Granted, we're not the United Arab Emirates, where a license plate bearing the single number "1" fetched $14 million at a charity auction in February.

The guy who bought it, described as a member of "a wealthy Abu Dhabi family" - really? - wasn't even sure which of his cars would get the tag.

Closer to home, license plates from other states are fetching big piles of cash.

A Wilmington developer bid $675,000 for a black-and-white Delaware tag, No. "6," sold at auction in Rehoboth Beach earlier this year after its previous owner had died.

The state of Indiana staged an auction of football-oriented plates to raise money for a new stadium in 2005. "QB 18," featuring Peyton Manning's number, raised $10,305.

A Nebraska vanity plate, "THRIFTY," owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, went for $73,200 a couple of years ago. (It was attached, it must be said, to Buffett's 2001 Lincoln Town Car - a package deal to benefit an Omaha youth organization.)

In Pennsylvania, however, vanity is cheap. It costs only $20 to obtain a "special registration plate" from PennDOT's Department of Motor Vehicles.

The applicant is asked to list his first, second and third choices for a personalized plate. He's allowed up to seven letters or numbers, with the option of a single hyphen or space somewhere in the mix.

Problem is, some 276,045 Pennsylvania drivers have already had their pick. Pennsylvania "1" is not available.

The state DMV makes it easy to transfer plates between two vehicles with a single owner, between spouses or between a parent and child.

But selling or auctioning your plates is not encouraged.

"It's not part of our core mission," said DMV spokeswoman Danielle Klinger.

Theoretically, someone could arrange to sell his plate to a stranger, but PennDOT makes it difficult: The seller would have to mail in the tag, with a form for a "returned registration plate," while the buyer applies for the same tag.

PennDOT would process both requests, but even if they arrive in the same envelope, Klinger said, "There's no guarantee. . . . There's always going to be some risk they may not get that plate."

PennDOT would not disclose the owner of the "1" plate. State Sen. Vince Fumo has secured "PA 1" for his personal car, a sweet Mercedes convertible in pale yellow. The senator suggested that "1" might belong to Gov. Rendell.

But alas, it doesn't.

"The governor doesn't have vanity plates on his car," said spokesman Chuck Ardo. "He's just not oriented that way. . . . But if he could get 'WHITESOX1'? He'd probably pay $14 million for that."

The Guv obviously is a big Chisox fan.

Doc-Fumo feud: Still going