The record sale of a Victorian number plate shows collectors are prepared to pay eye-watering sums for the right to display rare digits on their cars.
Shannons Auctions sold the number “14” for $2,270,500 on Tuesday night, a record sum paid for a Victorian two-digit plate.
The sale came close to the record auction figure of $2.45 million paid for the single digit “4” for NSW drivers in 2017.
Christophe Boribon, national auctions and external relations manager for Shannons Auctions, said classic number plates continued to climb in value.
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years and it keeps on surprising me,” he said.
“That will be a new record for a Victorian two-digit number plate.
“I sold it in 1998 for $75,000 – you tell me what has appreciated like that in 25 years.
“Nothing has appreciated like that.”
If you spent $75,000 spent on a home in Melbourne’s Broadmeadows it would be worth about $650,000 today.
The same sum invested in shares of BHP Billiton BHP Billiton would have returned a profit of about $200,000, while gold prices climbed enough for a $270,000 return in that time.
Other strong results for number plates in this week’s auction include $330,000 paid for Victoria’s “6-969” and $202,500 for Queensland’s “Q-226”.
The result comes after a South Australian collector paid $436,000 for “25” in December 2021, a record sum for a two-digit plate in the state.
Mr Boribon said people were attracted to number plates as an investment class for several reasons, including a lack of ongoing costs. You don’t need to pay council rates or shell out thousands of dollars to repair a leaky roof on a simple tin plate.
“There are no outgoing costs,” he said.
“There are various reasons why people collect them.
“Some people buy it for the history of it.”
“They do look fantastic on a car. It looks a bit special compared to a number plate.”
– News.com.au