A Canadian man said Guinness World Records officially certified a license plate he owns as the oldest vehicle license plate in the world.

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John Roberts of Esquimalt, British Columbia, said the No. 6 license plate was issued in Victoria, B.C., in 1884, 18 years before the first cars came to Victoria, The Victoria Times Columnist reported Wednesday.

He said Guinness World records confirmed the porcelain-on-steel plate, bearing the No. 6, is the oldest in the world.

Roberts said the plate was for a hackney carriage, an ancestor of the taxi cab, and was issued as a means of tracking the carriages to protect tourists from being overcharged. He said he purchased the plate for $1,000 a few years ago from a man who said he got it from a garage sale.

"Victoria gets on the map in so many different and interesting ways," said Mayor Dean Fortin. "This town is full of wonderful amateur historians and historical sleuths. For this gentleman to go out and find out we are the birthplace of the license plate is great."