The Most Expensive Number Plates Around The World
Reg Plates ArticleThe 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.
On our website, we offer a number plate search feature that lets you enter words, letters or numbers that you would like to see in the number plate of your dreams.
Try it out with words you would like to incorporate into your private number plate, such as a name, nickname, age or keyword (such as a hobby or passion).
You can use the general search to find any and all matching plates, or you can use our ‘prefix style’ search to search for plates that end in three letters of your choice, but have any combination at the start.
Alternatively, the ‘current search’ will allow you to specify two letters at the start and / or the age identifier numbers in the middle, and / or the final three letters at the end of the plate.
A final option for searching for your dream number plate is to use our ‘dateless search’ option, where you can find number plates that do not have a date identifier. These cherished plates are especially popular for vintage and classic cars, and are often the most prized of all personalised number plates.
Through this range of search options, you can go a long way towards finding your perfect personalised number plate. You could search for a Bob, a Tim, a Lou or a Ted, or you could include numbers that are meaningful to you in some way, such as your age, year of birth, or the year you got married. Do remember that drivers are not legally allowed to use a registration plate that makes a car look younger than it actually is (so a car built in 2012 can’t have a 2014 registration number).
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