The very first number plates were issued in the UK in 1903 in the form of dateless registrations. Naturally, the different registration that you could create with up to three letter and three number ran out. After that, in 1963, suffix number plates were used swiftly followed by prefixed DVLA number plates.
It was during the suffix and prefix plate period that the DVLA recognised that the ever increasing demand for new vehicles and he attraction of a new number plate could pay dividends. As 'H' regs were rolled out in 1990, the DVLA withheld the 'best' registrations that contained numbers like 11, 22, 200 etc. Once a collection was built, they began to auction the plates off to the public.