After setting an Australian auction record of $525,000 for number plate ‘911’ in 2018, Shannons and VicRoads Custom Plates will again stage the Rare Heritage Number Plate Auction at 2019’s Motorclassica.
The 10th annual Motorclassica, Australia’s premier automotive exhibition of classic, collectible, rare, exotic and historic cars and motorcycles, will be held on 11-13 October 2019 at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building.
Saturday night’s Auction is always an annual Motorclassica highlight, and in 2018 was held for the first time exclusively for number plates.
In the same family ownership for 35 years, the Victorian number plate ‘911’ was sold to a Porsche enthusiast for a record price and was the pinnacle of the 2018 Auction, which generated more than $3.5 million across the sale of 30 number plates.
Among those number plates sold were the sequential plates ‘103’, ‘104’ and ‘105’.
“The Rare Heritage Number Plate Auction at Motorclassica generated a great deal of interest from right around Australia last year (2018), I don’t think everyone understood (beforehand) that there’s such a strong collector market for number plates just as there is for cars,” Shannons External Relations Manager Christophe Boribon said.
“Motorclassica is a fabulous event and the perfect setting for the Auction, with so many engaged automotive enthusiasts present.”
Hero of the 2019 Motorclassica Auction conducted by Shannons in partnership with VicRoads Custom Plates is likely to be the Victorian single-letter ‘Q’ number plate. Sharing the appearance of the most sought-after single digit plates, these single character plates are super-desirable.
While its ultimate price will only be determined at the fall of the hammer, it’s expected to sell for between $70,000 and $100,000.
Shannons will auction between 25 and 30 plates on the night, many of them three, four and five digit numerical plates, including this year’s 2019 plate and several nicely balanced combinations. All five and six digit number plates will be sold ‘No Reserve’.
“For many years the Motorclassica Auction was all about cars, motorcycles and memorabilia, so last year’s (2018) inaugural number plate auction was a bit of an unknown for us,” Event Director Paul Mathers said.
“Fortunately, it was a great success and tellingly, it brought to us not only the Motorclassica regulars but also a whole new audience who attended primarily for the number plate auction but enjoyed the show as well.”
The Rare Heritage Number Plate Auction is part of Motorclassica After Five, when show attendees arriving after 5pm will receive discounted entry and a free glass of sparkling wine on arrival.
The ‘Rare Heritage Number Plate Auction’ will start at 7pm on Saturday 12 October 2019.
Motorclassica 2019 will be held at the Royal Exhibition Building (Melbourne) from 11-13 October 2019.
Source: Motorclassica
