Eye-watering price predicted for South Australian No. 8 car number plate
A South Australian number plate is expected to sell at auction for more than a million dollars.
The No. 8 plate was first issued in 1906 to Arthur Ernest Ayers, the son of South Australian businessman and politician Sir Henry Ayers, the original owner of the historical Ayers House in Adelaide city.
It’s being sold on behalf of the South Australian government through Slattery Auctions.
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Historic Plates auctioneer, Stewart Kay, said the last time the SA Government issued a single digit number plate was in late 1985 when plate No. 7 was sold.
“It’s very rare and very special,” he said about the new listing.
“These plates are all about the paperwork, so having a set of number plates hanging in grandad’s shed might not necessary confer ownership.”
Kay said the plate would likely be sold to a prominent Adelaide businessman for between $1.3 and $1.5 million.
He explained the older the number plate and lower the number, the higher the return expected at auction.
“Number plates are a very historic connection back to 120 years ago when they were first issued,” Kay said.
“They’re sort of triple threat, they look fantastic on a car, they have a great return in terms of investment and they have a certain level of prestige to them.”
Kay said the sale of number plates grew in popularity in the early 2000s.
“People collect vintage watches, people collect old cars, shares, all of those equities (and) number plates have pretty much outperformed all those if you look at what they’re worth now,” he said.
In New South Wales, a No. 1 one number plate sold for $11.5 million. In the first 72-hours the plates went up for sale, bidding soared to $10 million.
Kay said a No. 1 plate also exists in South Australia, and it’s been registered to a delivery van since the 1950s.
A 757 plate that’s just hit the market through Historic Plates is valued between $10,000 - $150,000
It was first bought by a man for $1500 in 1989 and is one of about 700 three-digit plates in Australia.
Originally published on 7NEWS
