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The lower the number, the higher the price. That’s the aim of the game for the heritage license plate collectors, and 12 months after the record AUD$11,505,000 (plus 7.5 per cent buyer’s premium) sale of the ‘NSW 1’ license plate, the motorcycle equivalent is heading to auction on 18th of February.
Soon to be Australia’s most expensive motorcycle license plate, the auction house Collecting Cars believes this century-old heritage motorcycle number plate could fetch more than AUD$1 million at auction.
“This is a rare opportunity to secure a piece of Australia’s motoring history,” said Lee Hallett, Head of Asia-Pacific at Collecting Cars. “If you’re a motorcycle lover who appreciates history, number plate ‘1’ is the ultimate accessory.”
Heritage license plates are just as much of an investment opportunity as they are a piece of history. With a limited number in circulation, they’ve become a blue-chip investment as the value will continue to climb through the ownership period. They’re also a status symbol, and the saying goes that the lower the number of numerals, the richer you are.
Typically seen on supercars and luxury SUVs, low-digit heritage license plates are often worth five or six times more than the car it’s attached to. However, there are some outliers. ‘NSW 7’ is a family heirloom likely worth more than $10 million and it currently finds itself attached to a 2008 Subaru Forester worth about $5,000. While ‘NSW 2’ is attached to a Ferrari 458 Italia worth about $400,000.
Due to the value of the original metal plate, the majority of heritage plate owners will choose to use a reproduced plastic display plate on their cars.
Celebrities, socialites, and businessmen and women have been cashing in on heritage plates in recent years. Notable heritage plate owners include Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond who stuck ‘NSW 111’ to his Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Roxy Jacenko and her husband Oliver Curtis who put ‘NSW 1908’ on their new McLaren Artura, and businessman Andrew Banks who chose ‘NSW 88’ for his Porsche Taycan Turbo. Understandably, any license plate with ‘8’, ’88’, ‘888’ etc. is highly valuable because of its lucky number association.
Motorcycle license plate ‘NSW 1’ was last sold on August 17th, 2018, and was last spotted in August 2017 attached to an MV Agusta. Currently, motorcycle plate ‘NSW 2’ is registered to a 1969 Harley Davidson FLH.
Motorcycle plates are not as sought-after as the car equivalent, but we don’t expect this to have much of an impact on the sale of ‘NSW 1’ when the auction ends on the 25th of February 2025. It will be joined by ‘NSW 37’, ‘NSW 399’, ‘NSW 392’, and other low triple-digit heritage plates at the Collecting Cars auction linked below.
