Collectable number plate sets new auction record

Donington Auctions ‘Collector Car, Number Plate and Horse Drawn Vehicle Auction’ auction on Sunday, 25 August, saw a new auction record set for a six-digit Victorian number plate, with ‘123-456’ selling for $363,000. In the vendor’s possession for the past 40 years, the heritage plate exceeded its pre-auction estimate by more than $60,000.

While single, double and triple-digit plates have been auctioned for big amounts in the past, this latest result shows that “modern” six-digit plates are starting to catch up, especially when they feature desirable number and/or letter combinations and sequences.

The Victorian plate ‘123-456’ was one of many offered in Donington’s 25 August online auction, including four- and five-digit heritage plates, Australian Grand Prix, Victorian Bicentennial and 1956 Olympic Games themed plates, a Victorian Signature Series plate and the Japanese-style green-on-white plates that Victoria introduced in 2015.

In the case of 123-456, it carried a pre-auction estimate of $250,000-280,000 and saw a protracted bidding war between two determined collectors until the final sale price of $363,000 was achieved.

The result means this ascending plate is now the most expensive six-digit Victorian number plate to be sold at auction. Donington had set the previous record for a six-digit plate in February this year, selling the lucky ‘888-888’ for $230,000.

Other results of note from this auction include the five-digit ‘10-912’ and ‘71-734’ that sold for $36,000 and $35,000, respectively, while the six-digit ‘102-010’ sold for $21,000. An original 1956 Melbourne Olympic number plate, fitted to an official’s vehicle during the games, surpassed its estimate to sell for $2,700, while Australian F1 Grand Prix plate ‘694-GP’ hammered for $3,200 and ‘769-GP’ for $3,000. With the exception of the Olympic plate, all plates in this auction were sold with rights to display.

“Today’s auction saw some outstanding results in a challenging market, once again demonstrating the desirability of high-quality objects will always set the benchmark and recalibrate the market,” said Donington Auctions’ Cameron Sabine.

Australia’s largest auctioneer of classic automotive items, Donington Auctions is a premium European-style auction house with more than 100 years’ combined market expertise.

For all the results and further details from the Donington Auctions Collector Car, Number Plate and Horse Drawn Vehicle Auction, click HERE.