not a lot of real estate. Calling all 007 fans, because the famed ‘AU 1’ numberplate attached to the gold-coated Rolls-Royce Phantom III in 1964's Goldfinger is being put up for sale by Primo Registrations.

And pre-auction estimates put its value at over £300,000. No, you're not dreaming.

Aside from the chance to own a bona-fide Hollywood classic and unleash all manner of sub-par Goldfinger gags, you'll also get a numberplate that actually stands for gold, ‘AU’ being the elemental symbol for the rather shiny and expensive metal on the periodic table.

Managing director of Primo Registrations, Peter Johnson, said: “As iconic number plates go, this one has to be right up there with one of the best, not least of all because of the plate’s association with the famed car used by Goldfinger and Oddjob to smuggle gold out of the country!

"The last time ‘AU 1’ sold, it realised a huge return on investment for its then-owner, and we anticipate the trend will only continue, especially with shorter plates,” he added.

For some perspective, two-letter, single-digit plates tend to sell for between £100,000 and £500,000. In fact, the most expensive plate ever sold in the UK, ‘25 O’, fetched £518,480 back in 2014 and was (fittingly) placed on a Ferrari 250 GTO.

Primo Registrations has stated that VAT will be included in the price, as will, hilariously, the transfer fee. Reckon the sale price will achieve a new miracle in this field of human endeavour? Or will it simply end up on the nose of a gold-plated Aventador?