QQP: 50 Rare Q Plates to go on sale February 1

As 50 heritage Qld number plates go up for sale, we reveal the local cars with the most exclusive plates.

Queenslanders are spending a fortune on rare car number plates, with the highly sought after collectable item listed for hundreds of thousands of dollars online.

Just 50 heritage Q Plates are released each year, with the next exclusive plate batch dropping this Wednesday.

Similar to waiting in an online Ticketek queue, Queenslanders have to first register their interest at the QQP website and then scramble to be the first to order a plate when the sale goes live, with each set priced at $8,000.

When first released in 1921, Q Plates were only available to prominent, wealthy community members, but many have since changed owners via auction or private sale, with the sets now ranging from single to six-digit combinations.

The most expensive recent sale was that of the Q65 heritage plate which sold for $780,000 at auction last year.

Meanwhile, the Q9 Plate, which was sold in 2019, also fetched a pretty price - a reported $363,379.

Shane Moore of Albany Creek has multiple cars with Q plates. Picture: Tara Croser.

Despite the lucrative Q Plate market, Shane Moore of Brisbane is not ready to part with any of his six sets.

“I had them for quite some time but most other people weren’t interested so the prices weren’t too wild,” Mr Moore said.

“When I bought my first one, the Q697, I think I paid $6,500 and I thought that was ridiculous to spend but in hindsight its was a pretty good investment.

“I wouldn’t say there’s sentimental value, but I still couldn’t really see myself letting go of them. If I needed the money I would do but I don’t want to cash in on them.”

Facebook marketplace sellers currently have triple digit Q Plates listed for $350,000, while six-digit plates are going for more than $25,000.

Shane Moore of Albany Creek has multiple cars with Q plates. Picture: Tara Croser.

On the slightly less official Q Plate.com.au website, there are no plates with numbering between Q1 and Q999 for sale, however there are two triple digit plates up for grabs for $240,000.

Today, the most expensive “Q1” plate belongs to Brisbane hair king Stefan Ackerie who spent $100,000 in 1985 at “the great plate auction” to acquire the very first plate.

It was money well spent with Mr Ackerie rumoured to have refused a $1 million offer for the plates in the 90s.

The very elusive Q1-Q9 Plates are frequently tracked travelling on luxury cars around the state, with the exception of the Q3 plate which was last picture pinned to a Toyota Corolla.

When it comes to describing his personal love for the heritage plates, Mr Moore said he simply enjoys numbers and patterns.

“I just like having digits on the plates rather than letters, I like the look of them and the history as well, knowing the same combinations would have been on a car 100 years ago.” he said.

“I like numbers, including phone numbers, just all patterns, they’re important to me.

“The rarity and exclusivity doesn‘t hurt either.”

The next Q Plate release is on Wednesday, February 1, when 50 new plates go for auction on the PPQ website.

Buyers are limited to one plate set each, with the plates only available online via the Q Plates Product Page.