@chicomarx: the rules in GB may be different, but yes, in Germany it's a crime -and not just a slight one!- to use faked plates, especially with faked seals in the public traffic. It's a clear "falsification of documents" and the penalty for that is really heavy.

Even putting a little sticker on the plate (some people have stickers from their football team in the Euro-star on the left blue stripe) is a crime over here.

P.S.The Bundeswappen -to fake it, is a crime, too- has nothing to do on license plates (except on Bundeswehr-plates)