Rated by our customersThe Most Expensive Number Plates Around The World
A rare two-digit numberplate has fetched a record-breaking $745,000 at auction in Sydney overnight.
The historic black and white New South Wales plate features the number '29' and smashed the previous record for the most expensive numberplate sold at auction by $56,000.
That record belonged to the NSW plate '2' which sold for $689,000 in 2003. The previous record for a two-digit plate was the Victorian '21' which sold for $530,000 at auction in 2016.
The history of '29' dates back to 1915 when it was registered to Mr MacCormick of Macquarie Street, Sydney. He had the plate on his Minerva.
The numberplate was sold overnight at the Shannons Autumn Classic Auction. The most expensive car sold was $180,000 for a restored 1970 Ford XY Falcon GT.
Last night’s Shannons auction was going as expected as people became proud owners of Skylines, HDT Commodores, and even a Mk1 Jensen Interceptor. All at reasonable prices too.
That was until a little black and white piece of pressed tin came up to the block. Okay, there were two of them.
Lot “AB”, a set of NSW historic numberplates which feature the number 29 on them, sold for an astonishing $745,000.
Joining them in the ‘too much money for a small piece of metal’ category were numbers ‘4002’, ‘9191’, ‘85758’, and ‘74-820’, all selling between $30,000 and $82,000.
While it’s understandable that these plates have long histories – especially ‘29’, which was first recorded at home on a Minerva in 1915 – it’s hard to understand why someone would drop near-Aventador money on one.
The way Shannons put it is that “its new owner has achieved instant membership of a very exclusive, low-digit numberplate club of just 90, whose ‘joining’ fee has risen steadily and reliably over the years.”
It’s probably going to keep rising, too. We imagine that plate will be kept in a safe rather than screwed onto a car.
So how do you ensure you get one that rises in value rather than one that remains static? The trick is to buy something that other people are likely to want. Number plates that show a person’s name or initials are a good example, providing they are not unusual names or initials. Having something that is unusual will not prevent the number plate from rising in value, but it may be more difficult as it will be harder to find a buyer whom the number plate is relevant to and who wants to pay for it.
Next, have a look at what is currently for sale that matches that name or initials. If there are not many or if the one you have is considerably better, you will have a greater chance of the investment rising in value. If, on the other hand, there are lots of other options for people with that name or initials, you may find it harder to sell the one you own.
Other things that can prevent you from getting a high price for a number plate include:
- Number plates that are hard to understand – If people can’t tell what the number plate means after a few seconds of looking at it, you might struggle to get a high price for it.
- Humorous number plates – These types of plates are very niche, so the market for them is smaller than for standard phrases.
- Made up or unique words – There may not be anyone else who wants a number plate with a very unusual word.
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