22 historic SA number plates set to fetch top dollar in online auction

Rare SA number plates are up for auction this week – and one exclusive plate could sell for around $220,000. So why do people pay so much for them?

Stewart Kay with the ‘149’ plate that’s currently selling at auction for about $160,000 and could go for more than $200,000. Picture: Tim Joy

Paying more than $200,000 for South Australian motoring history is a no-brainer for some people, who are bidding huge amounts for old number plates in an online auction this week.

A collection of 22 privately owned historic SA plates are going under the hammer at plates.com.au until Monday at 7pm.

The bid for plate ‘149’ is currently at a staggering $159,888, but could sell for up to $220,000, according to Historic Plates auctioneer Stewart Kay.

It’s an eye-watering increase since it last sold at auction in 1985 for $500 – an auction a 15-year-old Mr Kay watched with his late father.

Now, as he’s auctioning off that plate himself 40 years later, he said the number plates had become a symbol of high status.

“They’re great places to put money, great holders of wealth. There’s also a prestige to them,”

Mr Kay told The Advertiser.

“They’re a tangible link back to the earliest days of our state’s history. If you’re in Dubai or Sydney or London, the finest and the oldest of the number plates have been great investments

… over the years, so we’re no different here in South Australia.”

Mr Kay said rare number plates appeal to collectors looking for a “secure” low-maintenance investment.

Historic Plates auctioneer Stewart Kay with the 199 plate. Picture: Tim Joy

“It’s not like a house where you have to paint or fix gutters or electricals, or an old car with engines … it’s something you can use,” he said.

“I’ve got clients who bought plates and never used them, bought them purely as an investment.

“They’re easily saleable and they’re attractive to finish off a nice car … even a fairly plain-Jane car with a number plate looks fantastic.”

Other plates for sale this week with unique sequences including ‘572’ and ‘573’ or plates featuring the number 8 such as ‘811-118’, ‘88-383’ and ‘33-788’, are predicted to attract huge interest at the auction.

“There’s people into numerology, people into lucky numbers, people into the heritage and the history of the plates,” Mr Kay said.

“Everyone’s got a little story. I guess that’s the fun thing about it. People are like a number, it’s their birth year or the year their mum and dad got married or the year of the car.”

In September, one anonymous car enthusiast got their hands on SA’s highly sought-after ‘plate 8’, which sold for a record $2.3m after an auction bidding war.

In Chinese numerology, the number 8 represents luck and prosperity and is considered the luckiest number.

To mark the 40th year since the first SA Government Great Plate auction, a Back to the Future Gala Auction will be held on Sunday, October 26 to commemorate the first 1985 auction that was hosted at the Hilton International.

Originally published as 22 historic SA number plates set to fetch top dollar in online auction