NSW 1: Australia’s most expensive number plate for sale at auction

A “unicorn” of a number plate is up for sale for the first time ever, but its auction price has just hit an eye-watering sum.

NSW 1 is up for sale.

Australia’s most in demand number plate has come up for sale, but its auction price has soared past $10 million.

NSW registration plate number 1 was put up for sale last year and is predicted to become “one of the most expensive number plates in the world”.

NSW 1 is up for sale. Picture: Lloyds.

It’s understood the registration plates are privately owned.

At the time of writing, bidding in the first ever auction to acquire them had reached $10,010,000 — and hopeful buyers still had four days and 12 hours to fight it out.

The NSW 1 plates here on a Daimler.

Lloyds described the plates as “the holy grail must-have for any blue-chip passion investor or the no. 1 gift for that person who has ‘everything’.”

It’s believed the NSW 1 plates were originally issued to a vehicle belonging to the state’s first police commissioner.

The plates were then bought in the 1930s by Sir Frederick Stewart, an entrepreneur and politician whose Oldsmobile sported them until his death in 1961.

The story goes that in 1988 his widow, Lady Marjorie Stewart, declined an offer of $200,000 for the plates, which were then on her 1981 Ford Fairmont LTD.

It was hoped the plates would come onto the market when Lady Stewart died in 2000 but the sale never eventuated.

Sir Frederick Stewart, a successful Newcastle railway, bus and airline entrepreneur and federal politician bought the plates in the 1930s.

Lloyds said the auction “will probably be the last” time the plates are offered for sale, as rare heritage plates are usually passed down through generations.

They described the sale as “truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to secure the most desirable and prestigious number plates in Australia”.

The value comes from the rarity of the plates, with only nine single digit number plates available in each state and territory.

NSW 4 sold for $2.45 million in 2017. Picture: Reddit.

“These are as rare as hens’ teeth and the perfect addition to any rare classic or prestige vehicle,” the auction house continued.

“In fact, you could potentially say that the number plate will be most likely worth MORE than the car.”

The auctioneers said that “due to the extreme rareness and importance of this amazing piece of history,” bidders need to be pre-approved.

At its current bidding levels, NSW 1 will be the most expensive number plate ever to sell in Australia.

In 2017, NSW 4 sold for $2.45 million.

Originally published as NSW 1: Australia’s most expensive number plate for sale at auction