Expert: Sir William - 1/18/2011

Question
Hello Sir William, I hope you can help me.  I have a printing plate of the front page of the British newspaper "The Daily Telegraph" dated 8.8.1988.  I know the number 8 is considered lucky to the Chinese people and was wondering if this would have any value attached to it, and if so who would likely to be interested in it.
Thank you for your time.  Regards J.Willmott

Answer
Hello, Ms. Willmott,

In Chinese culture, certain numbers are believed by some to be auspicious (e.g. 8, 9, 13, 18, 23, 28, 88...) or inauspicious (e.g. 4, 14, 24...) based on the Chinese words that sound similar to other Chinese words. However, the rules vary according to different Chinese dialects.

In Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China, some people are willing to pay large sums for numbers that are considered to be lucky for motor vehicle license plate numbers and telephone numbers.

Reportedly, the Sichuan Airlines in Sichuan, China bought the telephone number 8888-8888 for 2.33 million China Yuan (UK£221,600) during an auction in Chengdu, making it the most expensive telephone number in the world.

The printing plate of the front page of the British newspaper "The Daily Telegraph" dated 8.8.88 sounds auspicious indeed, because the word for "8” sounds similar to the word which means "prosper" or "wealth". The best way to find out how much it is worth is to try your luck at: http://www.taobao.com  

I hope you'll find the above information helpful.

Thank you for you question and have a nice day!

Sir William