South Australian mystery buyer plonks $436,000 on a unique number plate

A South Australian mystery buyer has plonked the price of a small apartment on a number plate in a historic sale.

An anonymous buyer has plonked $436,000 on a unique “25” number plate in South Australia.

The buyer, described as the most “prolific” purchaser of historic plates in the state, beat out five other bidders for the accessory, which costs roughly the same as two Porsche 911’s.

Incredibly, the bidding war saw the simple black and white plate fetch $166,000 more than the auction reserve.

Historic Plates proprietor Stewart Kay said the whopping sale price was a record for the public sale of plates of its kind.

“He has got best collection in South Australia - he has a fair profile,” he said.

“The question will be is what magical car he’ll put number 25 on.

“I wish I had another five (plates) that I could sell at a similar price. I had a client laughing and saying plates are better than Bitcoin.”

The new owner of the number 25 plate will pay $43,600 in stamp duty to the state government.

According to the Advertiser, the historic number 25 plate was among the first batch of plates issued by the state government in 1906 and was originally owned by Adelaide solicitor Nathaniel Alexander Knox.

It was then purchased privately by its previous owner in the late 1980s and then later sold by their family to settle a deceased estate.

Stewart Kay from Historic Plates with number plate 25 up for auction. Picture: Brenton Edwards

While the fetching price -- which was more than the median price of an Adelaide apartment -- turned heads, it wasn’t the most expensive.

That honour goes to the buyer of the GP 1 plate, who dropped an incredible $701,000 on the trinket last year.

The plate ended up fetching $160k over its expected price.

Originally published as South Australian mystery buyer plonks $436,000 on a unique number plate