With its disappearance in October 2014 a distant memory, most of us are now used to life without the tax disc – though not having a reminder in the windscreen of when your car tax falls due has caught motorists unawares, with the number of untaxed vehicles rising three-fold in the past three years.
But what about your old tax discs? Surely they’re just a reminder of how things used to be – nothing more than a round scrap of paper with a date and a barcode on it that’s utterly worthless?
Well, don’t be so sure. There’s a big growth in the number of velologists in the UK. If that means nothing to you, read on to find out all you need to know…
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What’s a velologist?
A velologist is a tax disc collector. The name is taken from VEL, for Vehicle Excise License, and applies to anyone with an interest in collecting old road fund license discs from the UK and Northern Ireland.
What are the most valuable tax discs ever sold?
The highest amount paid for a tax disc by a UK collector was £1087.80, for a road fund license that expired in December 1921 – the first year that discs were issued in the UK.
Prior to that the record for the most expensive tax disc ever sold was £810, for a disc from the same batch.
Recently, a rare motorcycle licence dated December 1921, in its period tax disc holder, sold for a whopping £361.
One disc from 2003 managed to sell for £173, as it was made in the first year that tax discs acquired a bar code, while a full set for the same car also made £353 despite being relatively modern.
What makes a tax disc collectable?
There are certain things that make tax discs collectable. Age is one, of course, but there are other factors that add value.
Is the disc still in its original selvedge, for example (the paper surround in which the disc itself is perforated). This adds a significant amount of value.
Full sets are valued by collectors, too, especially if the vehicle to which they are assigned is exotic or unusual. A tax disc from a Lamborghini, for example, will always be worth more than one from a Ford.
Used tax discs are also proving extremely popular among classic car enthusiasts as a period extra for their car windscreens.
Also, tax discs dated September 2015 are also collectable. This was the last expiry date for which discs were issued in the UK, and towards the end the DVLA had run out of pre-printed discs,
so sent customers black and white photocopies to display instead.