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 from 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.

In addition to the number plates, the 25 August auction included automotive collectables, limited-edition prints, horse-drawn carriages and more than 30 collectable cars. Top seller amongst the latter was an Australian-delivered 1924 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost. Rebodied 20 years ago and toured in South Africa and New Zealand, the Silver Ghost has remained in regular use. It sold for $190,000.

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